Every Single Thing Went in the Dumpster

Our elderly neighbor died and her sons are cleaning out her house, filling three dumpsters so far. They seem to be throwing out everything she owned: clothing, pots and pans, furniture, tools, old bank records, Christmas wrap, suitcases...everything.

Terry had to walk by the latest dumpster and couldn't resist peeking in. He brought home a brand new bushel basket and two new rolls of paper towels. So of course I had to run over and look, too.

I saw immediately that their goal must be to expend no energy or money on sorting, saving, or selling, which I said I could understand, but then was horrified when I saw a library book lying there. I fished it out, of course.

As long as I was at it, I claimed some other things, too, including a brand new electric frying pan that had never been opened, some retro aluminum canisters, a few canning things, a perfect aluminum muffin tin, a depression era quilt, and (Terry took this) a bowling bowl personalized with the neighbor's name, Harriet.


I think we got an early start on some Christmas shopping.

Dinner Invitation

While I was figuring out what to have for dinner last night, and wondering where Terry was, he called to say Bridget was giving him a ride home and they were on their way.

After I hung up and thought about it for a minute, I called him back.

Me: Hey, let's ask Bridget if she wants to have dinner with us.

Terry: Great! Whaddya got?

Me: Pork chops with parsley/basil sauce, and we have a ton of peppers. I'll think of something.

Terry: Bridget--stay for dinner!

I hear muffled talking.

Terry: Bridget says thanks, but she has a turkey leg in her purse.

Cyndi's Bird Story

Cyndi told us about birds making a nest in one of her plants.

"I was watering my hanging flowers on the porch and a bird, one of those little red finches, flew out of one of them. I thought oh no, that's not good. Cute, but they ruin plants and this one was expensive, plus I'd had one like it in Alaska and had been looking for one like it for years. So I didn't want to sacrifice it for a bird's nesting spot."

"I took the plant down and looked at it. There was the most perfect little compact nest. On the bottom there was a price tag, $13.99, neatly molded to the round bottom of the nest. There were grasses, plus a couple of cigarette butts, all fluffed up, but fit smoothly into the sides. You could see vermiculite from potting soil poked in here and there."

"I felt bad, but I took it out because I really did not want that plant ruined!"

"Later I noticed a pair of finches sitting on the trellis by the plant. They were just sitting, side by side, facing the nest for the longest time. It was exactly like they were talking it over. 'No more nest! What'll we do? I don't know, what do you think?' Except they weren't making any noise, just sitting there, looking and looking."

"That evening I looked in the plant. There were two eggs where the nest had been. And I haven't seen them since. I guess they decided, well, it's too late for anything else, you'll just have to lay them there."

Dear David and Cathy

Cathy, you sent the best card and letter at Christmas with a photo of your horse, and David's old show bridle, which I loved. I hope we get to see your place and meet all of your animals some day...of course I understand that now is a bad time but please let us know if and when you'd ever consider it. We like to have a project to help with instead of being entertained so maybe that will trick you into letting us come visit.

And I thought maybe if I did this electronically a letter would actually get sent instead of just rattling around in my head. I started this blog a while ago but only my sister has read it, and Terry. It's just for practice.

So it has been too hot everywhere, even up here in Wisconsin (especially up here?), but when the weekend comes and the garden is in danger of disappearing under the weeds, we get out there anyway. By "we" I mean Terry, of course.
And it happens eventually, like today...but first we have to walk around holding cups of coffee, looking at things. It was easy to decide to pick some raspberries first, because those are my favorite things to eat (except strawberries, which did NOTHING this year so no point even mentioning them).
Then we needed a break so I hung some clothes out, Terry made a list for the grocery store, and we went to buy groceries including garden produce because Terry gave Cully and Laura all the ripe stuff we had from the garden when we went up Thursday night to help them move the last couple of things from Laura's apartment into Cully's.

When we came back from the store I had visions of making a really good lunch but we had leftover pizza instead. Then it was time to look at the garden again and really decide what to tackle. But instead of doing that I looked at all the flowers I planted. I always wanted bunches and bunches of tall annuals to cut however many I wanted for bouquets in the house and this year I have them.
I also love the scent of lavender and grow that. I snip the flowers and then dry them in the living room window because it's so hot and sunny there.

