(Pickle Jar) Bouquets

FTS vol. 008

(Pickle Jar) Bouquets - vol. 008

Forecast:

My windows are open. I plan to bike to town this evening. (This would have been unheard of for most of July.)

Weights:

1. My mom was unexpectedly hospitalized on Sunday with two tense days that followed. She’s tucked in back at home again. Overall, the news we received about her health moving forward was positive, but healing always takes time (and hope.)

2. Oof. That’s how I felt when I read this post by historian Heather Cox Richardson.

3. Woke up this morning to the news that Trump effectively pressured the Smithsonian to remove him from their impeachment exhibit at the American History Museum. The updated language reads, “only three presidents have seriously faced removal.” (Johnson, Nixon, Clinton) Bad-bad.

Counterweights:

1. Is joy an act of resistance? podcast by Code Switch was a meaningful reminder that if our joy is not moving us toward justice, it’s cool and all, but it has nothing to do with resistance.

2. 5 black swallowtail caterpillars on my flopped-over flat-leaf parsley!

3. We enjoyed amazing fish tacos on Wednesday night, with a mango salsa bought pre-made at Kroger. Cal cooked the fish. I dragged out a bunch of toppings and made rice (with tomatillo salsa and garlic paste.) 4 stars.

4. ‘May the Lord bless you
   and protect you.
   May the Lord smile on you
   and be gracious to you.
   May the Lord show you his favor
   and give you his peace.’¹

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I got an early start on my garden this year.

When we were barely into May, we were amended the soil, raked out the old growth, and dusted off the trellises. Back on a frosty February morning, I’d ordered a few special packs of seeds, including my all-time favorite flower, cupcake cosmos. I knew the earlier I got them into the dirt, the faster I would have blooms. I’ve never been more on-time.

I’ve been a bonafide flower lady for most of adulthood. (Who here remembers Flower Patch Farmgirl?!) I love an heirloom tomato and you know I’m a rabid pickler. But every year, I devote more of my little garden patch to cutting flowers. Food, at this point, is secondary. Flowers brighten up every room, and lift each droopy spirit. Growing my own is next-level. I’m absolutely not above a $3 clearance aisle Kroger bouquet, but it’s so much better to make my own little posies. Making a bouquet to share? Dopamine overload. I spent the winter scrubbing empty pickle jars.