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| Aloe Flowers |
The lower flowers on the stalks are opening up:
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| Aloe Flowers Opening Up |
Hummingbirds love these flowers.
Tuesday was a sunny day, with an afternoon high of 67F. My daughter called me early in the morning to say she was at the airport, waiting to board her plane; her friend's husband dropped her off early before he needed to leave for work. She had a safe flight back, a bit turbulent, she said, but, smoother than the flight out. My doctor's office called and moved my appointment forward by one day, which was fine. I made American style pancakes for brunch, but, ate them with chicken curry gravy.
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| Temple: Seated Buddha Under the Bodhi Tree |
Tuesday afternoon, I went to the Temple; I gave a donation in memory of my mother and the head monk chanted blessings. Afterwards, I went to the cemetery to visit my mother's grave. I took her the single red rose that was blooming in the garden and several aloe flower stalks. I said a prayer for her and sang Whispering Hope, which was her song. There were several funerals going on in other parts of the cemetery and a lot of people, but, there was no one in the area where my mother's grave is located. I had the whole area to myself and although I had a mask with me, I didn't need to put it on.
Afterwards, I came home and sewed a few more patches on the quilt I'm repairing. Then, it was time to watch the State of the Union speech. Later, I called friend R and video chatted with my daughter.
I made another hamburger for dinner and later, ate one of the leftover pancakes with syrup for a snack!
On Tuesday, I was grateful for:
- Being able to go to the Temple, once again, although I don't go when there's a crowd
- Being able to make a donation in my mother's memory and offer merit to her
- The monk chanting blessings
- Being able to visit my mother's gravesite
- Daughter had a safe flight and journey back to her apartment
Tuesday's joyful activity was being able to honor my mother's memory.
Today, Wednesday, has been another sunny day with an afternoon high of 71F. I didn't have the heater on in the night and when I woke up in the morning, it was warmer outside than inside, so, I opened the windows to try and warm up the house. Then, I scheduled my lab tests for the end of next week. I had leftover pancakes with seeni sambol (from a jar, not my homemade sambol, which was over) for brunch.
Afterwards, I took the laptop and sat outside in the sunshine, because it was so much nicer outside than inside! I was still outside when M arrived to tend to the garden, later in the morning. He watered the back yard, pruned the moringa tree, and repotted some seedlings for me. I think they are passionfruit seedlings from some seeds I tossed into a planter, but, I am not sure. M thinks they are papaya seedlings because I also tossed some papaya seeds in various places! Whatever they are, they were growing in a clump and being overshadowed by some gazania seedlings that are also growing in that same planter! So, I had M dig up the clump and we separated the seedlings and potted them up in individual small pots. There are a total of 26 seedlings! I know that not all will grow and survive, but, even if only a handful do, then, it would be lovely to have passionfruit vines going up trellises in the garden! Or, if they turn out to be papaya seedlings, then, I'll have a papaya orchard! LOL.
After M left, I watered the front garden.
I spent the afternoon repairing the quilt top. Later, I watched news and paid that nearly $700 gas bill. I tried to pay the water and electric bill, but, their website was down for maintenance, so, that goes back on the to do list for tomorrow. There was a notification in today's mail, from one of the medical clinics saying that their computers were hacked into in early December; they will provide one year of complimentary credit monitoring if we register with the company they have contracted with, so that's something else my daughter and I have to do.
For dinner, I thawed a packet of chicken curry and had some with leftover rice and leftover green beans and peach chutney. Chicken is on sale for $.99/lb, this week and I plan to buy some and stock up the freezer - I had been waiting for it to go on sale for that price.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Sunny, warm afternoons
- Being able to manage without putting on the heater all day (I put the electric space heater in the evening)
- M helping with the garden
- Water for the garden
- Being able to pay my bills
Today's joyful activities included gardening and video chatting with my daughter.
Tomorrow, I have to take the car for an oil change/service. My appointment is at 8:00 a.m.! Guess who'll have to wake up early in the morning? LOL. Not sure how long it might take or if they'll find other things that need doing (I'm hoping not!), so I am not planning anything else for tomorrow. If I am able to come back home before lunch time, then, I'll do some cleaning in the afternoon and sewing, plus paying the water/electric bill. I'm also planning to order groceries to be picked up on Friday.
