I just now took this photo in order to have something to put on the blog! I don't know why I haven't been more inspired to take pictures lately. A lot going on, I suppose. But for what it's worth, here are our daffodils, coming more fully into bloom as they usually do in February. (My hand is in the photo because the flowers flop in the rain, and it's raining AGAIN this morning.)
I had a really solid night's sleep last night, which felt amazing. I was exhausted. We've had some family drama that has consumed about 98 percent of my brain over the last couple of days. It's not anything I feel comfortable blogging -- at least, not yet -- but I talked to my siblings last night via Zoom and I think it's all going to work out OK. It's related to my stepmother's estate, and it's been an emotional roller coaster. Fingers crossed, we've arrived at a good place.
My next-door neighbor on the right -- the good neighbor who we almost never hear anything from, and whose wall we share -- is having some work done on her house. A huge scaffold has been built in both the front and the back, and I'm hearing some guys clambering around on it now. I think it's roof work. If it keeps out the rain, I'm all for it.
Meanwhile, I have no idea what's going on upstairs. It's been weeks since I've seen or heard anyone from the family that moved in after the Russians left last summer. Their car is still in the driveway but if they're home they're very quiet. I don't think they're around. Also, the apartment listing is still up, though it does say it's "under offer" and perhaps that's real-estate code for "unavailable." I can't tell what's happening. The mysteries abound.
I am looking forward to a quiet day at home, doing some reading and not much else.
Daffodils are strange I always think......ours are only out of the ground by about 6 inches, but there is a clump in a garden just round the corner where I walk ,that have been flowering for several weeks. I guess different varieties, ( though they look the same to me) or different amounts of sunshine ( what's that these days?)
ReplyDeleteWe had scaffolding on our drive a few months ago when the chimney stack on the old terrace house house next door was attended to.......fascinating watching them put it up!
Enjoy the rain!
Yeah, I don't know what variables affect their blooming. Maybe the depth of the bulb as well as the variety? We have white daffodils that don't appear until around April.
DeleteThe daffodils are a pleasant sight. They always feel like hope to me. Sorry about the estate issues. Inheritance issues can be so unpleasant and can bring out the worst. Hope it’s quickly and happily resolved.
ReplyDeleteActually, everyone is behaving well -- it's more a matter of legalities.
DeleteGlad to know that.
DeleteI have one lonely daffodil in my garden, loads of buds, soon I will see a sea of yellow in one bed, the rain is doing my head in, I need to be outside, I love my home, just fed up with these walls.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the rain. It's been really oppressive lately!
DeleteYou say that's your hand in the top picture but to me it looks like a side of ham.
ReplyDeleteDo you need glasses, Mr. P?
Deletedaffodils already! Late March is usually our daffodil time. Right now there's a foot of snow over mine. If the snowdrops came up, they're buried. In my family, there was never strife over money because nobody had any. My parents left literally nothing after their funeral bills were paid. Money does seem to bring out the worst in a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteOur daffodils do come earlier than they do in the states -- just not as much snow here, as you know!
DeleteI know it was more than money issues that tore my birth family apart after my mother died but they were the trigger. I hate it when it happens but it so often does. I'm sorry it's happening in your family.
ReplyDeleteWell, fortunately we're all united in the face of this difficulty, so that's a good thing. No one alive is misbehaving.
DeleteWhile having breakfast in the sunroom this morning I noticed several spots of daffodils coming up in the yard.
ReplyDeleteThat always cheers me up.
It's definitely a sign of new life, which is much needed by this time of year!
DeleteMy daffodil foliage is up but no buds as usual. Yours always bloom before mine.
ReplyDeleteDivving up an estate always has the potential for strife and hard feelings especially if the will isn't clear about specific bequests and even if it does. I hope your family can deal with it peacefully.
There's no specificity in our documents, apparently -- just percentages. Fortunately I don't really want any "stuff."
DeleteWe have a long wait until we see our daffodils blooming around here so I am glad to see yours, Steve. That apartment above you looks really nice on the listing.
ReplyDeleteIt IS very nice, but they used a wide-angle lens on the rooms so they all look very large.
DeleteTradesmen in the area usually means some improvements are being made. Estates sometimes be difficult to settle.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is always the messiest part of dealing with a death.
DeleteI love the daffs! I hope your day turns out quiet and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThank you -- it did!
DeleteI think our daffodils (and tulips) will be very early this year. Perhaps they're blooming now. I'm on Team Tulip so I don't have any daffs. Sorry about the family drama; I can most certainly relate. Hope it works out OK.