I have experimented with sewing little sachets for them for putting in dresser drawers so your clothes smell good.

Almost every single time I go out and snip the lavender flowers our next door neighbor Virginia, who lives to garden and take care of her huge lawn, comes out and asks what I'm doing.

I also wanted to mention the animals we have. Here's where one of them lives.
Terry likes to greet him or her with a shovel whenever he can. But this family of groundhogs has a real survival instinct.

We also have raccoons who love to visit with us. We take them for a ride out to the fancy neighborhood on Lake Mendota and let them go so they can get to know other people, too.
So I guess that's plenty of our garden tour for now. I'm inside in the air conditioning writing this while Terry finishes weeding the worst spots, which happened to be the leeks and onions. In a while we're headed to my parents to help them with hanging a quilt thing mom made for above their staircase and then to their neighbors' for a cook-out.

We think of you all the time and treasure the notes you both send. You guys are terrific writers and have a beautiful optimistic and can-do spirit of handling whatever comes your way, which is inspiring. I know you draw strength from each other, your faith and, I hope, from the support and love of your extended family.
Shirley

I Didn't Know They Came From Eggs

Sometimes I have to side with the authorities when it comes to reporting grammar crimes, even though I have a record myself. This one was just asking to be reported!

Ambush

A few weekends ago a stranger rang the doorbell and I answered. It was a thirty-something white woman with a long braid down her back who, when I opened the door, looked me earnestly in the eye while clutching a construction paper-covered tin can with both hands, took a deep breath, and said "I'm an unemployed, funny mom who wrote a 15 second comedy song to the tune of O Holy Night. Would you like to hear it?"

I froze, trying to comprehend what was happening. She had a tin can...for money? She was knocking on doors, asking for money in a creative way? Wow...but now I was supposed to say "sure," politely listen, then pay her what I thought the song was worth? Or what I thought she should have? Or...I couldn't think what to do! I was so intensely uncomfortable that after a few seconds I finally managed to get out a "no thanks" and shut the door.

I've been second-guessing myself ever since, mostly about being a Scrooge.

Then last week there was another encounter with a different person. My adult daughter and I drove up to my house after dark, waiting for a pedestrian to continue walking past the opening of the driveway. Instead she waited as we pulled in, got out, then walked towards us. It was a young black woman in a stylish leather jacket, saying "Hi, I'm Amy, don't worry, I'm not a killer! I'm just wondering if you can loan me bus fare so I can meet my son! I feel really stupid asking, but I'm broke until payday and I could pay you back next week!"

"Um, we could just give you a ride there, I mean my husband and I could," I said, hesitantly...he was pulling up behind us in a second car.

"Well, no, I can take the bus," Amy said heartily. "I just need a few dollars for bus fare."

After a few minutes conversation including an offer of three dollars, Amy walked away with five dollars--"how about just an extra dollar or two for a pop."

I am sorry for anyone who feels they need to ask strangers for money, straight up or disguised in a ruse...but both of those times left me feeling like the loser, and I keep trying to figure out why.

Parade of Chicken Homes

Terry is yearning to build a chicken coop and keep a few hens. I'm intrigued by the idea, too, but stymied by the problem of finding chicken-sitters when we leave town for a few days. It's a lot to ask of neighbors when it's fifteen degrees below zero or raining nonstop.

That might not be an issue if we lived in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, which held the Tour des (Chicken) Coops yesterday--a self-guided walking tour of family chicken-keeping operations in the heart of the city. Dozens of people, including us, took them up on the invitation on a hot, sunny June afternoon.

The gently eccentric mentality of Madison's near east side translated into glimpses past perimeters of deeply shaded sidewalks and shared driveways into hidden, miniature, complicated backyards, with murals painted on sheds, walkways dotted with blooms, creative landscaping with scavenged materials, and--of course--chicken coops tucked away in a corner, or featured as the focal point of the whole space.

We were delighted to find one man's tiny yard contained not only a spacious chicken coop, but an espaliered apple tree (bought from Shopko 15 years ago), and a beehive--with plenty of greenery and space shielding it all from view as well as containing paths of hay leading to other, undiscovered features and an iron bed installed for climbing plants.