The weather was super-dreary yesterday, with cloudy skies and spitting rain. Even so, I had a moment at work in the morning when I thought, "I have to get out of here!" So I took a quick walk down the St. John's Wood High Street, and on my way back I passed these flats with their unusual windows.
Never mind what led to my moment of desperation. Let's just say I spent a lot of my walk thinking about how happy I am that I only have to survive my work environment for two more months. And not even that, because we have two weeks of break time during those two months. Deep breaths!
On the high street, at the Oxfam used book shop, I came across this Penguin boxed set of H.E. Bates novels. I haven't read anything by Bates in ages, but I liked the few books that I picked up in charity shops soon after we came to London (despite the dubious racial references). So I bought these. I might not read them all but we'll see.
I have no idea who that woman on the box is. The covers of all the books also feature attractive young women who probably have nothing to do with the plots. This set was published in 1973, and I guess Penguin was trying to make Bates trendy.
(By the way, if you click that link above, you can also read possibly my earliest blog reference to our avocado tree, describing the planting of the seed that produced it. So that tree will be 14 years old this summer!)
And remember those tiny teasel seedlings that were growing inside the seed head? Well, I carefully tugged them free and put them into their own soil in a seed tray. More teasels for the garden! (We don't really need more teasels but I couldn't watch those seedlings inevitably die, stuck in their spiny pod.)
Also yesterday, my replacement bedside lamp arrived via eBay. This is an identical match to the one the painters broke. Some of you mentioned in comments that they should have paid for it, and I suppose that's true, but it wasn't much money -- about £30 with shipping. It wasn't worth it to dicker with them. I just wanted to move past it!
I always admire the attitude and compassion you show towards plants, it's definitely an inspiration for me here.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt tenderly toward plants, to a degree that drives Dave crazy. He says, "They're just chemical reactions!"
Delete"Musa! Do this! Musa! Do that!" yells BBW as she sits with her feet up flicking through her favourite glossy magazine, "Jollies for Head Librarians". It is easy to tell why you had to get out of the library for a break.
ReplyDeleteAs for the baby teasel plants, why not find a suitable location on Hampstead Heath and secretly plant them there? You would be surreptitiously enriching the plant life of that semi-wild leisure area.
I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions. I think planting things on the Heath, even native plants, might land me in hot water!
DeleteI had assumed the painters were paying for the new lamp, but we’d be exactly like you. Not worth the trouble and there’s a freshly painted house to enjoy. It’s amazing to consider the age of the avocado.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes it's best to just let things slide.
DeleteI'm glad the teasels are surviving. I like your lamp and I like even more your owl.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I found that owl in the trash!
DeleteYou will be rid of the shackles of that library so soon!
ReplyDeleteSteve, I love the lamp and the owl. They are their own kind of art display.
My bedside is like an apple-green boudoir. LOL
DeleteI probably wouldn't have requested payment for a broken lamp either. Accidents happen and lord knows I have damaged enough things belonging to others who declined to charge me for them.
ReplyDeleteYeah, exactly. It was an honest mistake and not an expensive one.
DeleteI might have said something about the broken lamp but then bought a new one myself.
ReplyDeleteIt looks good lighting up the owl!
Well, they did apologize to me profusely, and multiple times. They weren't trying to hide it.
DeleteThose windows are interesting - the large ones on the bottom look like they were supposed to be doors. I love your lamp & now I know why you had to get the same one. Also, the avocado isn't that much younger than Ms. Pinky!
ReplyDeleteThose bottom windows do seem to be french doors, whether people actually step out of them or not. I was surprised myself how old that avocado is!
DeleteThe nearer retirement comes the longer the days, it seems. I wonder if you're being treated less respectfully because you're nearly gone? When people offer notice, to look at a parallel situation, they're often kicked around, unless they're smart enough to include vacation time owed in the notice.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's that. If anything I think people are being nicer to me!
DeleteI wonder if that's a solid barrier between the two balcony spaces. That lamp gives off a weird color light. These last two months are going to be harder and harder. Tick off the days on a calendar.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what that opening is. It could be a breezeway between apartments? I can't imagine it's an open doorway or window -- not in that weather. I don't think it's solid, though.