How is your week coming along?
What a beautiful place the Temple is, I'm so glad you felt able to visit and go to the cemetery to visit your mother's grave.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a worry when websites are hacked in to, makes one wonder how safe our personal information is.
That's a very early start for you and I hope your car service goes well and no other issues found.
Thank you, Eileen; yes, I'm glad I was able to visit the Temple and my mother's grave. It gave me a sense of having done all what I could to honor my mother's memory. The monks at the Temple knew her, too, because she used to teach them English when they first came to this country.
DeleteIt really is a worry when websites are hacked into - according to the notice, my personal information is at risk! My daughter's personal information was compromised, earlier, when her university's website was hacked into!
It was a very early start for me! But, I managed to be there on time! No issues were found and I was out of there within 2 hours. Now, I have the whole rest of the day to do what I want! :)
Sounds like you had a very enjoyable day, enjoying the sunshine & fresh air. What a lovely way to pay tribute to your Mom with flowers from your garden. Fingers crossed all goes well & with the least amount of expense possible for the car check up.
ReplyDeleteYes, I did, thank you, Mary-Lou. :)
DeleteMy mother loved her garden and flowers; I almost always take her flowers from the garden if I can. :)
The car service went well, thank you. They changed the oil, rotated the tires, and did an inspection and found everything to be fine. :)
That's an early car appointment for you. If it were me, I'd come home and take a nap after it was done. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it was early for me, wasn't it? :D I don't know why I made such an early appointment! But, it was nice to get it done and get home by the time I usually wake up! LOL!
DeleteI just love looking at your flower pictures because they are often plants that I don’t see growing where I live. Sounds like you had a lovely time of remembrance for your mom. Hope your appointment goes well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mandy; glad you enjoy the flower pictures! Yes, the appointment went well and took less than 2 hours. I have the rest of the day to relax! :)
DeleteThe Aloe is most beautiful! So is the temple. And i love the way you cherish seedlings. My garden always a bit of a mess, because i do not have the heart to take out a seedling, and my son when he was a kid, i called him the keeper of the grass, because he did not even want me to pull out the grass in the flowerbeds. And how is my week; i took the geraniums out of dormancy, they are around 25 years old.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jozien. I like the fact that you let various seedlings grow. And how amazing to have geraniums that are 25 years old! You must be taking very good care of them!
DeleteThat is a very peaceful picture from the Temple. Aloe flowers are quite exotic, aren't they? So good to be able to take some to your mother's grave with the rose. I'm glad your daughter had a safe and less turbulent flight home. It will be fun to find out what kind of mystery seedlings you have. I hope it wasn't too trying to be at the car service for 8 am!
ReplyDeleteYesterday I sautéed some kale stalks with chopped onion and some seasonings, after blanching the stalks in boiling water for a while. This is supposed to make them more tender but they were still a bit chewy!
We have a weather warning for freezing rain, but this morning was fine and I was able to go to the post office to mail a parcel and also to pick up a few items from the store. It started to snow for a while this afternoon but has stopped. We shall see what follows!
Thank you, Bushlady; weekday afternoons are usually a good time to visit the Temple if you want a quiet time. The aloe flowers are lovely and now I have a flower stalk growing from my aloe vera plant, too, for the first time. I think they'll be yellow flowers.
DeleteI survived the 8:00 a.m. car service appointment! LOL! Pre-Covid, if you went in early, they served you complimentary doughnuts and there was fresh coffee, etc. Now, all they have is bottled water (and some overpriced vending machines).
Yes, I, too, have found kale stalks to be rather tough, even after slicing them thinly. The last of the broccoli I picked and froze, too, are rather stringy and tough.
