The clematis is blooming like crazy! Such a gorgeous flower and a nice splash of color at the front of the house. I think they’re equally pretty when just about to open:

There’s your dose of pretty for the day.

We spent the evening with the news and with Rachel Maddow. We have a desperate fool in the Oval Office who is inciting violence, who is determined to start a civil war, and who now wants to bring in the military to harm American citizens. That is what a fascist dictator does. It’s certainly what his buddy Putin does. Putin, who Trump spoke to right before his phone call to the Governors.

Tear gas for a photo op. Tear gas trained on peaceful protestors. His phone call to the Governors was, to put it mildly, insane and rambling.

I don’t know what else to say except that we have sunk about as low as we can as a nation.

My heart is heavy, dear friends. I know you feel the same.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Let’s do a quick recap of yesterday: we worked outside in the heat and humidity for about three hours, then prepared to drive to Lowe’s for curbside pickup of the air conditioner that we had to buy (unplanned $$$). Before we left, Don tried starting his car again (it hasn’t been starting consistently) and it started, so I suggested dropping it off at the service station on the way to Lowe’s. He did. (More $$ for repairs on the horizon) And he spoke with a mechanic who wasn’t wearing a mask; fortunately Don was. Then we got in the car, drove to Lowe’s and waited for an employee put the A/C in the trunk of my car. It didn’t fit. Normally, we use the CR-V for this kind of thing. So we tried to figure out how to secure the lid to the trunk so we could transport the unit. We had no other options. After several ideas (none of which worked) Don thought that we could probably make it home with the trunk open because the A/C unit was wedged in and wasn’t going anywhere. I drove slowly in the parking lot and the lid seemed pretty secure. As I headed for the exit, I picked up a bit of speed (we were watching the trunk lid in the rear view mirror) and all seemed well.  After I got on the main road, Don told me to stop because he couldn’t find his glasses. Long story short, we retraced our steps, looking everywhere for his glasses, along the road, in the parking space, in the trunk, under the seat of the car. We never found them. He thinks he put them on top of the car, forgot about them, and they fell off. It was strange that there wasn’t a trace of them anywhere. We even  went inside Lowe’s to see if anyone had turned them in. Don wears progressive lenses and so we had to order a new pair over the phone. ($$$$$)

At the end of the day, I was in a very bad mood. Don needs to be more attentive and present because he is forgetful – a lot. He’s always been that way. He’s working on that, per my tersely worded suggestion.

Anyway. I didn’t get around to answering comments and if you don’t mind, I’ll not answer yesterday’s comments. I’ve read them. But I have to write out some checks today (oh, joy) and deal with the annual ant invasion and, most importantly, remind myself of my blessings, which is always necessary, but especially so after a day like yesterday. (Don being at the top of my blessings list.)

Forgot to show you the fern! She’s back where she belongs and is doing well.

Happy Thursday.

Tonight, these guys will be joined by 8 large pots and a window box! Bless Don, I had a tarp stretched over (but not touching) the vintage pots that usually live in the secret garden that I clipped to the back of the glider and stretched to the back of the Adirondack chairs. But it was quite windy last night and it wasn’t staying in place so he came up with a solution involving bungee cords. It worked. He is so good about helping me with these pots and plants. Everything I bring in tonight will stay here for two days. The last I read, and this could very well change, was a low of 31 tonight. Gulp. Please let the plants in the garden beds survive! But there is a lot of back and forth about snow, no snow, temps, etc, as there are different meteorological models for this storm and they don’t agree with each other. So, all we can do is haul everything that’s movable inside and wait it out.

Thanks for your supportive comments on yesterday’s post. This is an overwhelming time for everyone. We’re living with fear and uncertainty. I’ve lost a good friend to COVID-19. We just found our that our next door neighbors were stricken with it. Thankfully, they are all well, including the 80 year old head of the family. We are both out of work and our lifework being the theater (and film and TV), I am sure we will not be working again for a year, at the very least. Would you sit in a theater with 600 strangers? I don’t think so. Actors cannot wear masks when rehearsing or performing. Neither can voice and text coaches like me, who have to show the actor how to shape words and vowels and consonants.  We can’t work from home. I’ve already lost what was an upcoming job. We don’t even know if the small agency that represents Don will survive. No one working = no income for the agency. We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves, these are simply facts. And we can express those fears while being grateful for our blessings.

Which brings me to my next point:

One can express frustration and fear and anger and sorrow while at the same time expressing gratitude. Life is far more complex than seeing things as either/or. We’ve lost over 200,000 people to this virus. It is a tragedy beyond comprehension. I don’t have a lot of patience for those who think feeling one way at any given moment automatically implies that we are incapable of recognizing anything else. We’re far more than that.

Thankfully, the majority of my readers understand that and we are here to support each other, knowing that on any given day one or more of us will be having difficulty with this. And that’s okay. No one needs to be lectured about counting their blessings.  We all do that and I see it every day in the comments on this blog. A more aware and loving group I can’t imagine.

End of my thoughts on this subject. Thank you again.

I gave up on the puzzle. The intricate border pieces just did not fit together correctly. Whether something was missing or I was not seeing a particular piece, I don’t know. But it wasn’t worth it. I’ll save it for another time. Thankfully, my order of two puzzles arrived in the mail yesterday.

This is one of them and it’s the one I’m going to start this afternoon. Isn’t it pretty? I love Van Gogh.

What else? We mowed a lot yesterday and then I started to prune the boxwoods at the front of the house, which suffered damage over the winter. They needed to be pruned anyway, but I had to take off quite a bit. I still have more to go, but I only have hand pruners and my hand was getting sore! I need a hoe and some hedge clippers but have no way to get them at the moment.

We both fell asleep on the sofa by 9 pm. We were pretty tuckered out.

Take care, my friends, and stay safe. See you on the other side of the potential snow and freezing temps. For those of you also battling with this weather, I hope everything in your gardens and pots survives.

Happy Friday.