Thursday, May 23, 2019

Strolling in a Field of Purple


I've been meaning to take a picture of these two little garden statues at a flat down the street for days and days. I'm glad I finally remembered yesterday to keep my camera with me. Don't you love that campanula? We had one many years ago on our balcony in Notting Hill, but it rarely if ever looked this good.

I was back at work yesterday, cajoling overdue books from kids (we have just a few weeks of school left!) and rearranging our travel section. I went through that section about four years ago and ordered updated travel guides, but of course that was four years ago -- now some of the older ones I kept are really old. Yesterday I discarded four guides to Italy from 2010 and 2011. Another update is needed, I think.

I also got rid of some big coffee table books that people gave us over the years. They never got used. No one wants to check out a 20-pound, 30-year-old pictorial book about Melbourne or Boston -- not when current pictures are available online. I think coffee table books in general aren't very practical for a library.


Speaking of books, I thought you might want to see what John's memorial looks like now. Many more people have left flowers and notes about how they met him, the kind words and experiences they shared, that kind of thing. Apparently he was known to some as "Spider," perhaps because of his tattoos, one of which was a spider web. (Or did he get the tattoo because of his nickname?)


I liked this photo that someone left of him and Sugar.

And speaking of staffies, here's what's going on in our own house at the moment:


Someone's being a pillow hog!

13 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Did Olga make that pillow fort herself? She's really such a character!

Frances said...

Reminds me of the story of" The Princess and the Pea" !! She looks very comfy.

Ms. Moon said...

That campanula is amazing. I love the little statues in it.
John obviously touched a lot of people. I wonder what his story was. You sure can be he had one.
Sweet Olga. Is she feeling better?

Red said...

Librarians have to make all kinds of judgments. I agree the coffee table books are next to useless in a library. I got some of those discards from our library.

ellen abbott said...

how touching. was he homeless? we think homeless people are 'unseen' but obviously they aren't and they are missed when they fail to be in their accustomed places.

and the campanula is gorgeous. I put it on my new plant list.

Linda Sue said...

capanula, such a beauty! And of course OLGA! She is the real deal, a little rascals pooch. so sorry about John , wonder what happened to him.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful and kind display of affection for John. Love the statues in the campanula.

Catalyst said...

Wonderful photo of John & Sugar. I think he'd be amazed at the outpouring of affection for him. I also love that first picture of the purple blooms and their companions. And Olga and her pillows! So cute. Actually I liked ALL of your photos today.

jenny_o said...

Campanula - you've given me an idea for one of our flower beds that we've had trouble finding plants for. That is a gorgeous bed of flowers, and the figures do look like they're taking a walk through it.

Oh, Olga! It's good to be up high, isn't it? lol

Sabine said...

Gorgeous campanula and what a nice dog you have on your sofa!

I was all for chucking out our travel guides, some dating back 20 years, when a visitor told me something about their historical value and how it matters when we get older to actually have a reminder of places that may be gone - I was thinking hotels and restaurants, while he was more concerned about lost landmarks - we do have a by now historic Rough Guide to Syria.

crafty cat corner said...

That look says 'I know I shouldn't be here' lol
Briony
x

Comox Valley and beyond said...

Lovely photos today John especially of Olga living the life.

Jomo said...

Thanks for all you share. John probably never realized how much people loved him.RIP John. Olga is just beautiful I love Staffies and she looks very comfy on her bed of cushions. I always look forward to seeing what she's doing.