Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Snoring


Here are some pictures of the late-summer flowers we're seeing now in the garden. Above, the bear's breeches (Acanthus) with Crocosmia Lucifer and a teasel.


Here's the Gaillardia, or blanket flower. I've never grown this before and I really like it! It's a prolific bloomer and the flowers hang around a while (though that plant needs to be deadheaded).


And here's the pink lobelia. I divided this plant at the beginning of summer so we have two of them now, blooming away.


And here's a positively gigantic burdock that's grown in one of the flower beds -- a child of the ones we planted a few years back. I wish I could convey the size of those leaves. That's a full-grown dahlia in the pot next to it, if that helps.

Yesterday was a day of rest, mostly. I ran a couple of minor errands, like taking some sheets to the laundromat and throwing our old toaster in the community bin for recycled electronics. As I was waiting at Dulles to fly back to London on Sunday I got a text from Dave saying, "The toaster exploded!" He'd tried to use it and it shot out a spark and went dark. Turns out it also tripped the circuit breaker. It's the same toaster we've had since we moved here 12 years ago, so it had done its time. We threw it out and I ordered a new Dualit toaster from Amazon, which arrived yesterday.

Amazon may be the evil empire of retail, but it sure is convenient.

Last night I met up with an old colleague from The New York Times, who's in town visiting. We had a drink in a pub down by Farringdon station. He's a character and it was great to see him and compare notes about our experiences at the "Old Grey Lady" and our lives since. (He was laid off the same year I was, not long after the 2008 banking crisis.)


Finally, just to serve as a counterpoint to my brother's crazy dog Snoop, here's what I'm living with in London. Olga, at her most relaxed!

25 comments:

  1. Did your old colleague become an astronaut, a train driver, a circus clown... or perhaps a school librarian?
    P.S. Dave's house slippers are cool.

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  2. The burdock does have rather large leaves. It looks like it is something that should be grubbed out with a mattock.
    By the headline, I thought we may have been shown a video of either you or Dave snoring.
    I'll dob Dave in. He tried to insert something into the toaster that was too big. My partner did the same and blew up our Smeg.
    I remember meeting a drunk retired journalist in a pub in Praed Street and he was a terrific conversationalist, and a dropper of information the public didn't know.

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  3. Just watching Olga made me calm!
    The burdock is beloved of children's book illustrators, shelter for various creatures including fairies and gnomes.

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  4. Olga at rest, even snoring, is sweet.

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  5. What a relief Olga must be after the hyperkinetic Snoop.
    Love the flower name Teasel - sounds like a character from Harry Potter.

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  6. Sweet Olga. With the heat and rain my garden has grown like crazy, but yours looks better because you know what you're doing. I know what you mean about Amazon. We have a love/hate relationship.

    Love,
    Janie

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  7. I think that Olga highly approved of a rest day.
    Your garden is a wonder.

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  8. I don't have to ask "How does your garden grow?" I know from your pictures!

    I still boycott Walmart because of all the businesses they drove out of our communities. Amazon has done just as much harm or even more, and yet I can't bring myself to boycott them. There aren't anymore stores to shop at out here in rural America and so I guess I have to dance with the devil I know.

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  9. I love seeing the flowers in your garden. It's cute to watch Olga sleep to and hear her snoring a bit. She's so sweet.

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  10. 12 years for a toaster these days is a very good run. My parents had one that lasted forty years but that was when they made things to last. The garden is looking very lush. Olga was really enjoying her snooze.

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  11. I am amazed at how well your garden is doing! Mine is overgrown with weeds as it is too hot for me to get out there to remove them!
    Olga's snoring is so sweet!

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  12. that bear's britches is an interesting plant. down here the gaillardia is also known as indian blanket or firewheel. I rather like firewheel. my zinnias re still blooming but the foliage is tired and the flowers small. I almost pulled them out today because I'm tired of all the watering but they are still being visited by butterflies.

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  13. The colors in your garden right now are spectacular. I hope the butterflies notice. As for the snorer, if I close my eyes, it's San Geraldo.

