First Wednesday Post of 2011

I love Wednesdays.  I was born on a Wednesday and finally looked to see the time.  4.50 pm.  Not 11.11. The subject of today's photo is the interesting African Violet I purchased on my last day at work.  It has a pinked edge and three colors.  Best of all, it is still alive.  I think it has survived because I have it on the table, directly under my nose, and notice if it needs watering.  And it is getting warmth and sunshine here in the dining room.  I still haven't made it upstairs to water my other plants.

I was reading magazines and catalogs last night (TiVo-ing television shows to watch when G isn't sleeping- as he was) and happened upon QVC and the Pilates machine.  Last hour at the "special" price and all that. Long story short--the machine will be here in 8 to 10 days and I have 30 days in which to decide if I like it. I had wanted it a long while ago but didn't have the money.  Now I do.  And I am very interested in having a Pilates Body.

There was a bit of drama included in the purchase.  When I opened my purse to get my credit card holder (at 10.30) --it wasn't there.  With pounding heart I dumped the entire contents on the kitchen counter.  No. Then I tried to think when I had last used it.  Before Christmas.  Oh!! No!!!!  I was really starting to panic when I thought to look in my work bag.  I sometimes take the card case to work since I need to drive with my driver's license.  And there it was.  Deep breaths.  And I picked up the phone and returned to the couch and made my purchase.  The guy taking my order asked which credit card I would be using and I replied "Mine."  He wasn't amused.  I was confused.  Then he said which of these and listed 8 to 10 brands of cards.  Oh.

I got the bathroom floors swept and mopped yesterday and the mirrors, counters etc washed in my bathroom.  And I vacuumed the carpets though I don't think the vacuum picked up anything as the little canister was empty.  G washed the filter and must not have put the vacuum together correctly when he put the filter back inside.  I'll go over the floor with the central vac after I have coffee with my walking buddy this morning.  We aren't walking.  It's 21 degrees and N isn't all that interested in being cold.  I'll walk Riley after I get back home.  He is trying to understand why he is staying home.

The days are starting to go by more quickly now.  I have two books to read and a winter vegetable gardening book to study.  I think it may be time to start my Artichoke seeds.  They need 230 days to mature.  That's my gardening experiment for 2011.  I will be attempting Fennel this year, also.  But the Fennel is not quite as much trouble as the Artichoke will be-- I need to "fool" it into thinking it's been growing for 2 years.  So warm, really cold, then warm again.  That means it needs to be big enough to go outdoors while we still have winter weather.  Timing.  

Time to go have coffee with N.