Saturday, April 27, 2024

Coming Soon

A new store is coming to the shopping centre where I do my daily walking...


Seeing the signs, Terry regularly asks me if they're open yet...


Not yet - but its getting close...


Lots of boxes of clothing have arrived. Next step, I suppose, is putting things on the racks! 

Friday, April 26, 2024

How Big is the Amaryllis?!

I didn't realize that your amaryllis was that tall,  my daughter commented when she walked into the room. Close-up photos don't give an accurate sense of its size.



How big is it? I wondered... and measured...



From the pot to the tip of the flower was 31 inches (79 cm).

The first flower to bloom was 8 inches by 7 inches... (20 cm by 18 cm).



I wonder if this is what the plant measured last year when it first bloomed for me, its bulb encased in wax... Or was the enriched soil I transplanted the bulbs in - the soil that claimed to grow bigger plants - the reason why the plant is now so tall?! 
I wonder...

Thursday, April 25, 2024

One More Hour ☀️


I took these pictures at daybreak 10 days ago - after we had our last snowfall (which, thankfully, disappeared quickly).


Today we mark another hour of daylight added to our lengthening days of spring. It has taken 20 days to gain that hour. 


Sunset comes later, too...

We now enjoy 14 hours of daylight as we head towards our annual maximum: 15 hours and 40 minutes - at the rate of about 3 minutes more sunlight per day.

(Four months ago, at our lowest point, we had only 8 hours and 43 minutes. 

For people like me - whose mood is greatly affected by sunlight - it does make a difference!

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Kitty is 50!

Years ago, my daughter got some "Hello Kitty" pajama pants... (Hmmm... Spell check wants me to spell it pyjama!)

That was my introduction to "Hello Kitty" - a Japanese cartoon character, who this year turns 50 years old! I had never noticed "Hello Kitty" until my then-teenage daughter started getting a few things.... Later a "Hello Kitty" phone was added to the collection.


I was alerted to this cartoon character birthday / anniversary by a sign in the mall where I take s daily walk.


The thought occurred to me that the creator of this character could have lived well all her life off the earnings of her art... but possibly not. Wikipedia tells me that she was an employee of a company that made plastic shoes decorated with cartoon characters. I wonder if she was fairly compensated before she left the company..,


So there seems to be a wave of nostalgia - as I'm seeing Hello Kitty everywhere. My favourite is this journal.


But 50 years?! How is it possible?! A reminder that time flies!

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Only Half the Story

My daughter recently sent us this picture she took...


Yikes!


The story behind this picture is that these two people were patiently waiting for their daughter to decide which plants to buy.

Standing is tiring - so they looked for  somewhere to sit. Finding no bench nearby, they sat on the only seats they could find.


(Then the picture was taken!)

Lesson learned: Even pictures don't tell the whole story!... 

(Though, had the store been empty, Terry might have enjoyed taking the vehicle for a spin.)

Monday, April 22, 2024

Second Amaryllis in Bloom


My bright red amaryllis ended its blooming season last week...


 And now the second of my four bulbs has started to bloom.


It was lovely to see the three flowers begin to emerge from the bud...


Now one has dropped down...


Tomorrow it may open up even further.


It's happening so slowly... that I'm able to see it  bloom - as if in slow motion!

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Visitor

My daughter noticed a small visitor on her car.


Not enough branches in our neighbourhood?

As long as you don't plan to build a nest...!