Thursday, 31 May 2018
We picnicked tonight—the kind of picnic where we go to the neighborhood deli and get goodies, then take them to…tahdah!…our niece’s new place,* her first with her fiancé. Yay.
And the rich desserts did me in. The happy kind….
* Interesting window patterns in the new place, a duplex in a nice old neighborhood not far from our own. Humid out tonight, drippy humid, so it was good to eat inside in the AC….
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
We have been in the outer rain band zone of Alberto for quite a while. All day today, too. Here’s a rain phase. Windy, too.
And here’s a brilliant-sun phase of the dark-light cycle.
Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Our plantings include two kinds of gardenias. These are the sockets of the blooms I’ve posted a time or two recently. They are done done.
And, at the other end of the planting, are these…blossoms with more layers of petals. Are they “doubles,” “more complex,” whatever is the term? Their scent is different, still gardenia, however, and still intoxicating.
Monday, 28 May 2018
At the moment, I’m calling this a pork stack. It’s a composed meal with a rice mixture (that I won’t buy again) on the bottom, then a mixed veg layer (mostly greens—bok choy and spinach, plus green onions), then sautéed pork loin medallions on top. Soy, no ginger or garlic (forgotten) for the main sauce-y flavorings. And, on the very top, a scatter of the green parts of the green onions for visual interest and flavor.
Just whipped it up, and that’s why I forgot several bits I would have added if I had taken longer. I’m really proud that I managed to make it in one pan (rice) and one skillet (the other two, veg first, then meat).
This isn’t particularly original, as it’s essentially a stir-fry. Tasty, however!
Sunday, 27 May 2018
I saw these blooms poking through this fence, and I thought, aha, there’s my post photo.
Then, I came across this hydrangea, and I thought, hmm, which is my photo?
When I later came across this delicate bloom, I thought, well, it’s not so easy to choose.
So, here’s a trio, and you pick your fave. I sure couldn’t.
Saturday, 26 May 2018
This tulip poplar seed cone has fallen from its perch, its progress frozen in time. What a display on the sidewalk, however!
Similarly, these gardenias are fading. The pristine white blooms turn yellowish and darken after a bit, eventually becoming brown and desiccated. The smell lingers longer than you’d expect.
Friday, 25 May 2018
Tough to lose your Jack of Hearts. Jack just hangin’ on the sidewalk…a few blocks from the middle school—was it lost by a student?
And here’s what a late magnolia blossom looks like…headed for dehydration and desiccation of the petals, while the seed part continues to develop.
Thursday, 24 May 2018
From the organic world, a flower (natch).
From the physical [umhm] physics world, a prismatic rainbow.
Wednesday, 23 May 2018
I have no sense of scale, the Guru said about this shell. It was perhaps just over a centimeter long. And under an apple tree (on the sidewalk). I choose to believe that the wind/rain overnight tipped it out of the nest, leaving the already hatched wee-bird safely behind.
I admit to an outsized attraction to ferniness—not a word, I suppose, but should be! The laciness of ferns is so aesthetically appealing, is it to my reptile brain?
I did not intend to select a pair of sidewalk photos, but that’s what I did. Hmmmm.
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
We voted today. Officials moved our voting spot to…well, I checked—fifty walking minutes away. We used to have a nice ritual of walking to our voting spot, in our library branch, a mere 16 minutes away…a lovely distance for a citizen-day outing.
Plus, this time we voted in a church—and not in the basement, but right there in the church part. We had to go up two steps onto the altar area to get our “credit card” to activate the voting machine (did not ask if they got up for people with wheelchairs or walkers). Also, I had to slog along a pew from the center aisle to get over to the side where the voting confessionals were lined up along the outside walls…but that edge aisle was too narrow for anyone to walk behind the voters without peeking…hence my pew stumble.
Still, I managed to keep my Stacys straight, and I had evaluated most of the down-ticket candidates at home, except, geeze, I didn’t know about all those issue/questions [they’re always terribly tricky to parse on the fly]. Seems like I almost always find a surprise on my ballot*—note to self: get better voting info….
* I remember when I began to vote that taped down on the front table was ALWAYS a [printed] copy of the ballot we soon would be handed, appropriately marked with a big red X across the entire page or otherwise made unusable. Anyway, no surprises after looking at that! Of course, on the other hand, there was no checking the internet on the fly for candidate info. Heh. …and, yes, the title and picture reference two kinds of railing. Heh-heh.