Some very strange things are happening around here. Last night a shelf suddenly collapsed in our linen closet, very poltergeist-like, bringing down stacks of sheets. A light bulb exploded when I turned on our floor lamp, showering glass onto the floor. Dave had trouble with the oven, and the gas inspector (who came on his routine annual visit Monday) said our stove top is old and not up to standard.
I've already told you about the leaning bush, which I'm still trying to get the landlord to resolve. (We can't stake the bush ourselves because of its location, and besides, the landlord is responsible for maintaining the front garden -- we only do the back.) And finally, our daffodils are blooming -- at the beginning of January!
"This flat is falling apart!" Dave declared this morning. I suppose we can't really include the daffodils in that complaint, but otherwise -- yeah.
Speaking of plants, while I was in Florida I visited my two remaining stateside houseplants -- the ones I asked my brother to save from my Mom's yard when she sold her house. You may remember they have quite a history. The bird's foot cactus (rhipsalis) above is almost 40 years old, a gift from a woman who used to take care of my brother and me when we were children. I repotted it when I visited and it's now in my brother's back yard among his ferns.
And my purple heart sits at the side of his house near a fence. It would be much more purple if it got direct sun, but it's been in a shady spot for a long time.
Meanwhile, back in London...
By the way, everything went well with my talks to the eighth-graders yesterday. I have two more to do today, and then I can put this behind me for another year.
Sorry to hear things are falling and exploding...I hope the landlord responds quickly,,,Are you still considering buying a place?
ReplyDeleteHey. Been away in the UK... Sorry to have missed your wedding. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteYep. Poltergeist. Keep track of strange happenings.
ReplyDeleteDaffodils already? Crazy.
Too bad it's not the type of poltergeist that would lurk around fixing things.
ReplyDeleteI'd say that is quite a lot of malfunctions all at once. I'd be thinking poltergeist too. At least sheets tumbling down is better than dishes. (I had a shelf filled with dishes tumble down years ago. It made a huge mess, ruined a set of dishes and the noise made me think someone had driven through my house.)
ReplyDeleteSometime back in the late 80's or early 90's I traveled to London with my sister in late February and I remember seeing daffodils blooming everywhere. I thought even that was early but January? That is crazy.
my daffodils haven't even come up yet but new year's eve I saw two red bud trees putting out blooms. the purple heart will probably root fine in water. doubt the bird's nest cactus will though (that's what those long green skinny things are right?). you might try some rooting compound and stick them in dirt.
ReplyDeleteAt least the shelf didn't fall while you were gone, leading you to believe you'd been burgled when you got home! (Although, who would burgle sheets?) (Is burgle even a word?)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Yes, apparently burgle is a word. Synonym for burglarize!
ReplyDeleteI am outraged Steve! That cutting in the window appears to have been illegally imported into England from swampy, pest-ridden Florida - threatening our environment and native species! I have passed your details on to DEFRA. Expect a loud knock on the door any time soon! Sorry - I felt morally obliged to do this.
ReplyDeleteSee what happens when you leave your home unattended, Spooks gotta find a place to spook, you know, and they are running out of haunts in London, so crowded! Let this be a lesson!
ReplyDeleteHere we should have below zero (celsius) degrees and frost and ice and even snow but the daffs have been flowering since xmas eve and we even harvested raspberries.I love spring but it feels wrong to have it for xmas.
ReplyDeleteIf the landlords doesn't show, get someone to come and cut that hedge or stake it or whatever - and send him the bill. At least threaten to do it and give him a deadline. Plants can kill, hedges too.
What is that orange globe on your windowsill?
ReplyDeleteIt's just one damned thing after another, isn't it? You just sort the computer problem and all these other things go haywire.
ReplyDeleteMs Soup
E: We're not actively considering it. A lot of London housing stock is pretty old, and I'm wary of buying a 100-plus year-old house, especially at the astronomical prices they now command. But in the future, who knows?
ReplyDeleteMWA: Thanks! Glad you're back!
Ms Moon: It IS crazy. And we had another light bulb explode last night. Very strange!
Marty: A USEFUL poltergeist! Wouldn't that be nice?!
Sharon: I can only imagine what a shelf filled with dishes must have sounded like. Thank god we didn't have that to contend with.
Ellen: Yeah, I plan to transfer both of them into pots ASAP -- they're just in water for the moment.
Jenny-O: Yes, burgle is indeed a word! Believe me, no one wants our sheets.
York: I can't imagine what you're talking about. You seem to have totally misunderstood my post.
Linda Sue: I would think that London is rife with spookable locations more appropriate than our house!
Sabine: It is a very weird year, isn't it? I have a feeling cold is on its way, though.
37P: That is my beloved Panasonic Panapet, or "ball radio," from the early '70s. I wrote about it several years ago:
http://shadowsteve.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transistor-radio.html
Ms Soup: Right?! We are having quite the January. Or maybe I'm just being a complainer. :)