World Cup Soccer

The kind of foootball the rest of the world is excited about has never been as popular in the United States. And I haven't paid much attention.

But this year I agreed to join a soccer "polla" with family for the World Cup competition. Points are given for guessing winners and correct scores. I am doing reasonably well at my mostly random guessing--at least I am in the middle of the pack for now. Craziest thing I've been talked into since my fleeting foray into Fantasy Football!

In eight years the games will be played in North America. Two Florida cities are included as possibilities and I have connections that could provide tickets. So 2026--I'm in! Who knows. I may be living in Florida by then!

Word of the Day: HOT!

 I watered my pots late morning, just before the excessive heat warnings for the weekend began officially at 12 noon. The area weather map is all hot-pink.

I will hit two other properties briefly later in the day, adding some algaecide to the uncle's waterfall pond and watering some dry spots in the church garden.

It didn't feel so bad in the shade. But by the time I came inside, my t-shirt was drenched. The heat index is very high (the dew-point well over 70) and there is no evaporation. I do not go outside much when it is over 90 degrees! I am a pansy, not a rose! Or a tomato. They love the heat. A small first tomato is ripe on the potted plant labeled "4th of July."

Sitting comfortably now inside--bra-less in a tank top and barefoot, I am not suffering. I feel for those who are. I feel like even the birds are too hot to eat from the feeder I filled to the brim yesterday. Do they fly to catch a breeze, or does the expended energy just contribute to possible heat stroke? That would be my dilemma if I were a bird!

Some reports are that the heat index could reach 100 or even 110 degrees! That's insane! Inhumane!

Even though I am comfortable, I had a bowl of Breyer's butter pecan for lunch. It's the least I could do to beat the heat!

I know. Too many exclamation points...

That's what excessive heat does to me!

Death and Taxes

As "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace" the "retired" life of mostly gardening and golf here in West Michigan mostly bumps along with a certain same-old same-old feel.

However, we are preparing our rental house, which we have owned for 20 years, for sale. So that is always on my mind, even though I am not doing much of the work. I took the only decent drapery rods home--just in case--on Saturday. I made a trip last night to put out the trash and recycling. I am cleaning up the debris from the recently trimmed bushes. I had to "sign off" on everything else on the property. The last thing I took home before the drapery rods was two fire extinguishers--things you never want to use but presumably remain viable if they are not.

And I have mixed feeling after 20 years of ownership! Will I feel badly if I drive by and the lawn is not mowed? Our neighbors have been frightful ... no more!

Even as we hope to collect profits from the sale of the house, we face taxes--one of those two unavoidable realities of life.

And in other news, people keep dying (some in their sixties!), reminding me of how brief life can be!

I was not a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain, but I did watch when he visited a country I was interested in. Like Colombia. But it is always sad when someone feels the need to commit suicide. And Kate Spade ... I have her purse!

Impacting the Fox News crew this week (and me) was the death of Dr. Charles Krauthammer. His life story is so remarkable! And he had become the leading conservative intellectual columnist and commentator in the country, reminiscent of others before, like William F. Buckley, Jr.

Krauthammer was appreciated by all who knew him. Brit Hume, who is a Christian, reflected that Krauthammer (a non-practicing Jew), did not share his (Brit's) faith, but couldn't imagine that God would not want Charles around! And I, too, would hope that he and his wheelchair sped through the pearly gates without judgment. But I have no assurance of that passage.

There are a few simple rules for entry into God's presence...

Speaking of "crossing over," if it turns out that heaven's rules are enforced as loosely as our country's border policies, well then maybe ... but it is not for us to say.

Crying babies "ripped from their mother's arms" at the border or unaccompanied youngsters housed in metal cages has been the media focus of the week. Nobody wants that!

What is surprising is that some of the same people who claim to care so deeply about children, have no problem with a woman's right to have her late term baby be "ripped" from her womb.

The hypocrisy of selective moral outrage!

Even as my life bumps along into what is now officially summer, the 24-hour news cycle moves at a dizzying pace.

The historic meeting of this administration (my button is bigger than yours) with the North Korean dictator (little rocket man) and the prospect of denuclearization, and the possible reunification of the Korean peninsula is almost forgotten as the issues on the southern border are once again front and center in the news.

My escape to Netflix was further stressing, even as we finished the second and last season of Dr. Foster last night! I couldn't wait to finally get to the end, after all the trauma! But no spoilers...

Time to get back into the gardens to enjoy the happy surprises I find there, as each new lily opens with a gorgeous forgotten color!

