Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Camellias And Other Things


Hank needed a ride to get his stitches out this morning and so I got up a little early and drove into town to help him out with that. It took about five minutes and all is well. The cyst was tested and it is indeed just a cyst. 
Jessie had texted yesterday that she had an appointment to give blood at 10:45 at the biggest and oldest nursery in town and would I like to go with her and we could walk around the nursery? 
For sure! 
So after I left Hank's I went to the Weatherford's and Jessie showed me this cartoon that August had drawn. Let me help you interpret it. 
The first panel says, "In the woods." 
The second says, "Is a tent." 
The third says, "In the tent," 
Next: "is a person." And then, "In the person...is a heart." 
"In the heart...is blood."
"In the muscle...is cells." 

Jessie explained to me what the picture and words on the side are but I've forgotten. 
There is so much about this I love. That the person is a baby and that the baby has a heart and of course that the baby is in a tent in the woods. I love that picture with the tent drawn with perspective. 
I also love the combination of sweetness and science. Blood, muscles, cells are in that sweet baby heart. 

Oh, how lovely it is to be a grandmother. 

The view out of Jessie's kitchen window right now.

Japanese Magnolia. 


It is like spring here right now. It feels, smells, and sounds like spring. Some of the azaleas have started to bloom. I really doubt though, that mine will. I think they got too frozen. 

So Jess and I went to the nursery and she gave blood and got a gift certificate which is very cool. While she was allowing them to take the blod (see above) from her arm, I strolled around the grounds. I looked at some camellias and also the palms. I was not thrilled by the palms and I definitely discovered another variety I WILL NEVER BE PLANTING. 


It's a Washington palm and although the fronds were fine, the stems come supplied with shark teeth. And they are exactly as sharp as they look. Even if that palm grew Godiva truffles, I would not plant it. It makes me wince to look at. 

Because I spied someone I did not want to talk with in the least, I walked over to the blood-giving bus and hid behind it where I discovered many more camellias! 
Thank you person I did not want to talk to! 
Oh my god, y'all. There are so many beautiful varieties. Here are a few I took pictures of. 


That's a regular Rose Dawn and not a purple one. It is beautiful though, isn't it? 


I'm pretty sure this is a Tom Knudsen camellia and the glory of that red just about did me in. It is deep and it is hypnotic. 

Did you know there's a Glen 40 camellia? I did not but here it is. 


I sent Mr. Moon a picture. 

And this one!


You would never guess the name. 
It's Buttons 'n' Bows. 
Of course.

There was a Purple Rose Dawn but I was not as thrilled with it as I thought I would be. I should have bought it anyway. And the Tom Knudsen and of course the Buttons 'n' Bows and oh...hell, I wanted desperately wanted to buy almost all of them. I could turn my yard into a camellia garden. 
It would be cheaper to build an in-ground swimming pool. 
Oh well- what's money for? 
I did buy one. One camellia and it's not even a Camellia Japonica but a Camellia Sasangua which means it will bloom fairly early but according to what I have read, possibly into January. And it does have purple hues and it is called Purple Haze Sasangua Camellia. 


As you can see, it has a smaller blossom as the Sasanguas do. 

I am so excited. 

Jessie bought a Sasangua too and we will both have fun, trying to decide where to plant them. She bought a little tray of kale and I bought eight starts of chard. The ones I planted from seed have all died. 

We went to lunch, of course, because that is what ladies do and we are definitely ladies. 
Well, by my definition. 

And then we picked up Levon and went back to Jessie's house. Levon had a piano lesson at 2:00. August is taking ballet and tap. I asked Jessie how he's liking ballet and she says that he reports that it's easy. 
"Of course it is," I said. "His little body will do anything he wants it to."

We both sighed. 

I think my next online purchase is going to be a gardener's kneeling bench. Whatever it takes to keep my hands in the dirt. 

Tomorrow is Ross's memorial. I am NOT looking forward to that at all but I will be so glad I went and there is no way I cannot go. 

We carry on. 

Love...Ms. Moon



35 comments:

  1. pretty posies, soft pink is a heart breaker isn't it? Maggie across the street has a bush, the flowers are quick, spectacular. and then gone. Blink! faster than rhody blossoms! A gift certificate in lieu of blood is a nice trade! Wouldn't be enough for me- I would want one million dollars. Dennis just gets a pat on the back and a cracker.

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    1. Dennis is getting scammed. Jessie even got some gator aid. Which, personally, I would do a certain amount of bleeding to avoid.
      Do you think that your neighbor's camellia is an aberration? Do camellias grow where you are?

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  2. I love the camellias. Thank you. I hope someone keeps that comic strip, well, graphic strip, really.

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    1. I hope so too. It's pretty precious. But hey! As long as Blogger keeps us online, it'll be here.

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  3. August's short story about cells and blood is precious. It should go in his permanent file, as the camellia should go in your garden. And you should buy a kneeling bench. I gave mine to my daughter when I downsized.

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    1. That little story just charms me so. I AM going to buy a kneeling bench. Hell yes.

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  4. I love camellias but they are gone so quickly. And the flowers turn to mush and make the steps slippery. Maybe I could find somewhere else to plant them.
    Kids' drawings and their interpretation of life are priceless.
    The memorial will be hard and it should be. A good man lost for all the wrong reasons. Not hard on you, though. I'm not making much sense.

