Late afternoon sun hitting the limelights. They’re really beautiful this year.
Monday and Tuesday nights were very cold. Last night we had a frost advisory, so I hauled the porch plants to the shed. Usually, I bring them inside. But someone local (online) was putting her plants inside her garage for the night and I suddenly thought: the shed is our version of a garage. Why not? So, except for a couple that are in pots that are too heavy to move, every little porch plant spent the night inside the shed.
This happens here every early October. We think it’s still warm but we have to deal with an unexpected frost. I still have zinnias about to bloom, so I’ll have to see if they’re still with us. This is the same time that my almost-ready-to-bloom morning glories would be hit by a frost and die on the vine. That’s why I didn’t plant any this year – too many years of disappointment.
The heat kicked on early this morning. We’ll soon have to bite the bullet and buy heating oil. I shudder to think what it will cost this year. The thermostat is going to be set at a lower temperature this winter.
My schefflera is coming back. This is the plant that dropped all of its leaves a couple of months ago. I thought it was a goner, but lo and behold, little tiny leaves have been forming – slowly but surely.
I’m working on my jigsaw puzzle – yesterday, I was completely immersed in it. My sanity says thank you.
Today, we grocery shop as we are out of almost everything. Next week, we get vaccinated for Covid and the flu.
Nothing new on the Beacon Hill. I have to sit down in the studio and cut baseboard molding, but the puzzle is more interesting than the baseboards, so it’s been winning the attention contest.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
I was amazed to get up north and find two of my basil plants still going and the geraniums still hanging in there. Granted, three of them are dead-head loaded but still going and two look pretty great! But yes, last night we were around freezing, so the prediction said. This house was pretty nippy but between the space heaters and fireplace I got it from 45 into the 60s. A good week for soup and warm things!
Yay for hardy plants, Jeanie!
Enjoy your time at the cottage.
Stay safe.
glad you have the shed. i know there are times and seasons for everything, but i hope all the plants make it … especially because you love them and take good care of them. :)
i am not good with plants, but try because i love them. and i find your photos today particularly beautiful, and poignant to me … the limelights changing their colors, and the schefflera reaching to the sun (makes me think how we all need what we need and just want to live a good life. plants included.).
hope you stay comfy and praying that the heating oil bill isn’t a horrid number.
glad you have your puzzle mojo back. i need my cleaning and paper-sorting mojo back.
happy, safe wednesday to you, don and everyone else.
kathy
I’m sure the heating oil bill will be shocking. But we have no other option. So, thermostats will stay lower than normal, something I’m not looking forward to, but needs must!
Thanks, Kathy.
Stay safe.
Yes….the limelights are gorgeous this year. It was cool, now it seems we will get a mini heat wave. We haven’t had a frost yet, which suits me just fine.
Glad your plants survived.
We are getting our Covid and flu shots on Friday, so we can rest up and recover on Saturday. The last few weeks we have been extremely busy with visits with family and friends, and it was hard to schedule two days in a row with no plans.
Glad to hear puzzles are giving you some sanity. I have yet to find mine….sanity that is lol. And great news on the schefflera…keep hope alive! Enjoy your day! ;)
Always a good idea to have a day to rest after getting those vaccines.
I think I’m going to get the pneumonia vax, too, but I’ll wait a week.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
Yup….pneumonia is a good one to get. Shingles too, if you haven’t already. We have to protect ourselves as best we can! ;)
xo
oh! wanted to say this, too …
earlier this week, my search page (startpage, supposed to be especially protective of users’ privacy) was repeatedly blocking me. with some tech help, i am now using a different search tool (that is also supposed to be extra-protective of privacy). and here’s the part i like about this one very much … it blocks ai (specifically “ai-assisted answers, ai-generated images, and ai feature recommendations”)!
if you dislike or worry about the use of ai, consider checking with your preferred search tool to see if they offer a “no ai” option. if they don’t, for what it’s worth, i am using “no ai duckduckgo.com”. not meant to be a commercial for or against any search tool. and sorry if this is old, obvious news to everyone but not-tech-y me … haha. (claudia, please delete this comment if you feel the need to do so for any reason).