ReplyDeleteI have tulips too! This is like the cat/dog dichotomy -- can't a person like both? :)
DeleteThe poor flowers are being battered by the rain, but somehow they always survive.
ReplyDeleteThey're very durable. Snow doesn't seem to faze them either.
DeleteI learned years ago that death can bring out the worst in people. Even good people.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the bright little glimpse of springtime.
Well, our emotions are all heightened, so that's part of it.
DeleteThe daffodils are lovely. Death and estates don't always bring out the best in people, often the opposite. I'm glad you had a good sleep because that often helps.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was great to have a restful weekend.
DeleteYour daffodils are beautiful and so nice to see. My daffodils are still sleeping beneath deep snow.
ReplyDeleteEstates always bring some angst. At least it sounds like you've reached a resolution that works for everyone. You'll sleep better and that's always good.
Yes, I think we're getting there!
DeleteOur daffies are still barely buds - we were pretty amazed that they were totally unfazed by our recent snow and ice.
ReplyDeleteSnow doesn't seem to bother them at all. We've had heavy snowfall on top of the flowers and they just poke right through.
DeleteThe daffodils seem early, but what would I know about your seasons.
ReplyDeleteThe absence of neighbours upstairs sounds peaceful, unlike how it was in the past.
This is actually pretty normal for us, based on the last 14 years! They start showing up at the end of January.
Delete(Daffodils, I mean.)
DeleteMake some cookies and take them upstairs. If no one is there, at least you have cookies. And if they are, you're the nice neighbor with all the plants who lives downstairs. Those daffs are great. We will NEVER see daffs here in January! Good luck with the family drama. I hope all has passed and is well.
ReplyDeleteI really think I'd hear them if they were there. I used to hear them coming down the stairs in the morning.
DeleteI do so love daffodils. We generally pre-edit the blogs to not inlcude what is not to be aired in public - and sometimes it is a whole swathe of the life that we have to blog about.
ReplyDeleteI try to reveal as much as I'm comfortable revealing. I think it's important to be honest and open as a blogger. But some things involve other people who have higher privacy requirements.
DeleteYour daffodills are lovely. Quite a change from the Russians, quiet for a change.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's been heaven around our house, having only to hear ourselves!
DeleteAs I am currently pretty much tied up in other things, just a short note on how your post about your step mother resonated with me. My father walked out on us after me and my siblings had grown up and left. He disappeared for a while and we slowly had to learn that he had at a new partner, one of several and obviously something that he had been doing for a while. The main one tried her hardest to be our friend and she wasn't a bad person, in fact often lovely and a much better companion than my mother etc but we gave her the cold shoulder without mercy. When she died we almost felt sad. It's hard to get tied up in these conflicting situations. You wrote a wonderful tribute given the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to accept a new partner without feeling like you're betraying the original parent. Most kids have trouble with it.
DeleteVery nice daffodils. The flat upstairs from me is also very quiet, the tenant is currently in Europe which I am really happy about (dislike her quite intensely) and said she won't be back until after Christmas, which I am not happy about because Christmas is long gone so she could come home any day now.
ReplyDeleteI hope the family drama is soon over to everyone's satisfaction.
Maybe she won't come home at all! Maybe she'll like Europe so much she'll stay there! Let's be optimistic.
DeleteIf the replacements for the Russians are there and happen to be very quiet, then I hope they stay forever so you have some peace.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Me too! They ARE quieter, no doubt, but now I think they're really not there.
DeleteJust catching up after a few days. My condolences on your stepmother's death. Thanks for filling us in on some of your family history, and yes, families can be complicated. I so hope that the family drama settles down soon with no major familial fallout. Have a peaceful Sunday and enjoy those daffodils. Chris from Boise
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. Fortunately the drama we've had has affected all of us, so we're united in dealing with it.
DeleteI just love hearing about your flowers. Gives me hope that under all this snow, spring waits. Hey...can Mr Music identify that tune from the music box?
ReplyDeleteI'll ask him! I can't remember it myself but I'll also give it another listen. (If it's pop, I might know it; if it's classical, Dave's your man.)
DeleteSadly, I have seen more than one family go through drama around estates. I am less than 24 hours away from making a big family decision myself centered around my parent's estate but this will hopefully make things easier when my father passes so I think it is worth all the stress.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you get yours sorted out so everyone is happy with the result.
Well, I'm glad you've got a sense of what needs to be done. So many people live in denial about death and there are many unanswered questions when they pass.
DeleteLovely to see those daffodils :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Aren't they cheerful?!
Delete