Before I forget, two things I’ve been forgetting to mention:
Don chopped off almost 4 inches of my hair the other day. (He had my permission, of course.) It looks so much better.
And my monstera plant, which had been in a darkish corner for quite a while until I switched out the table with Don’s studio on it with the monstera so that it could be in front of the window, has given me two new leaves and they are notched! When a monstera doesn’t get enough light, the leaves tend to just be regular old leaves with no notches.
See? The leaf in the lower right hand corner is one that developed when it wasn’t getting enough light. The big leaf is new and beautifully notched. I don’t know what the official term for that is, I just say ‘notched.’ Monsteras are also called ‘Swiss Cheese Plants’ because of those cut-out areas of the leaf.
Anyway, I can’t tell you how excited I am to see it come back strong. Two new leaves have just appeared but they haven’t unfurled yet, so whatever happens will be a surprise. I’m sure there will be a notch or two.
I got this Monstera at a shop where it had been ignored and was dying. It needed to be repotted and given some TLC. It’s beautiful now.
I weed whacked yesterday and helped mow part of the front lawn, but Don did most of the mowing because my muscles were sore from carrying around the whacker.
I had to trim the weeds that come up between the rocks in the rock garden, as well as around the path to the upper level of the yard. The stepping stones had become hidden and covered with slippery moss because of all the rain we’ve had, so I cleared the moss as well.
Also trimmed around the path to The Dude and cleaned off the stepping stones there.
I always say that we are on the ‘edge of wild’ and this picture is a perfect illustration of that.
I read four chapters of War and Peace yesterday. I was playing catchup but now I’m ahead. A big battle – the Battle of Borodino – is happening and I’m totally into it. I will say once more that Tolstoy is second only to Shakespeare in my estimation. My heavens, he was a brilliant writer.
I’m also reading The Thursday Night Murder Club by Richard Osman, which is making me laugh out loud. I’m completely charmed by the cast of characters and the dry wit of Osman – who/whom (I’m never sure and don’t bother explaining it to me because I’ll never retain it) I’ve seen a few times on the Graham Norton show from England. I can see why everyone loves this series.
Don is making an apple pie today. Huzzah!
The lilac side of the front lawn will be mowed today – by me. Don’s knees are bothering him a bit and that side of the lawn is fairly easy to deal with. We have rain and storms coming tomorrow, so I want to get that done today.
Stay safe.
Happy Thursday.
that’s a long to-do list! i know you enjoy working outside (and end up with gorgeous results) and aren’t thrilled with more rain, but maybe the weather is trying to tell you to take it easy. i agree with the weather. :)
hope don’s knees don’t give him trouble and your back feels good, too.
nice photos, especially the one with the dude abiding way back there.
glad you can soon have some apple pie with don, along with books you’re enjoying. :)
i’ve added the “thursday murder club” book series to my list. thank you for that and for all previous and future book talk (i’m on a reading roll … now on my fourth book in three weeks … and very happy about that)! :)
also happy that a unique old vase arrived safely yesterday and in one piece, all the way from england!
happy that i just now got a call from the upholsterer … my chair and cushion should be ready soon. been waiting on that since i turned in the chair and fabric more than three months ago … and it should be home by monday at the latest!
also happy and relieved to have seen earl yesterday afternoon and early this morning. wish i could share some great (if i do say so myself) photos of earl eating a peanut in a shell up on the railing, of a peanut dropping and a third photo of him looking over the railing for the peanut he dropped. i tell him not to worry, there’s more food. love that little cutie.
happy, safe thursday to everyone.
kathy
meant to say your monstera is beautiful! you take such good care of your plants.
the biggest plant i have here is a norfolk island pine tree. it is maybe four years old and as wide (near the top) as it is tall, and wider than the coffee table on which it sits … close to three feet, i’m guessing. kind of surprising … i don’t have a “green thumb”, but i try. sadly, we can’t plant it outside, it’s in need of re-potting and i won’t know where else to put it as it grows. also, it’s a family tree so i don’t want to give it away. decisions, decisions …
kathy
Our plants take up a lot of space, all due to the fact that I got houseplant crazy a few years back! I had to water them today and it takes quite a bit of time.
Stay safe, Kathy.
So glad your chair is almost ready, Kathy! And that your vase arrived safely.
Stay safe.
Ah…the monstera. It does need lots of light. Interesting factoid I learned from my son, the notches are not the only thing to look for. The more light it gets, then you start to see the actual Swiss cheese effect. An actual hole in the leaf, like you would find in a slice of Swiss cheese. So I predict…you will start to see that in a few months. Mine was a rescue also from the grocery store last October. Earlier this summer it got its first Swiss cheese leaf. It’s an east facing window…so it takes a bit.
