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| Another Squash Blossom |
Another male flower on one of the squash plants. Eileen had asked how I can tell if it is a male or female flower - the male flower has a slender stalk that looks like a regular stem. If this had been a female flower, it would have a slight swelling at the base of the flower, shaped a bit like the fruit it would grow to become, if pollinated. Squash plants usually get male flowers, at first, to attract pollinators, before the female flowers bloom. The flowers are edible, but, I tend to leave them on the plant to do the job they are supposed to do.
Today, August 30, 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary since my mother, step-father, and I left the country of our birth, Sri Lanka. My mother had a job waiting for her, to each English to adult students in Taiwan, but, other than that, it was very much a journey into the unknown for us. It led us to Malaysia, where we visited family and friends, to Hong Kong, where we visited more family, and to Taiwan where my mother taught and there was more family to visit. Then, back to Hong Kong, where my mother taught for three years and I continued to journey to the United States of America to do my further studies. Eventually, my mother and step-father joined me in the United States and we settled down in our adopted country. We did visit Sri Lanka a few times, but the last time I visited was in mid-August 1990, over 33 years ago!
Of the three of us who left that day, back in 1973, only one of us is left to carry on with the journey. I suppose that is way, back in January, 2023, I chose "Journey" as my Word of the Year and I wrote, "Life is a journey and this year, I want to enjoy that journey to the fullest. I shall travel in the company of Hope and Joy and it will be a journey of discovery and personal growth." When I wrote that, I did not mean for my personal growth to be what my scales seem to have interpreted it to be! No, definitely not that kind of personal growth! LOL!
I look on each day as a step in the journey and I try to remember to appreciate each day and live it to the fullest. This blog is, in a way, a record of that journey.
Today, I woke up with pain in my right hip! Maybe I slept weirdly or maybe I am dehydrated (which is quite possible and I am making sure I'm drinking plenty of water, today). I am able to walk although I am shuffling more than walking; I was able to go down the back steps to unlock the gate for M and take a couple of photos. I am fervently hoping that it won't blow up to be a full sciatica flare up, like that other time when I was practically bed ridden! My daughter asked if I needed her to come down, but, I said no, not yet, anyway. Hopefully, hopefully, the pain will go away! Sigh.
I'm taking it easy, today, and ignoring all the things I need to do! I did text my cousin's daughter in Florida to check on her to see if she and the family came through the hurricane ok. She texted back a little while ago saying they're fine; just had a lot of rain and some wind, but, that's all. Glad to hear that.
M was here in the late morning to tend to the garden and he watered both front and back for me and tidied up the place a little bit.
Mama Cat has knocked over the one empty cat litter bucket I left out for her and has claimed it as her new shelter:
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| Mama Cat's New Home |
She comes out to eat and then, goes back inside her bucket!
Today, I am grateful for:
- The journey so far
- Anniversaries and memories
- M's help with the garden
- Cousin and family in Florida weren't too impacted by the hurricane
- Daughter's offer to come home if needed
Today's joyful activity was remembering an event that happened fifty years ago.
How was your Wednesday? Are you planning to look at the super blue moon, tonight?
Congratulations on your anniversary of arriving from Sri Lanka all those years ago. We had a similar anniversary a couple of years ago. Where do the years go?
ReplyDeleteI hope your hip soon recovers. It is frustrating when you want to get things done but must rest instead. I'm glad your cousin's family are fine.
Mama Cat obviously feels the need to claim that container even if she can no longer drink from it. She looks cosy in there.
We haven't seen the dog next door lately, I think they are all away.
Thank you, Bushlady. It seems like you blink your eyes and the years have flown!
DeleteThank you; yes, I'm taking it easy, today. I don't want a sciatica flareup!
That is now Mama Cat's home until she decides she no longer wants it! We recycled the box she had been using earlier. No doubt the dog next door will come running the minute they return! :D
It has been a long journey for you, and it continues. It must have been hard for you, your mother and stepfather to leave the life you knew in Sri Lanka behind. It was very brave, and I'm sure at least a little bit scary. My family moved a lot when I was growing up, around South America and Europe, but we always knew we could come back to family in the US. Would you like to visit Sri Lanka again? You seem to have a lot of relatives in the US as well. Oh, I do hope your sciatica isn't flaring up again! Be sure to take it easy and rest.
ReplyDeleteIt has been an interesting journey, so far, and not one that I regret taking. Part of me would like to visit Sri Lanka, again, if only because things seem to have changed so much. I still have family back there and it would be nice to see them, again. But, I don't know if I'd be up to that trip, again! Yes, I've family here in the US and in Australia and distant cousins that I have not kept in touch with in Canada and the UK! :)
DeleteI'm taking it easy, today, and hoping that it isn't a sciatica flareup!
I was enjoying reading this post, when I suddenly lost my place, due to Boo standing on the keyboard and sending me back to the beginning of the month!
