Beginner Gardening: Hackberry Trees, etc, #7, 1 by Sharran

Sharran wrote:
Burning the candle, yes....and are there only 2 ends, seems like more than that.

I have been helping to get a vintage resale shop opened, have been doing displays, yes....I decided about a month or so ago to stay in this town, though I debated it for awhile. I have been alone for 2 years, and most of that time was spent gardening or writing or doing some form of art. That sounds good, but it was all done at home. Sometimes I thought I really needed to get out and do something among people before I became a hermit. Or....perhaps I needed to just move away closer to my family. But my family is scattered, and so which one would I move closer to? And would moving really be the answer? Maybe the answer is right here.

So I thought about it awhile, and things started happening, my friend who owns the resale shop called to ask if I would help with displays when she moved into a new building....so I did that, and one thing lead to another and I have been going to estate sales, auctions, etc....and I am having a great time.

Then my convertible guy...well, that was another happening. He is an old friend, lives nearby, and his wife died quite suddenly about 5 years ago. We started meeting for coffee a time or two...mostly talking about our 'sudden deaths' we have in common...and our kids were all friends...then that led to the theatre, and I enjoyed his company and particularly his wonderful black Mercedes convertible.....who wouldn't.

But I was working so much and for so many hours, I didn't see him often...when suddenly he started fixing dinner for me every evening. Nobody has ever fixed dinner for me except my mother all those years ago...and he opens my car door...and he lets me drive his car....and he is a treasure. We are very good friends. And it's good to have someone to talk with at the end of the day. It's also good not to panic when the door knob falls off in my hand when I walk out the door, or when I need the furnace filter changed and can't reach far enough to do it myself. So he is a good friend and good company and a good conversationalist, and a terrific cook. And when he found that I don't eat red meat, he filled his freezer with fish and shrimp. What's not to like?

I did not do well being a hermit, and something had to change...now everything has changed, I am busy and I am happy and yes, a little bit tired, but no longer am I on the verge of becoming a hermit.

You know I am not good at doing nothing, so as long as I am able, I'll keep busy.
Now if I only had time to weed.....sigh.

Charlie, your gardens are gorgeous. I found a dahlia blooming happily yesterday...didn't even know I had a dahlia, but do remember planting a couple last year and they never did a thing. Suddenly one is blooming. And so is my goldenrod, and so is my bamboo. Nothing wonderful like you have, but even so, there is still some color in my gardens.

Here's the dahlia....don't even know its name.