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  14. I love your yard... We have a toaster oven that we received as a wedding gift (or maybe it's even older than that - I might have gotten it for my first apartment post-Zambia). It's at least 33 years old. We stopped using it because our landlords had the VERY SAME MODEL already in our house when we moved back to NC in 2017. Ha!

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  15. Sweet Olga. She can relax now that her pack is once again intact.

    I'm not ashamed to admit I love both Amazon AND Walmart.

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  16. I love it when you post photos and videos of Olga. I get my dog fix that way!

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  17. Do you have any trouble with the acanthus spreading? We had some in New York State, and after a couple of years had to fight with it to keep it from taking over. I do love it, though. Great texture in the garden.

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  18. I can't believe it. My wife recognized lobelia and called out its name before I could read your text. This is a woman who kills plastic flowers!

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  19. I love blanket flower and they quite happily self seed. I have some growing in between the paving stones now. Lovely pics and imagine Olga is happy to have her family back together again.

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  20. Olga's snore is gentle and soothing, I could fall asleep right beside her and fell so peaceful. Sweet girl.

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  21. The Burdock is huge! I know it was used as a herb way back when but don't remember what for, I shall have to look it up. I like the blanket flower and Olga looks so sweet sleeping soundly.

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  22. My ancient herbal says it is a diuretic and blood purifier, also gives directions for the use of the plant but I won't give that info, don't want people accidentally poisoning themselves.

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  23. YP: He is what he's always been -- a photographer. He just found another outlet for his talents!

    Andrew: Most people probably WOULD grub it out but I think burdocks are such remarkable plants. No telling what Dave did to prompt the toaster explosion!

    Boud: I can see how they chose it for that. The underside of a burdock leaf would be a mansion, an estate, for a fairy!

    Bob: I like hearing her snore. It's calming.

    Marty: Snoring Olga is definitely more my speed! Teasel does sound very Harry Potter, or maybe Watership Down.

    Janie: I don't really know what I'm doing at all!

    Ms Moon: She seemed perfectly happy to lie around. I think she gets tense when one or both of us are gone and she's now recuperating!

    Ed: That's the thing -- they really are a necessity for so many of us. I could get on a bus and go down to Oxford Street to a department store and buy a toaster, but WHY?

    Robin: It's always so calming to wake up in the middle of the night and hear her snoring!

    Sharon: I have an old '50s toaster at home that I bought at a thrift store in the mid '80s, and it still works fine. Those old toasters are as solid as a tank!

    Ellen D: Well, I do have an advantage in that it's not very hot here. In fact it's cooler than usual for this time of year.

    Ellen: I guess if the bugs are still on them, keep 'em going!

    Mitchell: Dave snores too, but his snoring is much less comforting. LOL

    Bug: That's a pretty impressive run for a modern toaster oven!

    Kelly: YES! That's exactly it. We're all together so she's relaxing.

    Michael: I'm glad you like it! I'm always afraid my constant Olga references are going to get tired for some readers.

    Colette: Yeah, the leaves are great, aren't they? It has a reputation for spreading but ours hasn't been a problem so far.

    Catalyst: Ha! That's pretty impressive! She must have had some in her own garden at some point?

    Pixie: Maybe I shouldn't deadhead them to let them seed around. If they grow in the cracks in the front porch the Russians will complain, though.

    Linda Sue: Isn't it soothing? I love hearing her at night. It's like a primordial message that we're safe and everything is fine. No predators around!

    River: Yeah, I've heard of people using burdock root for things, but I can't remember what. I think it's such an impressive plant!

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  24. You truly are a plant lover, Steve. As you might remember from previous posts on burdock, I've mentioned that it's considered a nuisance weed here, grows EVERYWHERE and gets torn out by gardeners/ Meanwhile, in London, in a little garden that's home to a sweet pitty . . . :)

    I just threw away my ancient toaster, too. It went on fire as I stood waiting for my toast a couple of weeks ago. Actual fire. The flames were three inches wide and three inches high. It made me swear from shock! lol

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  25. Twelve years on a toaster? Alert the media! Seems here they don't last much more than five or six without coils burning out so only one side gets toasted. But exploding? Nope. Time to pass it on!

    How nice to connect with your friend. Sounds like a very good evening!

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