I took this picture when I was in Ely last week. That facade carried me back several years to a New Year's Eve gathering where I met a boy who said his pet fish was named Alan. (This cracked me up at the time.) I hope Alan isn't being served at this fish bar.
I spent yesterday morning repotting some of our plants. I walked up to Homebase and bought three big flowerpots and some soil, brought it all home on the bus, and repotted two extremely root-bound dahlias and our found buddleia. Which is flourishing, as buddleias are wont to do. It's a little scary, actually.
I also bought a poor sad cosmos that called out to me for help:
I actually paid money for that! Isn't it the saddest thing you've ever seen? I brought it home, immersed it in water and left it for several hours. Now, this morning, it looks like this:
Cosmos really are amazing. They bounce right back. (Yes, I've done this before.)
In the afternoon I took Olga walking in the cemetery, where we saw...
...the lost turaco, still hanging around in the same stand of trees. It doesn't seem at all troubled, so I guess it's doing fine. Maybe it's eating the red yew berries on that yew tree? I put a notice on the lost parrot online message board, in addition to my previous announcements on Twitter and Facebook, but I wonder if whoever lost it knows it's out there and just can't get it back. How would they, unless the bird willingly came to them? And maybe it doesn't want to.
This was my dinner. It may seem a little strange, but I had two goals -- to use up some mushrooms that Dave left in the fridge, and to use our egg cups. I bought those egg cups when I went to Brussels three years ago, and we've never used them. They still had the price tags on! So last night I cleaned them up and put them to use.
I have to say, eating an egg out of an egg cup isn't the easiest thing in the world. I think I'd rather just have an egg salad sandwich.
Finally, I concluded the day with another installment in my Tom Courtenay film festival, "Billy Liar" from 1963. Much more light-hearted than the previous night's film, with the added bonus of a very young Julie Christie. They'd be reunited just two years later in the blockbuster "Dr. Zhivago," one of my favorite movies.
I have never seen Dr.Zhivago. I will have to search it out and watch it. It isn't that I didn't want to I just never did.
ReplyDeleteI would rather just have an egg salad sandwich too rather than to try and eat the egg in a cup. Of course it would be good to know how in case you might actually be lucky enough to have breakfast with the Queen one day!!! You just never know. You might be that lucky one day.
Speaking of the Royal family have you gotten to see/meet any of them? I have always had a fascination with them. I am not so sure about Markle. I have not heard good things from a couple of friends who live in London, but personally I think that she is beautiful and that counts for a lot as pretty people usually do well.
I had a pet Beta name Sushi. I couldn't think of a name for him and I thought... Sushi... raw fish... why not! LOL. Of course I was very sad when he died. I had buried him under a really pretty pine tree I had planted about a year before. The entire tree died in less than a week. I have often wondered if he had such a disease that affected the soil. Nothing ever grew in that spot again.
Oh you did a wonderful thing by saving the cosmos. Such a happy looking plant now. Poor thing did look rather sad.
I need to repot my Christmas Cactus. The problem is that it is so hot outside and by the time that it becomes a bit cooler, the mosquitos are in hunt and attack mode so... I could bring it in I suppose but afraid that the shock from outside to inside would be bad bad bad for it.
I'm off to bed. Have a wonderful day/evening. Beth
"The Lost Turaco" by Steve Reed is one of my favourite novels. Have you read it? It reminds me of James Joyce's "Ulysses" but much more condensed. It has a semi-autobiographical feel to it. I love the section where the protagonist walks into a fish bar in a Cambridgeshire town with a drooping cosmos plant and the owner who is called Alan yells, "Get that frigging thing outta here!" The "turaco" of the title is a metaphor for hope - reaching beyond everyday reality. Sadly the writer persistently uses the term "sidewalk" and mis-spells "colour".
ReplyDeleteThe trick to eating a boiled egg in a cup is to make "toy soldiers" or as my mother called them, "fairy fingers" out of a piece of toast by cutting a piece of bread in long skinny slices and then dipping them into the egg until you get most of the yolk out--then eat the egg white with a spoon. Aren't you glad I told you? Of course, that presupposes that you have a soft boiled egg and not a hard one. Lol
ReplyDeleteAs for Dr Zhivago--I first saw that at a drive-in movie. Sobbed my way through it--partly for the sheer beauty of some of the landscapes, but mostly for the sadness of it all. Was still crying when my date took me home. Not sure we ever went out again.
My friend Beth Reed told me about you so I thought I'd come by for a visit. I love your photos. I feel as though I've been taking little day trips with you. Your stories of your travels are so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to England, but a lot of my ancestors came from there. They made their way here via the Mayflower, so here I stay. I just love how you brought that gorgeous Cosmos plant back to life. I wish I could do that. My green thumb somehow left me. I keep trying though. Every year, I plant tomatoes, but I haven't gotten to eat any of them yet. The little critters in the yard seem to get to them before they are ready for picking. I almost had one big enough to pick this year, but a squirrel got to it first. Ah well. He probably needed it more than I did.
