zinnias

Today has been a weird day. Mostly I'm feeling a little bit depressed and like I could use a bit of wine and whine time with a friend. However, there were some good things. For example, today Hollyanne began her internship with the Democratic Party. She really enjoyed it. She worked about 6 hours or so and felt really good about the people that she is working with. I'm very proud of her. Even my dad, the Republican, said today that he thought it might be good for her. (This was after a little devilish chuckle, so whatever that means). :-) I volunteered a bit tonight also. It was nice being around people that basically have the same political views as me. That doesn't happen very often. I've inquired about being on the committee for my county. I'll find out more about that as we go, I suppose. I know it will mean time, but I have a lot of that, right? LOL

I got a letter from Tom Harkin today, via snail mail:

Dear Orange Gearle, Senator Beall forwarded your concerns regarding Matt Wilson's difficulties obtaining a discharge from the United States Marines to my office since this is a federal issues rather than a state issue. According to the provisions of the privacy Act of 1974, I am prohibited from releasing private information regarding an individual without that individual's signed authorization. Rest assured that I give prompt attention to any constituent that contacts my office. Your concerns are very important to me. If I can be of further help to you in any other federal matter, feel free to contact me again. Sincerely, Tom Harkin UNITED STATES SENATOR

Ok, so it didn't really say "Orange Gearle", I just changed that part for fun. but the rest is verbatim. There was even a typo, which I bolded for you. :-) I'm impatient and I it frustrates me when I am not 'in the know' and up to date on information. So, this probably added to my mood. Plus Fridays just suck for me all around, I suppose.

However, I did put some added touches on my deck today. So let's focus on that. I'm sitting on my deck listening to Redbird as I write this, to cheer me up! Listen to a bit here and here. Here are some pictures.



Hanging in the middle is a tomato plant. The tomato plant comes out of the bottom of the planter and crawls up it's sides. For some reason my whole family got these from my sister this year. Kinda different. I can't wait for actual fresh tomatoes!!! There's a hanging basket hidden on the other side of the tomato plant. It is some sort of Gazania. It has yellow daisy-like flowers that close as the sun sets, which is happening as I type. And the fireflies are thick!

On the far right of the above picture you can see the Boston Fern that I purchased. Check it out, it's still alive. Look again and come back to this picture often. A picture might be the only way to keep it alive. I decided that I would try one more time to keep a Boston Fern alive. We'll see. It's never worked before, but the mere fact that I purchased another confirms my optimism. :-)



I bought some herbs this year. My previous supplier is no longer around, so I figured I'd start my own business. Ok, I totally wrote the last two sentences because it was just fun to say 'herbs', 'supplier' and 'business' in the same paragraph. I'm such a dork. Anyway, I have four different kinds, in four different pots -- yes I said pots -- teehee. Ok, I'll stop that now. For some reason the pot on the far right, containing oregano, looks like it's yellow in this picture. No matter how I mess with the color of this picture it looks yellow. It's actually a magnificant lime green color. Wish you could see it.



Zinnias! I bought them just for their name (and the fact that these contain a bit of orange helps). I bought Zinnias because next to Gerbera Daisies, they are my favorite. They always make me think of a song from the Broadway musical Barnum. I was fortunate growing up to have a mother that loved music. Her brother lived in NYC and both times that she visited him there, she went to musicals. One of the times she brought back the soundtrack to Barnum. I know every song, trust me. One of the songs, called There is a Sucker Born Every Minute has this verse:

If I allow that right here in my hands The smallest living human man The sight of that is surely worth a dime If I present an educated pooch Who’s trained to dance the hoochie cooch What better way to waste a bit of time If I imported monumental cost A lady, fair, who’s head was lost While crossing railroad tracks to pick some zinnias Who eats farina through a hose And wares pink tights instead of clothes If that ain’t worth a buck my name ain’t Phineas

If you are familiar with this musical about the life of P.T. Barnum at all, you know this song. It is sung very fast! So, anyway, that is why I bought Zinnias. They make me smile.