Friday, October 28, 2022

Found Chrysanthemums


I took this several days ago while walking the dog. The trees on this street usually turn dramatically yellow, but this year the color hasn't seemed as good. Whether that has to do with our dry summer or warmer autumn or just my perception, who knows. Here's the same view on almost the same date in 2015.

No creepy dreams last night, at least not that I can remember!

Yesterday I got busy on another back-office project in the library. Remember how every year I take the departed students and their families out of our library computer system? Although they're added automatically when they come to the school, I have to remove them manually when they leave or graduate. It's one of the peculiarities of our software.

Well, the librarian in the Lower School said she kept finding students in her system who were no longer at the school -- in some cases students who had never been there. So I went through her entire patron list and checked it against the school database, and sure enough, I found about 60 people who had either departed, were entered into the system multiple times, or had applied to the school but never come. (We've stopped importing that last group, but it used to happen.) I deleted all those accounts, so hopefully that will make her happy.

It took me all day, but I might do the same with our patrons in the main library just to make sure we're not having the same issues.

As you know, I like jobs like that -- something that requires intense focus and allows me to lose myself in my task.


On my walk home last night I found a discarded bouquet in someone's yard waste bag. The chrysanthemums still looked pretty good, so I brought them home for our windowsill!

24 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I love your window sill arrangement!

gz said...

You need a walk home after a day like that!
Lovely chrysanths, they go nicely with the rest of the windowsill.

Moving with Mitchell said...

“Departed students” took me aback momentarily. Of course you rescued the chrysanthemums. They look great with the pottery.

Debby said...

Mitchell made me laugh, because it was exactly where my head went to as I read that.

I love your 'rescues'.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

The chrysanthemums still looked pretty good, so I brought them home for our windowsill!
Dave looked up from his "Music Education" magazine and said, "What the hell are you doing Steve? Bringing other people's cast-offs home! It has got to stop. It's becoming an obsession!"
His face was like the onion bowl on the window ledge.

Janie Junebug said...

I love everything on your windowsill.

Love,
Janie

Marcia LaRue said...

I am wondering where you got those ceramic vegetable containers ... I love them!
We have a lot of the trees with the yellow leaves, as well!

Ms. Moon said...

You are in the right job for you!
Yes. Those mums still have plenty of life left in them to bring you some enjoyment for awhile.

Ellen D. said...

I wondered about your leaves changing as one of your garden photos last week showed your trees still so green! We have gorgeous colors here in Illinois - a huge variety of vibrant colored leaves, now piling on the grass ready for raking!

NewRobin13 said...

I love how you rescue things like these chrysanthemums. They need a good and beautiful windowsill to spend their time.

Ed said...

Seems like there should be a better way to deal with "departed" students but I suppose British schools are like American ones and that library department moneys are in short supply.

Red said...

Interesting detail on your windowsill.

Pixie said...

Are you sure you're not a Virgo?

ellen abbott said...

How nice that you get paid for getting lost in a task. I'd probably get into that too.I tend to want to finish a task I start instead of little here, a little there. Wasn't exactly good for me when we were doing the etched glass as it was quite physical nd I would work for hours, all day without a break.

Boud said...

Without your pruning the school roster would be huge! Odd, maybe low bid, software that requires manual deletion. A ratchet effect seen in very early software.

Linda Sue said...

Chrysanthemums! What a lucky save!

Kelly said...

Your windowsill arrangement is very pleasing and soothing to my OCD.

The trees might not be as brilliant as in other years, but they're still quite lovely. I'm happy we're finally getting some color, despite our drought.

Margaret said...

I like that kind of task too; it has a definitive purpose and sense of accomplishment. I like things that are straightforward. I like mums, especially that color.

Sharon said...

It's funny how the color of the leaves changes from year to year. I've noticed it with some trees near me. One year they turned a deep red but last year they turned a weak yellow. The mums look good in your window.

Bob said...

The windowsill makes me smile.

Allison said...

Fall has been less colorful here than last year. Of course, we haven't been here that long so it's hard to know if it's a trend.

The Bug said...

I love that windowsill - it's just so pretty. And I think I spy a penguin, so of course that makes me happy. Ha!

Steve Reed said...

Elizabeth: Thanks! :)

GZ: They do fit right in, don't they?!

Mitchell: Ha! I didn't mean it THAT way, I swear.

Debby: Funny how that wording sounds to readers. Just goes to show how easily a writer can send the wrong message or bring something to mind that wasn't meant!

YP: Oh, he's used to it by now. He does think I'm crazy, though.

Janie: Well thank you!

Marcia: I picked them up here and there at antique or vintage shops. They're from the '70s and were quite popular here in the UK.

Ms Moon: I hate it when people throw out perfectly good flowers!

Ellen D: The garden STILL looks green. It seems to be just certain trees that are changing so far.

Robin: Right?! And then taking a picture of them helps me enjoy them even longer.

Ed: We're a private school so independent of the British public schools. It's just a quirk of our computer systems.

Red: Thanks! Lots of odds and ends.

Pixie: Ha! What does that mean?! (I don't know my star signs.)

Ellen: Yeah, I'm a finisher too. I plowed through all those names because I couldn't leave part of the job for another day!

Boud: It's basically because one system speaks to the other but not vice versa. So it can import, but it can't delete.

Linda Sue: I thought so!

Kelly: Yes, they are nice, even with their still-greenish leaves. :)

Margaret: Exactly, and you can see your progress or achievement at the end.

Sharon: I think it has to do with water and temperature, from what I understand?

Bob: It's kind of a crazy collection of goofy stuff.

Allison: It will be interesting to see how the years compare as time passes!

Bug: Yes! A penguin I found on Hampstead Heath, of all places. I think it was someone's dog toy.

Jeanie said...

Smart foraging! The mums look great. I know what you mean about the satisfaction of a project like that. Not particularly fun but you feel so good when they are done.