I bought The Thursday Night Book Club a few months ago to read while waiting in the hospital. But I couldn’t get into it because of all the distractions, constant activity and paging, I’ll have to give it another try next. The Margaret Truman mysteries that I am trying to reread, are not doing it for me. Thanks for the recommendation.
Enjoy a day of rest after all your yard work…it looks great! ;)
You know, when I had the monstera on the kitchen table it got a lot of light and I had notches on all the leaves. But I never got the holes in the leaves. We’ll have to see if they occur – this window faces south.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
I would love to have more houseplants, but I have a plant-chewing kitty. What few I have are entrapped on the shelf in my shower, with the doors slid shut. I found out my cat can jump over the shower door, a fact that horrified me since I didn’t want her to get hurt. So, I’ve had to keep my bathroom door shut. No houseplants inside means a profusion of potted outdoor plants, many herbs but also cymbidium, perennials and annuals, and strawberries during the growing season.
I immensely enjoy the Thursday Murder Club series. We discovered Osman when we watched him on Taskmaster, a British-produced game show series, which we love. (Caution: don’t take a drink of liquid or eat a bite of food while watching the antics. You could end up laughing and coughing at the same time.). It can be found on YouTube.
We’ll have to check that out, Wendy!
Stay safe.
I loved The Thursday Murder Club, too! Great characters, and, he has a few sequels to date; looks like he’ll keep going with this theme. Hope so.
Yay!
Stay safe, Barbara.
That’s interesting about the notches in the Monsters plant, or I should say the lack of notches! It is a beautiful plant. I’d like to be sitting in that chair in your garden…maybe with a good book…and a piece of apple pie! Pie sounds good after mowing the lawn…enjoy!
Thanks so much, Barrie. But you might get a bite from a mosquito!
Stay safe.
Oops! Monstera!
xo
You and Don are like pioneers clearing the land – a lot of hard work. You’ve earned that apple pie. Enjoy! Hugs, Elaine
Thanks, Elaine.
Stay safe.
dear Claudia/Don — just tell me what time warm apple pie will be available and I’ll be there with ice cream, haha!! glad you got so much done on yard, looks great. Stay safe
He hasn’t made it yet! Darn it!
Stay safe, Linda.
Oh, Claudia, I love seeing your plants. A lot of mine go outdoors for the summertime and all are doing so well. They always make me so happy.
Just finishing watching “THE ARRAIGNMENT” (or ONE of the Arraignments) on MSNBC. At some points I didn’t think I would live to see this one, Waiting to also hear what Georgia does.
We have the wee one overnight tonight. My son is 45 today and he and DIL went to a concert somewhere up in Oshkosh and will spend the night. We have been playing in her Fairy Garden and she finally seems to really enjoy it so looking forward to her getting here and time to play tonight and tomorrow. She and hubs take a “flashlight walk” every time she stays overnight. What fun they have. We have had so little rain, we have not seen a mosquito yet this year!!!!
Hope you got your mowing done, but didn’t overdo it! It is really hot and humid here today. Have a great evening! Take care.
I can’t wait to hear about Georgia. There are barricades up around the courthouse there…something’s coming.
Your time with your grandchild sounds wonderful and magical.
Stay safe, Chris.
Look at all that lush green. You can tell you’ve had lots of rain this season. I love it too when I finally find the perfect place for a plant to thrive. All my big houseplants are in the room at the front with four big windows shaped like a bay facing east and one additional window facing south. They surround me with green during the long winter months.
I especially love a Yucca tree we’ve had for years and is now 5 feet tall, It sits soaking up the sun in the bay area all morning long. I’m also proud of a huge spider plant I’ve had a long time. Several years ago, I cut off some babies and they’ve grown almost as big. Babies from that second one are in a hanging planter and doing well — 3 generations
Take care,
Kay
I wish we had big windows like that, but we don’t – except for the den, which has a picture window but it’s right next to the porch so it’s shady light. I have a spider plant, too – it’s upstairs in the office. Houseplants are really wonderful, aren’t they?
Stay safe, Kay.
The property is beautiful and well done with the plant! Isn’t Thursday Murder wonderful? And the best part is that you have more books in the series and they are just as laugh-out-loud delightful. I want to know those people!
I love, love it! Yes, I want to hang out with this gang of wonderful characters!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Love your “edge of wild”! Peaceful and calming for the soul.
Thank you so much, Lani.
Stay safe.