Thursday, March 12, 2026

Catching Up


Another view of our Primula in its hanging basket, scruffy leaves and all. With flowers like those, we can forgive a little scruffiness in a plant that is surely by now a senior citizen in the plant world. (It's been in that basket at least five years.)

I thought I'd have some time yesterday to catch up in blogland, but that was not to be. I was nonstop at work and didn't even take my full lunch break. My co-worker is out with an illness in her family, so we're short-handed and I had to clean up everything that hadn't been done by the substitute while I was away.

Having a sub in my position is never easy. It's not a difficult job -- barring the occasional physical demands of lifting and kneeling -- but it does require use of the computer system, which means training, and knowledge of lots of little internal matters like how to handle books on hold, or what to do when a kid comes in to pay for a lost book. My previous boss found that it wasn't really worth all the work to bring someone up to speed just for a few days. It was better to just struggle through with no sub. I wonder if my new boss thinks the same.

Fortunately I'm almost never absent!

They still haven't hired someone to fill my position but I think they're close.


Here's a snapshot that I found at my dad's house that I tucked into my suitcase to bring home. It's weirdly captivating, isn't it? That's my stepmother at right, with one of her brothers behind her and my stepsister at left. It was taken in the early '80s, I believe in my step-grandmother's living room, and I just love the composition and the expression on June's overexposed face. It's one of those pictures you could stare at for hours, picking out all the little details of the room and thinking about the circumstances and relationships.

Off to work!

51 comments:

  1. Looks to me like June is saying "get that camera out of my face!"

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    1. Or maybe she was just surprised -- turned to face someone and BAM, the flash went off!

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  2. Great photo, a lot to look at and think about.
    Can you make out the photographer reflected in the mirror on the wall?
    Your stepmother is wearing a velvet dress by the looks of it, and there are bottles dotted around; I guess some kind of family gathering/celebration was going on or winding down.

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    1. Someone is reflected in the mirror, but I'm not certain it's the photographer. May just be someone else at the party. It definitely seems like a celebration of some kind, but there are no Christmas decorations, so presumably not that.

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  3. That's a great photo... looks like it was quite a party.

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    1. There was plenty of beer, from the looks of things!

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  4. I love busy photo's from the past, little snippets of memories, plus we were all so colourful, unlike the bland world so many live in now.

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    1. That certainly is a bright dress that June is wearing. I don't remember it at all!

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  5. A cluttered room reflecting the things collected over the years. No-one seems particularly happy about the photo though.

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    1. It's definitely not posed, which is why I like it so much.

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  6. It is definitely one of those pictures that you can easily identify the era it was taken due to the striped couch , mustard colored chair. and clothing styles. What was the celebration going on with all the beer bottles and also the champaign bottle?

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    1. I have no idea! It must be winter because June is in a velvet dress, but it doesn't seem to be Christmas or New Year's because there are no decorations.

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  7. You’re so right about the photo. I find it fascinating and have been examining it for the past 10 minutes. (And now I’ll get back to it.)

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    1. I wish I had the negative. I'd make an enlargement!

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  8. I like hanging baskets..although I've only grown "Tumbler" tomatoes hanging in a greenhouse previously.
    Too windy for outdoors ones here!

    It would only be courtesy to leave a simple checklist with a sub. I bet things change after you leave!!

    Old photos like that are fascinating. So much to learn from them...so much we just have to surmise if we weren't actually there..and even then...

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    1. Oh, I left instructions for the sub, but you can never describe every step of every action, you know?

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  9. Interesting how all three people are turned in different directions. I love these kinds of pictures of people I don't know because a story can form and go anywhere.

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    1. Yeah, I love the fact that none of them are interacting with each other.

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  10. That Photo Is Exactly Why Print Rules Over Digital - All The Best With The Remaining Work Week - You Got This

    Stand Tall ,
    Cheers

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    1. I hope I've got it, but sometimes I'm not so sure!

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  11. That is an excellent photo! My mom often had a similar expression on her face because she did NOT want to be photographed. Fortunately we didn't listen to her.

    I'm having a shoulder replacement at some point (late summer or fall - I haven't decided), and I've been writing up all my processes so that someone can at least do the bare bones of my job while I'm out (at least four weeks). I think this process will be excruciating for everyone involved. Ha!

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    1. It's really hard to step into another person's job. We all have our systems for doing things and they aren't easy to replicate.

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  12. I quite like that photo.
    How nice to get time off work, only to come back and have to do all the work that wasn't done while you were away.

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    1. That's how it always is, isn't it?! Punishment for taking time off!

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  13. You can't complain too much - you have few days left! Then it will be someone else's problem.
    That photo has so much to look at! Sharped-eyed Meike noticed the flash of the photographer in the mirror! The cards stuck on the wall make it seem like a Holiday or Birthday celebration...

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    1. Oh, that's true -- those could be holiday cards! So maybe it IS Christmas?

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  14. Wow! That truly is a photo with a lot going on in it. A LOT. Is your step-sister contemplating snatching that beer?

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  15. Having become a recent regular reader, it sounds like you are getting ready to retire or change jobs? I retired two years ago, it is wonderful. Great photo.

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    1. Yes, I'm retiring April 15! It can't come soon enough. Welcome to the blog!

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  16. The photo is very 1980 ish. The old 35 mm cameras had a different look. They were not automatics.

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    1. I think the different look comes more from the film than the camera, but who knows!

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  17. That photo speaks of times gone by. Oh, the things you can draw from that!

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  18. 5 years for one basket of Primula is pretty good. The flowers are beautiful.
    The photo was not staged and June, with arms crossed, seems not happy about the picture taking. I wonder who the photographer was and did June give him/her a piece of her mind.

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    1. I assume my dad took the photo, but I'm not 100 percent certain. She usually didn't mind having her picture taken so I wonder if she was just surprised.

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  19. Looks as if your step sister is blowing up a balloon. It would fit the party details.

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  20. The crossed arms--oooh. She doesn't look happy with the photographer.

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    1. Maybe she was having a political conversation with someone else in the room and was already cranky!

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  21. Good to see you at my blog today. Between your travels and grueling work schedule, I don't think I've seen you in over a month! I know that final day can't come soon enough!!

    Captivating is the right word. It keeps drawing me back for all the little details.

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    1. I have not kept up with so many blogs, for which I feel guilty, but yeah, I've just had no time lately.

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  22. hahahaha - it definitely has captured a moment! Once you walk away, work may well change everything - that is the hard bit.

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    1. Actually, I think I'm OK with them changing things after I leave. Then I'm not responsible and can disavow it all!

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  23. Your Primula is a lovely colour.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Isn't it nice? I really should put it in a better pot.

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  24. The photo doesn't look posed, and the two who were aware of being taken, seem ambivalent. There is much to see in the somewhat overcrowded room.

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    1. Yeah, it was definitely spontaneous and the cluttered room makes it all the more interesting!

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  25. Your primula is such a survivor and very pretty.
    The photograph says a lot and asks even more.

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  26. That is a great photo. All kinds of stories suggest themselves.

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