Friday Randomness

Last week got away with me, so no randomness. But we’re back this week! First off, look at the funny ad I saw on FB the other day. Who knew that putting your TP roll on the wrong way could cause migraines? Not I!

I know you are all tossing and turning at night, wondering about my plumeria. “How is Julie’s Plumeria?” you ask…”I know it partially died after she left it out for the winter, and then she cut it back and it seemed to revive, but is it, in fact, OK? She brought this plant home from Maui in 2021, and has tried ever since to make it into a lovely plant…surely she knows it is a tropical plant, and she lives in a temperate zone! She should ignore the fact that her MIL has one from that same trip that is THRIVING, and LET IT GO.” You may have a point.

I brought it inside this winter, but it still lost all of its new leaves, and then the top kind of died again. So I cut it back again. This is the current situation. Poor thing. My MIL’s plumeria is probably 3 feet tall now and has branched out with beautiful leaves, and she doesn’t bring hers in for the winter. But she has a green thumb, and I most decidedly do not.

Look at this beautiful plumeria! This is not my MIL’s, this is my cousin’s. My cousin lives in Oceanside, which is about half way between San Diego and Los Angeles, and has a much better climate for such things. When I visited her last June, she said she would give me a cutting, but it wasn’t the right time of year for it, so I would have to wait, and she would mail it to me.

I expected a little stick, like the ones I bought in Maui. Imagine my surprise when this box arrived the other day! I put the apple on top for scale, but I don’t really think you need it. Inside were 3 pretty large cuttings, packed loosely in paper so they could breathe. My cousin’s wife paid over $50 to get it here in 2 days, and it took a week. Hopefully they will be OK – I mean, they sell the cuttings in Maui wrapped in plastic, so there’s a chance, right?

Here they are in their temporary home. I don’t have a pretty container big enough for them. Plant people, give me your opinion. Should I go out now and purchase a pretty container for them and repot them right away, risking the possibility that they may not survive, and I will have spent $40 or $50 on a container for nothing? Or shall I wait and see if they survive, which means repotting them when they are settled in, which carries its own risks?

Speaking of plants, look at my little clementine plant! It looks like it’s getting fruit! Will we have home grown cuties to eat this fall, or will George Bush the asshole squirrel eat them all?

What else…well, last weekend was Ted’s birthday, so we had a lovely time celebrating. I did not take any pictures at his party, but we had a lovely time. It was small, just his parents, his brother, and us, but it was really nice. That was Saturday.

On his actual birthday, we started off with brunch at a neighborhood restaurant. I had a delicious (virgin) Bloody Mary. Later in the day, we got dressed and drove to Oakland to have a nice dinner. We got there early and walked around.

I liked seeing these signs in the shop windows. Bonus screenshot of a cute t-shirt I saw online. Speaking of such things, I have not been going to many demonstrations lately. I’ve talked before about how the medication that I take for my Rheumatoid Arthritis makes me very sensitive to the sun, and it seems like no matter how much sunscreen I used, no matter what I wore, I would have a painful rash on my chest the few days after the protests. So now I only go on Saturdays when I know there will be plenty of shade.

So I don’t feel helpless in the face of all of the bullshit that’s going on, I’ve been writing letters to voters via ‘Vote Forward’. In this case it’s to newly registered Democrats in Pennsylvania. I meant to request 20 addresses, but I hit the button twice, so I got 40. Oops. I’m plugging away at it.

Monday, Ted and I took the day off, and we went to see Project Hail Mary. We knew very little about it going in, just that it was sci-fi, and getting good reviews. What I liked: It was a fun movie, much lighter than I expected going in. The acting and cinematography were great. I thought Ryan Gosling did a great job. What I didn’t like: It was LONG. It was 2 hours and 38 minutes, and when you add in all of the commercials and previews, we were in there for about 3 hours. It’s MGM, which is now an Amazon company, meaning we gave money to Bezos. Bah! I think it relied too much on music and goofy scenes, and it had a real Pixar feel to it, if Pixar were mostly real life. So I would give it a solid B, maybe even a B+.

Here’s your weekly gas price update. I’m really glad that we don’t commute. Ted’s drive is about 15 miles, and he takes Beezus, our electric car. Update: We drove past this gas station yesterday, and the price had come down to $6.20 a gallon, which sounds horrible until you compare it to $6.36.

Look at that grey, overcast sky! We’ve had a lovely, mostly cool spring thus far. This was Tuesday morning. It’s been pretty sunny since then, but not hot.

I took this screenshot on Wednesday – look at Monday! But then it cools down again quickly, so we’ll be OK. I enjoyed having a decent electric bill this month. It’s Thursday afternoon as I write this, and now the Monday forecast is much better, 84. I hope that’s the case.

I’m worried about the trees in this photo. See on the left, there are three that are looking great, plenty of green leaves, and then the next four or five look pretty dead. Here’s a closer look.

Not good.

Cat update! These kittens were at the rescue for a few days, but were all adopted pretty quickly. First the orange one, then the other two went to a single household, which is nice. Anastasia is still there, and is doing very well. She came out to greet me when I got there on Wednesday. I want her to be adopted, but she’s a special case and I want her to get the right home. So no rush.

Have a great weekend everyone!