ReplyDeleteIt's been quite the journey for you, Bless. Although I'm not sure that I'm happy about 1990 being 33 years ago!
I hope your hip is feeling better soon. Give yourself a restful day. Xx
Oh, no, Boo! Maybe he wanted to see more photos of Dancer and Mama Cat, from the beginning! LOL.
DeleteYes, it has been quite a journey; looking back on it is fun. Isn't it amazing how time passes so quickly?
Thank you, Jules. I've rested all day and I've finally taken two Tylenol tablets. Hopefully, a good night's sleep will make it all better. :)
I hope your sciatica doesn't get any worse I know the pain is awful as my husband is a sufferer. Your daughter is very caring offering to come home to look after you. That's quite an an anniversary fifty years since leaving the country of your birth and quite a journey. That made me smile about personal growth registering on the scales all part of getting older I tell myself. Aww Mama cat must feel cool and safe in the bucket
ReplyDeletebless her, I love her little white toes :)
Thank you, Eileen; the pain has lessened, today, and I am hoping that it will go away altogether! I'll probably take it easy, today, too. Yes, my daughter was very sweet and caring to offer to come home to look after me. But, I think I'll be able to manage on my own, this time. The pain is not as bad as it was that other time when I could barely move. I'm sorry your husband is also experiencing this pain.
DeleteYes, 50 years is a long time, isn't it? It's funny how these anniversaries of the heart, as I call them, pop up!
Ha, ha, glad you liked the bit about personal growth! :D
Mama Cat seems to like the bucket, a lot! She was curled up all the way inside when I checked on her, last night. But, she's stretched out a bit, this morning, with her pretty white toes sticking out, again. :D
I hope you are feeling better! 50 years! Very interesting to hear of your journey and your mom's teaching. I appreciate learning about the male/female blossoms. I will look for that next year on my plants. andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. Feeling a little better, today, but, still taking it a bit easy. Yes, my mother taught for 40 years, altogether. Even at the end of her life, when her memory began to fail her, she never forgot the fact that she had been a teacher. Be sure to look for those male and female flowers on your squash plants, next year. :)
DeleteIt would be so interesting for you to write up the journey you started 50 years ago. And seeing things as you did as a child would make it even more interesting. Maybe you could do installments here or write a book. Anyway, hope your hip is better today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. Yes, I really should write down some of my memories, although I don't know if anyone would be interested! I've told some of the bits to my daughter and my step-father saved the letters I wrote to my mother and him after I came to the States, before they, too, came over. I found them among his belongings after he died. I have not re-read them, but, I've kept them.
DeleteMy hip is much better, today, thank you. I'm continuing to take it easy, though.
Congratulations on the anniversary. Fifty years is worth a long sit and remember, you must have had so many life experiences before during and after your move.
ReplyDeleteMama cat looks very happy in her bucket, cats are funny aren't they, they choose the funniest places to sit and sleep.
Thank you, Sue. Yes, I've been blessed with a good life and it's nice to reminisce from time to time. :)
DeleteMama cat seems to love her bucket! Last week, it was the patio table - she'd be perched on that all day and night! Before that, it was a cardboard box! She's a feral cat who has made my garden her home; she gets spooked if I try to touch her, so I just let her be.
Congratulations on your 50th anniversary. Thank you for including us in your memory lane stroll. 50 years is a long time. I'm sure sometimes it feels like all of those 50 years when thinking about your life and all that has happened, but then other times it must feel like no time has past.
ReplyDeleteI guess I never realized your step-father accompanied your mother when she came to the states. I must've assumed he had already passed away.
Where were you living when they came? Had you come to LA by then?
The Mama cat image cracked me up. That is just so funny :)
Thank you, Debra. Yes, a lot of memories, both good and not so good, in those 50 years. But, that's life, isn't it?
DeleteYes, I came here, first, and my step-father and mother followed (he came first and my mother followed after her teaching contract in Hong Kong was completed). I was still in Wisconsin at the time and they joined me there. But, winters were too cold for them and they moved to Florida and I joined them after I finished my studies. Then, we all moved to Los Angeles - packed what we could fit into our car and drove across the country! LOL. I guess you could say we settled down in L.A., although I went back to Green Bay to do my masters. :)
Mama Cat seems to love her bucket home! I think she feels safe and sheltered there. Maybe she's hiding from Chicken Little!
Aww, your bucket kitty is too cute! 😍 You have certainly had an interesting life journey to get to the USA. Such wonderful travels! I hope your hip gets to feeling better. Pain is just no fun, especially when it slows you down. So glad your family was ok in Florida.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mandy. Yes, Mama Cat seems to love her bucket! :D
DeleteI have had an interesting journey, so far, and I am very thankful for it.
My hip is much better, today, thank you. But, I'm still taking it easy, per my daughter's instructions not to "overdo things by a mile" as she put it! :D
Yes, very thankful that the family in FL are OK. Hurricanes are scary things!