kathy
I use Startpage and it’s been fine. But I’ve also used Duck Duck Go (Don uses that.) Startpage is on my Vivaldi browser and Vivaldi blocks all AI.
xo
glad you have something that works for you and blocks ai. :)
xo
You can thank You Know Who for the rising cost of oil! Coincidentally, I have waited into today for an engineer to come and replace my household gas meter. It’s meant my having to remove a fixed cupboard that houses the electricity meter so that they could gain access to it.
I did not request this change.
When the engineer arrived he said the meter was good for at least another twenty years! I asked why did some random person from British Gas knock on my door and say according to their records it needs to be changed when it was only installed seven years ago? Commission, of course.
The world has gone mad. I checked with the engineer that he would still be paid regardless ( not by me), which he would and sent him on his way.
To be fair, he did offer to fix the cupboard back for me.
Happy Wednesday
we can thank him for a lot of heartbreak, death, and private information shared, money stolen, civil rights denied, – it goes on and on.
Thanks, Dee Dee.
Stay safe.
I saw a news report that heating oil in the NE will go up a minimum of 35%. One can only hope that things will get better. All I know is that it is shocking.
I just finished reading “Whistler” by Anne Patchett. I loved it. It warmed my heart and it broke my heart. I already miss the people /characters in the book.
Take Care,
Kaye
I’m on the list at the library for Whistler, but it’s a long one, so I don’t think I’ll be able to read it for a while.
I’m very nervous about heating oil costs, Kaye. We’ll do the best we can do.
Stay safe.
It’s awesome that that old plant is doing so well. Today is my birthday (62!) and I triked up to Dad’s condo. I brought a couple squares to eat and it was really quiet. I said ‘happy birthday to you (was last week), happy birthday to me’, Dad didn’t get it. But a while later he left and came back and said ‘its your birthday!’.
I received lots of texts and phone calls and cards. It was really nice. In the near future I’m ordering a new Blythe doll. Can’t wait.
Tonight I might do a little housework. Then I’ll veg.
I’ve a list of things for myself to do this fall, and a list for my husband.
Happy Belated Birthday, Irene!
Stay safe.
happy belated birthday, irene! may it be the start of a terrific year ahead for you and your family.
and i hope you do get that blythe doll for yourself!
kathy
Thanks, Kathy! So sweet
Bonjour Claudia,
Cela fait un moment que je n’avais pas visité ton blog. Tu as toujours d’aussi belles photos des fleurs de ton jardin et ta passion pour les maisons de poupée ne t’as pas quittée. C’est bien et comme tu le dis dans un de tes billets quand on devient septuagénaire il faut lever le pied et trouver d’autres centres d’intérêt plus tranquilles. J’ai fêté mes 75 ans le mois dernier et bien que je sois en forme, je me fatigue plus vite qu’avant (comme tout le monde, ah ah)
J’ai toujours un blog mais je ne sais pas si je vais le continuer car j’ai peu de visites et les articles sont redondants.
Je salue Don et vous souhaite une bonne continuation à tous les deux. Portez vous bien et prenez soin de vous
Amitiés de France.
Hélène 🌹
I hope you can read this reply, Helene. It’s so nice to hear from you, my friend. Happy Birthday! I will be 74 next month. I definitely get tired more quickly than I used to. Blogging has changed a lot and though I have a group of core followers, the number is nothing like it used to be.
Both Don and I send our best wishes to you, my friend.
Stay safe.
Thank you for your reply Claudia and for your wishes. Today, it is really autumn. Two days ago it was still summer and suddenly it is autumn.
You and Don enjoy the season.
Take care and à bientôt.
Hélène 🌹
The seasons can change very quickly!
Take care, Helene.
Limelight’s are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I forgot about some of the more subtle fall colors.
Thanks so much, Kay.
Stay safe.