Sunday, February 16, 2020

Sunday morning this and that

Friday morning at work I buzzed in a delivery person who had two Valentine's Day arrangements of roses. One of them was for me! I assumed at first that they were from my husband (this particular florist has the nicest roses in town and he always uses them when he sends me flowers) but I was wrong. They were from my dad! How sweet was that?!


Since I'm an only child, my dad always got both me and my mom presents on Valentine's Day--we're "his girls". Usually when I was growing up it was candy, a similar (but smaller) box to what he would buy for mom. These days, I'd much rather have the flowers. Thanks, dad!

I wanted to cook a special dinner for Gregg for Valentine's Day but didn't feel like it on Friday night after a long day at work. So I did it last night instead. Homemade spinach lasagna, a nice loaf of Italian bread, salad, and a cherry-topped cheesecake for dessert was what I came up with. It was all delicious!

One of Gregg's oldest friendships is with a Vietnamese guy named Thanh. He invited Gregg over  this weekend to see his greenhouse and to give him a couple of items to give to me (he knows how much I like flowers and gardens). The first is a small potted pomegranate that has two tiny fruits on it. According to Tranh, these fruits are strictly ornamental and too bitter to eat, but he grows the plants because they're so pretty. He also gave us a large concrete planter--he had salvaged 6 of them from a business that was getting rid of them--and something  up to the size of a small tree could easily fit inside. It's attractive but it weighs a ton, and so far I have no idea what to use it for. I'm glad to have it, though! I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I'm participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by Cornell University this weekend. What I seem to be seeing the most of at the feeders right now are tiny little song sparrows. There's a flock hanging around this weekend gorging themselves on the good quality seed we buy. The pair of Carolina Wrens I keep seeing at the suet feeders are still around and starting to grow plump! All that rich suet and mild winter weather, I guess. I'm hoping they have a nest nearby. Speaking of which, the Red Bellied Woodpecker that visits those same suet feeders has turned out to be two separate birds--a male and a female. (I learned how to identify the sexes recently.) I really hope they're getting ready to raise a brood of baby woodpeckers close by this spring. I'll bet they'd be adorable when they started to fledge and follow their parents to the feeders! We shall see.

It's another long weekend (President's Day! yay!) and I don't have to go to work tomorrow. My friend Marian has invited me and a couple of other friends over tonight for wine, food, and the premiere of the new season of Outlander. I'm looking forward to it! I'm making a nice batch of guacamole this afternoon to take along. I think Gregg's planning to invite his friend Ben over tonight while I'm away. They'll have a good time talking about aquariums--Ben's a fish nerd, too. I like it when Gregg has time with his friends, which doesn't happen nearly often enough.

What's going on with you this weekend? I hope you're all having a good one!

29 comments:

  1. A "fish nerd" -- LOL! Have fun with your pals. We completely ignored Valentine's Day here! Isn't that terrible? Hopefully that planter could go in your yard somewhere.

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    1. Not terrible! We mostly ignore it, too. I'd have probably made a special "weekend dinner" even without VD as an excuse. :)

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  2. Your dad is the best to send you flowers. My dad was a sweetheart too, he loved his two girls. That pomegranate tree will look so pretty in your garden, they look like they are decorated for Christmas when their leaves fall and the fruits remain. Glad the fish nerds are getting together.

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    1. It's a small mostly leafless bush with two tiny yellowish fruits on it. I'm looking forward to growing it!

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  3. You could turn the big planter into a jacuzzi and lounge in it on hot summer evenings. It's good that you have finally learnt how to tell the difference between the sexes. I thought they might have covered this topic when you were in high school.

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    1. It's not that big! But it's really, really heavy. Like, small trees planted in parking lot medians heavy!

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  4. Sounds like a pretty perfect weekend. I'm having one too. Isn't it nice?

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  5. Enjoy the long weekend and the flowers. What a sweet thing for your father to do. SG did the Cornell backyard bird count one year in Southern Connecticut. Fun but an obsession!

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    1. I'm beginning to have trouble with squirrels showing up and eating up our seed in no time flat. I'll have to figure out a new feeder situation soon. I can't afford squirrel appetites!

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  6. What beautiful roses! Your Dad is so sweet to send those and isn't it fun to receive flowers at work. I used to occasionally receive them at work and it makes you feel special. Is this a miniature pomegranate tree? I hope you can show us a picture of it sometime. Your dinner sounds delicious and your whole weekend sounds wonderful. Enjoy that extra day off!

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    1. I'll post a pic of the tree soon! And yes, getting flowers at work is a real treat!

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  7. spouse and I had lunch with mistress maddie yesterday (mistressmaddie.blogspot.com). always a good time!

    your VD (valentine's day) sounds lovely. but you forgot to say you won a prize from reading my blog!

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    1. You're right! Sorry!! And I'm so looking forward to my prize. :) Thank you again, Anne Marie. I will post a photo of it here on the blog as soon as it arrives!

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  8. How very sweet of your dad to have such a nice tradition.

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  9. I too thought the flowers splendid.

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    1. They're opening up and looking very beautiful, but I wish they could last a little longer!

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  10. This is wonderful, especially after you were having a less than glorious time at work just recently.
    Your Dad sending you flowers, how lovely is that!
    The meal sounds fantastic and just like my cup of tea. Also, an evening with friends, good food and wine - always a special treat.
    Our weekend was springlike, warm enough to go without a heavy coat, scarf and so on. It is the Carnival season in O.K.'s area, and there are dances in the village hall, costume balls and parades going on all the time. We have been out until 2:00 am on Saturday, and next weekend will be pretty much the same :-)

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    1. Carnival! That sounds like fun. Party hard, because Carnival means Lent is approaching, no?

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  11. Did you notice a drop in the bird count--especially of songbirds? Our feeders are not as busy as they used to be. Wondering if it is the milder winter or something more sinister.

    As for a squirrel proof feeder, I absolutely recommend a Brome Squirrel Buster Plus feeder--made by a Canadian company. Not inexpensive, but ours is more than 10 years old and still in service. Definitely squirrel-proof. When the plastic tube finally cracked a little bit last year, the company sent us a replacement tube for free. Great customer service.

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    1. This is my first bird count, so it's hard for me to say. It seems like we get a lot of birds of various species, because we live close to a creek and the wooded creek bottoms. We've only lived in this house for a little over a year so again, it's hard to say.

      Thanks for the squirrel proof feeder recommendation! I will check in to that.

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  12. You have inspired me to finally start recording the birds I see at my pond. I have always wanted to do this and now is the time.
    parsnip

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  13. My weekend started today and I climbed the Mur de Huy! great fun!!

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  14. How wonderful of your dad to send you flowers. You are a lucky lady.

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