Sounds like your weather doesn't know if it should be spring or winter! Glad you were able to run your errands before it started to snow. :)
The temple has a lovely setting. It looks very peaceful there. How nice you could visit, and get a blessing and also take the lovely rose to your mother's grave. My parents are buried beside each other, and I've only visited once, when I buried my sister beside them. I live too far away. It's nice that you are close by. I hope some of the seedlings grow into healthy papaya trees or passion fruit vines! Some day I will find a passion fruit and try it. I've never seen one in the grocery here, so I'll have to travel to a more tropical location!
ReplyDeleteThe Temple was once a very ordinary suburban house! The original house is still there, but, over the years, they expanded the building and redid the garden to make it more like a traditional temple! One of the monks is a keen gardener and it is a very peaceful setting. There is a small area with a pond...next time, I must take some pictures of that area.
DeleteMy father's and step-father's graves are in Sri Lanka and I haven't been back to visit them. My mother's is located in a nearby cemetery; I selected it mainly because it is close by and I can visit easily.
I picked two passionfruits from my vine, this week; I haven't cut them, yet, but, I'm planning to make some lemonade and add the passionfruit pulp to it. I hope you are able to find some passionfruit to try, one day. :)
Yikes, that is such a high gas bill. Ouch! It has been so much colder here this winter. I have a feeling it's going to continue. I have been spending more time out in the sun, too. Today it was gorgeous at the beach! Your aloe is so pretty. I have a huge aloe plant in my backyard, but it isn't yet in bloom.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is the highest gas bill I've had to pay and I didn't even use more gas than I do at this time of the year! In fact, I used less than I used during the same billing period last year! I just paid the DWP bill and that came to $332 with the sewer fees and solid waste collection fees, etc. Over $1,000 on utility bills, this month (DWP bill is for 2 months, but, still).
DeleteIt was a lovely day, today, wasn't it? I sat outside in the sunshine for some time. :) Hope your aloe plant flowers, soon. :)
Beautiful flowers. What kind of hummingbirds do you see in your garden?
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that it was warm enough to be able to sit outside and enjoy it. I must admit I went outside on the back porch for a little while. It hit 51F here today and then plummeted to 31f lol. It was nice while it was warm
Thank you, Sharon. I am not good at identifying hummingbirds! The ones in my garden seem to be mostly brown, but, I saw a red-headed one by the lemon tree, earlier this week.
DeleteGlad you were able to enjoy a little bit of warmth in your back porch, today. We went up to almost 80F, today! It'll be 73F tomorrow and then back down to 60F on Saturday.
The Aloe flowers look stunning, and such a gorgeous colour. X
ReplyDeleteThey are, aren't they? I'm waiting for the aloe vera flowers to bloom - they seem to be yellow!
DeleteHow nice that you were able to go to the Temple and pay tribute to your Mother and honor her. The picture of the Temple is lovely. I'm glad it was such a nice day for your visit.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of seedlings growing in your garden! I wonder what the newly transplanted seedlings will turn out to be? We will soon find out.
99 cents is a super sale for your chicken. That's a great stock up price.
Eggs came down a bit at my Aldi's - $3.72. I have not bought any eggs for quite a while but I did get the dozen at that price.
That's an early appointment for you. I will read on and see how you made out.
Thank you, Debra; yes, it felt good to go to the Temple and to visit my mother's grave. :)
DeleteI am 99% sure that the seedlings are passionfruit, but, we shall see. They seem to have taken well to being transplanted!
I've been noticing a pattern to the chicken sales - first they are at the regular price (currently $2.49/lb.), then, they go on sale for buy 1 get 1 free, (which comes out to $1.25/lb.), then, a week or so later, they go on sale for $.99/lb., which is when I buy! Of course, nothing is guaranteed, so next time around, the prices might go up! Eggs are still $5.49/doz. on sale and $5.99 reg. price. I'm glad you were able to get your eggs at a reduced price.
Yes, an early appointment, but, I kept it! :D
Glad you were able to visit your mother's grave in peace. One never knows how much activity can spring up in a cemetery, when you usually think of them as quiet, that is not always the case.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susanne; yes, I was happy I was able to have a quiet, peaceful visit. There were quite a few funerals taking place, but, they were in other areas of the cemetery. :)
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