DeleteWell, it's not a great lamp for reading in bed but it is very cute with that owl there.
ReplyDeleteActually, it's pretty bright. The photo adjusted for the light so makes the scene look darker than it really is.
DeleteWow! I've never seen a lamp like that. No wonder you wanted it replaced.
ReplyDeleteGroovy, right?!
DeleteYou can count down the days to retirement and that's a very happy thought.
ReplyDeleteCan you reduce the two months by taking personal and sick days that are due to you anyway? Schedule a spa day, museum day, random appointments. It all works.
I like your lamp. It has a nice glow.
I think I will wind up taking some personal time because of the death of my stepmother (see subsequent post). Not exactly fun but that will cut down on my remaining work days.
DeleteI love the lamp AND the owl! Does the lamp come in other colors?
ReplyDeleteI think it came in a range of colors, yeah. I just happened to get an apple green one free and now that's the color I'm attached to!
DeleteI got to that point a few times during my last year of teaching, but then I missed it (and the people) so much. It didn't help that I lived alone and didn't have many hobbies. I hope you have an easier transition to retirement than I did! The lamp is very cool.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there will be an adjustment period, and I kind of dread it. Getting another dog (or two) will help!
DeleteI googled to see what type of lamp it was and it's too modern for my liking, but I am glad you were able to get an exact match. What will you do with all the teasels when they grow, since you don't need them? I haven't ever read anything by Bates.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'll plant the teasels, whether we "need" them or not!
DeleteNice to see your replacement lamp arrived ... it looks good.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Thanks! It feels like home again.
DeleteThe book photo struck me straight away as not matching the title at all. The lamp looks neat.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's such a weird photo to use. Clearly just meant to catch eyeballs.
DeleteCodex: @Steve I posted my responses a few hours ago, but disagreeing on science isn't a personal attack. Saw that you already removed me from your blogroll. Disappointed thought you'd be more inclusive.
ReplyDeleteSaying "congratulations you got duped" and what a "good investigative journalist" would do felt quite personal (given that I am a journalist by training). But to be honest, my reaction was not to that single post alone. I've found your tone across many posts and comments to be a combination of condescending and weirdly secretive, and frankly, life is too short to read blogs that give me bad feels.
DeleteAh. It wasn't directed at you nor did I write the post for you. I was talking about the guardian journalist and that for over a decade scientists have been warning about these companies and the media wouldn't investigate. And there are countless other examples.
DeleteI'm a scientist by training and career. About a decade ago people started attacking our knowledge and us personally. Completely random people.
I see you as a gifted photographer. So imagine people start yelling at you that photography doesn't exist. Bad covid analogy.
What you read as condescension is frustration. Again nothing to do with you and yes I'm careful. I explain it in my post. I do expect adults to work out misunderstanding but I would want to be warned if there is a scam.
I love the new lamp and that interesting building you passed. Fourteen years is looking very good on that avocado tree. I can't believe you planted it from a seed.
ReplyDeleteAnd I pulled up the seed when it didn't seem to be doing anything, only to find that it had in fact grown a root! I'm lucky I didn't kill it right off the bat!
DeleteIn my bedroom I have the exact same lamp, only mine is of a teal-ish/turquoise-ish blue. It has a chip at the rim from when I once accidentally knocked it over, but its overall condition is still good; I bought it when I turned 40, which was in 2008.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, those paperback covers from the 1970s!! My sister and I used to love Gabor von Vaszàry's humoristic but nonetheless dramatic novels from the 1950s and older, usually set in Paris. We had the originals with the the 50s covers, very stylish, and then found some from the 70s at a sale - judging from the covers, you would have thought it's soft porn, nothing to do with the story!
I like it that you have saved those seeds.
I guess the '70s were like that -- using sex appeal to sell everything! There was a singer in the '60s and '70s named Ray Conniff whose albums famously always portrayed an attractive woman, for no reason related to the music. You can see them online even now. It was a thing.
Delete