The garden is really changing daily now - daffs mostly just a fond memory,
bleeding hearts the most spectacular bloom this week, rhods and peonies and allium and so much else just waiting for these three days' rain to pass to burst into color. We are working on the triangle section mostly these days, as we had a tree right in the center removed last year, which of course changes everything. Too bad it had to go, but several ornamental trees, thought I guess to stay small forever, grew over twenty feet since we arrived and were just too close to the house for comfort. When the big winds come up (and they are really BIG WINDS) even the huge oaks get whipped around like grass, so we like a nice wide barrier between us and anything that might crash through the roof.
Aside from gardening, two other news items worth mentioning. First, the ongoing plumbing problems, which have been plaguing us for several months. We had pipes blown out, water softener system rerouted, septic tank cleaned (thankfully that was NOT the problem, insert your own joke here), and finally Brian pretty much dug up the dry well and we had all that reconfigured too. I am delighted to report that for the last two weeks, we've been able to run the dishwasher and the washing machine without any mopping up of floors (our laundry room got very clean in those months of overflow). Please note the charming pink duct tape (thank you, Maia) that helped these efforts.
Second, both Brian and I have finally gotten some classes to teach, both on Wednesday evenings. His is being funded by a grant, so the class is free to the students, and you can imagine how happy those students are to get Brian's level of expertise for free. Mine are through SUNY Orange in Middletown. I've got a rabidly enthusiastic group of 13 for Old English Beginning Calligraphy, so enthusiastic that they literally demanded a second 4-week course so we could get through the alphabet. They are lovely people, so nice to each other as well as to me, it's a delight to teach. I had forgotten how much fun it is to share calligraphy skills and stories with such a rapt audience. And I also did a one-time workshop teaching the hand-done Japanese bind for small books.
While only three women showed up for this one, I still enjoyed the time spent. I've been wanting to run these classes for the entire seven years we've been here - so at last I have two hours' gainful employment each week. Does this mean the economy is really picking up? As I've been in the sad category of "stopped looking for work" for quite a while now, my statistical improvement may not be the spike the economy needs.
That's it from here, what news out there?
