This is one of our cosmos. As you can see, they're finally budding and blooming -- this is probably the most productive of the several plants we have. I think I planted them in compost that was too rich -- they grew huge, almost as tall as I am (about 6 feet), and produced tons of foliage but they haven't been great about flowering. They are pretty, though.
I had a busy weekend. Aside from filming Saturday's outing with the dog and documenting the faces of Cricklewood, I mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, did laundry, paid bills and trimmed the garden. Whew! (Dave was working on music for his band students, so he was busy too.)
Speaking of Saturday, I got a special request -- OK, it was from Dave -- to upload my "director's cut" of Olga's GoPro video. This is a longer version of the one I posted Sunday, with different music and some ambient audio (barking!). If you feel inspired you can watch it here, but don't feel obligated because as I said earlier, it's 11-something minutes long and that's a lot of dog for most people.
I didn't finish all the reading I'd hoped -- in fact I'm still working my way through my third New Yorker and I haven't even started the Knausgaard book. I don't know why I have so much trouble sitting down and reading. Every time I do, a voice nags at the back of my brain: "Don't you have something more important to do?" Which is terrible! I love reading! Why do I feel it should be my last priority?!
Yesterday was a bear of a day at work. A parent called to complain -- not angrily, but just out of concern -- about a book we'd checked out to her fifth-grade son. Apparently the book contained too many references to drug smuggling and other crime for her taste. (Amazon says it's for readers 11 and over, so he's right on the cusp in terms of age.) Anyway, one of the librarians met with her and worked out a plan to give the kid more wholesome books.
Then we realized that the notebook we use to schedule library space for classes -- which I make up at the beginning of every school year, using specially printed pages gridded to show every class block from August into June -- was wrong. Apparently the school calendar I'd based it on was incorrect. Argh! So I had to remake it last night, which wasted half a ream of paper and kept me at work about 45 minutes past my normal time.
As Queen Victoria said, probably apocryphally: "We are not amused."
That cosmos is the most fabulous colour. I had some in the border a few years ago....they are great value !
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you check the school year dates before creating that booking schedule for the library? To me this is a disciplinary offence that should result in the docking of wages.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Reading should not be an afterthought - something we engage in when there's nothing else left to do.
I love that flower. It's such a gorgeous color!
ReplyDeleteAs to the book...that parent should be glad her child likes to read. My family never once monitored what I read, and although there were plenty of books that were too "mature" for me, I don't think I ever came to any harm from it. Perhaps mom should think seriously about picking her battles!
That Cosmos is my new favorite color- fuchsia! Although I can't seem to spell it for the life of me.
ReplyDeleteI have recently been wondering why I can't allow myself to "just" read either! It's ridiculous. I feel so guilty when I do it and I have no idea why.
As to your schedule- Jessie pointed out to me that I have many of the September birthdays on my calendar wrong. There's a week at the end of the month where half of our family and half of our friends have birthdays and I've screwed them all up.
This makes me feel old and in need of care assistance.
I'm with Jennifer about that book. Jeez.
The starting of the school year is a busy time and it always seems that that is when other fires start. Administrators have a habit of changing timetables.
ReplyDeletemy orange cosmos did that when I first got them, grew to about 5 or 6 feet before they bloomed but then they bloomed profusely. the next year they did the same. the third year they started blooming while small and never got overly tall. then this year, after the flood, they are all growing tall again before blooming. I like the color of yours.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand parents who want to be that controlling. it's not as if the kid was reading 50 Shades of Gray. it's not as if reading about crime and drug smuggling will turn him into a criminal.
Read more! Let the dust accumulate and the garden get a bit weedy. But read more! (Didn't think I'd ever have to say that to a librarian.)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty bloom! Reading is good for you...keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the Baja Fresh article.
That cosmos is quite beautiful. A bit darker and richer than the ones we have here. As I was reading this post I was thinking, "why was Steve at work yesterday, it was a holiday..." then I remembered. I think moms and dads should be happy when their kids pick up a book these days.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been reading much either, other than the audio books I listen to in the car. Takes me FOREVER to finish a book these days. However, I'm not doing productive things instead of reading - I'm usually crocheting or playing a game on my iPad. Maybe I should just delete the games!
ReplyDeleteThat cosmos is my favorite color! We had several in the pink family, but that one wins :)
I was looking forward to my cosmos doing great things because my mom's always grew so tall in poor soil and quite shaded, but mine are stunted and have had exactly three blooms so far. Probably has something to do with forgetting to water them when they first came up. Or maybe they are miniature cosmos or something. Either way, sad face here. Yours look more like what I'm used to seeing.
ReplyDeleteYou *might* already know how I feel about reading! I carry it to the other extreme, though. I don't get enough "real" work done. It's all about balance, no matter which end of the seesaw you're on.
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ReplyDeleteMy parents were of the philosophy that if we picked up a book to read, and became engrossed, it meant we were ready to read it. They never once censored our book choices, but were jus happy to be raising readers. That said, it really is so much harder to concentrate of just reading these days. There's always so much vying for attention. I think we've become too scattered and distracted by the sensory input of so many screens.
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