Out of the Garden and Out on the Town

Strawberry salad at Bistro Bella Vita

Saturday began hot and rainy. It was great to have a break from all the watering and weeding, even though I spent the morning in the gardens of the 25th annual Ottawa Hills garden tour. It was just 3 years ago that my daughter's garden was featured on this tour and I was weeding and watering like crazy to help her achieve garden perfection, if only for the day. Now she has just 3 plants in a lower Manhattan one bedroom apartment.

Last week Saturday I toured a hosta garden with 750 different named cultivars, sporting red Crocs boots and an umbrella. On yesterday's tour I just got wet, happy to be cooled down by the constant drizzle. Yes, we are having some more hot pre-summer weather.

So O. and I snooped in about 10 backyards to see delights you miss when just driving by. I kept my camera phone dry and zipped away in my purse. Once again Howard promised to share a slip of his special daylily if we would return in July. He is now in his early 80's and still fit, sharp, and enthused about his yard.

If I can take away one good idea, discover one new plant, I call that a success for any garden tour or club event. O. snagged a handful of a new color of lamium and we were promised a piece of that daylily.

So after the two tours I bought a Wheee! hosta at Countryside Greenhouse--which O. and I both found irresistible. She bought a bigger one last week, but hey--it's a hosta! Give it a year and it may be enormous.

My new Wheee!

I was also intrigued by a nice castor bean plant--impressive and a little bit naughty, with its poison beans. Think ricin.

I got home in time to dry out and dress for a play--a 4:00 performance of "The Most Reluctant Convert" featuring the words of C.S. Lewis. After all the walking in the rain (and waking early to dye my hair before the first tour) and shopping, I found myself very sleepy in the dark and cushy theater seats. In fact, I briefly dozed off. As soon as I started breathing heavily (snoring?) I got nudged awake.

Along with two other couples, by 6:00 we were sipping adult beverages (a small glass of wine for me--didn't want to fall asleep again!), eating the above strawberry salad and sharing a delicious pizza with the husband who shared his pork chop dinner with me. And we shared a macaron dessert. The macarons were not NYC quality, but the ice cream was decadent.

It was good to take a break from the rain, the heat, and the weeding, to enjoy some adult company and (wholesome) adult entertainment--even if I briefly fell asleep! And I haven't had a proper meal out since that amazing steak dinner in Fidi on April 21.

Rustica? pizza

Mickey Mouse Macarons?

Another Orchid Blooms Again

The orchid from Grandma Rose's funeral has bloomed once again. This orchid never photographs true to color (it's more purple) but the blooms are gorgeous. Seeing this plant come to life in its original pot, bursting at the seams, makes it all worthwhile. I have been watering it from the bottom more frequently this spring than I think is prudent, but this amount of foliage seems to suck it up!

What's interesting about this photo is the reflection on the wall from the new skylights. It's a ghost bird!

Who knows the hymn numbers??

Backyard Beauty

Tiny blooms on the rosa glauca

The month of May flew by, with rain and record-setting high temps keeping me indoors more than usual. May is the month I like to sit out on the deck with a cup of coffee in the morning. Somehow that didn't happen this year. And those Big Easy chairs remain virgin.

But now, in early June, the weather has moderated and I have been in the backyard, if not lounging on the deck. The perennials are big and blooming and the birds are singing loudly and feeding happily from the newly-baffled feeder. I was actually surprised to see four peony plants blooming gloriously in my shady yard.

Columbine gone wild!

The columbine plants that I allowed to reseed grew extraordinarily tall this year. I don't have any roses here except the blue rose above, which has very tiny and insignificant blooms. The allium, now fading, were tall and stately. The dwarf lilac's scent was intoxicating. Only 4 poppies were blooming by Memorial Day, so not a good year for the poppies. I love the unfolding sequence of spring blooms and sometimes wish I had an excuse to just sit idly and enjoy it more.

One reason I didn't sit outside so much was that it has been noisy. Our street has been worked on early in the morning (beeping of vehicles backing up, etc. at 7AM) for several weeks. I have been documenting the process on Facebook. Today the street was cleared and swept clean, which must mean that the final paving is going to happen soon. It has been a noisy obstacle course out there, and my street-side lawn has been torn up significantly. I can't wait for a new smooth street. I had no idea how complicated it was to fix one block!

I am behind ... with weeds growing swiftly and the planting of flats moving slowly. I simply must finish this week!

Maybe next week I can leisurely sip coffee on the deck. And there had better not be any bugs joining me. June is when the bugs really wake up. And I don't want them waking up with me!

*Apologies for all the -ly words. I usually valiantly attempt to avoid them, but today it was impossibly difficult!