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    1. Well, camellias do not last very long. But for their short lives, they are hard to beat for beauty.
      Don't you love seeing how children see the world?
      The memorial was very hard. What a loss.

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  5. Camellias are so beautiful. Ah well, the closest I can come to that is peony. I think I would be more inclined to give blood if I got a gift certificate to a garden centre.

    My favorite camellia, Buttons and Bows.

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    1. Peonies are gorgeous! I love them too and we cannot grow them here. Boo.
      There's something very fitting about getting a gift certificate to a gardening center for donating blood, isn't there?
      Buttons and Bows is pretty darn amazing.

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  6. Thank you for the translation, I'll admit to having a little trouble, although I understood "blod" and "musl" and "in the woods". all of those camellias are so beautiful. If I had a yard and the right weather I'd have a camellia garden. In the hills area a short bus ride away there are camellias everywhere.

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    1. I do have somewhat of a camellia garden but suddenly- that is not enough!!!!
      August is just figuring out spelling and words. He'll get there.

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  7. I'll be thinking about you at the memorial, sending love and all the things.

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  8. I absolutely loved the "n the tit"!! Who wouldn't? I remember helping my little one to find words beginning with "ch", so suggested "cheese", and "chair", when he shouted out "oh, I got one - chruck"! Out of the mouths of babes eh!

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  9. Absolutely abhor funerals, memorials... A good send-off at your local bar or pub is for me. TOO much sadness and too many tears. We should be celebrating their journey to a more beautiful place...Do I still attend? Only if I really knew the person.
    hugs
    Donna

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    1. Everyone at this gathering knew Ross. Of that I am sure. And there were tears but there was laughter. This was not your regular memorial service. I have a feeling that a lot of the people there were enjoying one of Ross's favorite things in life- a good dose of cannabis.

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  10. August's cartoon is amazing! I love how he progressed from larger to smaller, thinking of things within things. I'm glad you explained it though because I never would have figured it out on my own.

    Glad you got your little detour through the camellia patch, but I'm very curious about this person you didn't want to talk to! I'm just nosey, like any good reporter.

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    1. August's brain is really something, I think. That whole cartoon just amazed me.
      As to the person I did not want to talk to- long, long, LONG story and wouldn't you know, I was about two people away from her brother at the service today. I did not want to see him either.

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  11. August's cartoon is wonderful! What an interesting brain he has, ballet and blood cells and muscles, tents drawn with perfect perspective, tender babies properly swaddled, and such excellent storytelling. Yes indeed, being a grandmother is wonderful. I can't wait! I love your wanderings with Jessie, such a lovely mother daughter friendship. You have such total and complete ease in her presence.

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    1. I just love the swaddled baby. Oh- you just cannot know how fiercely you are going to love your grandchildren. I just hope it happens soon!
      I love hanging out with my kids, even just to go to the doctor to get stitches out. And yes, Jessie knows me to my bones.

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  12. Gorgeous camellias! I definitely need at least one more.

    I really dislike funerals. Mainly because of all the religious bullshit and eulogies by preachers. Or maybe eulogies in general. When Marc's father died we would not have known whose funeral we were at if we didn't know. I mean his two siblings that spoke about Danny, well, suffice it to say our experience with the man couldn't have been more different and not in a good way. I'd much rather go to a gathering where everybody partied and traded stories. I guess that's what wakes are supposed to be but all the ones I've gone to were somber affairs. I want drinking drugs and laughter! I used covid to avoid three funerals from Marc's side of the family.

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    1. Maybe camellias are like tattoos- you get one and then you need another and then another...
      This service today was not religious unless you consider a sort of Rasta outlook as religious. And I am quite certain that a lot of people there were stoned. And the guy who sort of emceed the whole thing was a very close friend of Ross's. The people who spoke were either very good friends or family. No bullshit. At all.

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  13. When we moved to Louisiana from New York in 1969, our little rent house had a small Japanese Magnolia tree by the carport that bloomed around Christmas Time. Never had seen one before but I loved it so much!!! Lot more than I loved Louisiana, I can tell you!

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    1. Louisiana can be a hard place to live but some people do love it so. I'm sorry you didn't but glad that you at least had a pretty tree by your carport.

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  14. I hope there will be happy memories and laughter shared at Ross' memorial tomorrow.

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  15. thinking of you today, going to Ross's memorial. It will be a very heavy day..... heavy....as in SO many emotions and interactions. I was sending telepathic love, knowing what you were doing. Your grands are all so clever, I am amazed. And the camelias....... my fave is still the Pink Perfection.....along with one called *purple* something that you posted a pic of a few days ago. Wish I could grow them here but nope, won't be happening. I'm lucky to keep our 2 avocado trees and one apricot tree alive! I lift my wine glass to you and Mr Moon and to Ross tonight, and I mean that from my heart.
    Susan M

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    1. Avocado and apricot trees are wonderful! You will just have to make do with pictures of my camellias. I am hoping they'll start making new buds after that freeze we had.
      Thank you for your thoughts today. It was indeed a heavy day.

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  16. Your camellias always make my day. So gorgeous - and the ones at the nursery are not as pretty as those light pink feathery ones that grow at your house! ;)

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  17. I know that feeling of seeing people you do not want to talk to. Good job the blood donation bus was there to hide you while you explored The Land of the Camellias.

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  18. That cartoon August drew is so great in perspective and content. Definitely a keeper. Hope that the memorial wasn't too stressful. Hugs from the freezing south of France. x0x0 N2

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.