You have a great day, hugs, Edna B.
I was going to leave a comment about how good you are for rescuing that cosmos and how wonderful it is to see it come back like that so quickly. But then I read Yorkshire Pudding's comment, and that is the best comment EVER! So I'll just leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteThose egg cups take me back. My mom gave us soft boiled eggs in china eggs cups every morning before school. I thought it was such a neat trick to make the eggshell its own container. I realize now I've never once given my children a soft boiled egg in a cup. I dont even own a single egg cup. Yours are pretty and deco-ish. You made a lovely still life with the eggs cups and mushroom toast. I almost want to paint it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you rescue plants. It's a good feeling, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI also love seeing what you eat when Dave is gone. You are a master at finishing up the contents of your refrigerator. We are just home from NC and I haven't even opened my refrigerator yet. I am quite frankly not ready to begin housekeeping again. I was not lazy on vacation but the things I was doing were more in the outings-related venue.
Well, come to think of it, I did do some grocery shopping and a little cooking but somehow it was different, doing it for a large group of people in a kitchen not my own. It was a beautiful kitchen.
And what am I going to make for our supper tonight? And oh, I better water my porch plants. And oh dear- the laundry!
Etc.
I have already filled up chicken feeders and waterers.
Life does go on after vacation.
Sigh...
Since we were farmers and had chickens we are many eggs and yes lots of boiled eggs...in egg cups.
ReplyDeleteI think egg cups are for soft boiled eggs with toast. break off the top of the shell use a spoon to mush it all together or scoop it out. my mother used to serve soft boiled eggs that way sometimes for breakfast before school. I never ate mine. that cosmos is probably terribly root bound but you probably already know that.
ReplyDeleteI love those egg cups but I'm sure, they wouldn't be easy to use. The fact is, I've never eaten an egg out of its shell before. I'm quite sure egg salad would suit me better. Did the check out clerk say anything when you bought that plant? I think I would have told you to just take it or at the very least, given you a discount. It certainly looks happy now.
ReplyDeleteThe cosmos's recovery is wonderful. You've got yourself a lovely plant there. I hope it was at least on sale, though. It's so sad to see the half-dead plants at stores this time of year. I can barely keep a healthy plant alive so I don't try to resuscitate half-dead ones!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of egg cups but hate getting bits of shell in my bite of egg, which often happens when I use a knife to chop the top off. Those are very cool egg cups you've got there.
I love the egg cups, but I have to agree that it's a royal pain to eat them like that. I will have to check out your movie recommendations! Last night I watched Thelma and Louise for the first time since it came out, and I have to admit that it's as relevant as ever!
ReplyDeleteStreet art that I think you will enjoy.
ReplyDeletehttps://cjabovetheriver.blogspot.com/2019/08/street-art-of-bristol.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AboveTheRiver+%28Above+the+River%29
Beth: You should definitely try "Dr. Zhivago." It's a fabulous movie. It's long, though, so be prepared! I've certainly never met any of the royals -- I did see the Queen once, but ironically it was in Tampa! Too bad about Sushi -- cute name! I doubt anything associated with the fish would have harmed the soil, though.
ReplyDeleteYP: "Ulysses but much more condensed" -- LOL! You crack me up.
Mary: I had a date like that once -- we went to a sad movie and the guy I was with just cried and cried and I thought, "Oh my -- what have I done?!" We did go out again, but not too many more times. I definitely think it counted against me. :)
Edna: I had relatives on the Mayflower too! The Whites. Are we related?
Robin: He definitely outdid himself.
37P: "Still Life with Egg Cups" -- LOL!
Ms Moon: Welcome back to the daily grind, right? :)
Red: It's funny -- I feel like egg cups just aren't used much anymore. I think they've fallen out of favor in general.
Ellen: I tried to soft-boil my eggs but the yolk was pretty firm, so I think I let them go too long. Which is probably why they weren't so great in the egg cups. The cosmos IS rootbound. I need to buy yet another flowerpot!
Sharon: Egg salad is definitely easier! The clerk gave me a look but she didn't offer to lower the price, and I didn't ask. I knew it would bounce back so I wasn't worried.
Jenny-O: Some garden centers are just terrible about plant care! You'd think they'd value their stock more!
Elizabeth: I loved Thelma and Louise! Haven't seen it in years. Maybe it's time for another viewing!
Susan: Excellent street art! I love the building facade with the fish and the coral. I'll have to visit Bristol one of these days!