angela black

The two bunches of Japanese anemone that I planted in front last year have returned. They really are a lovely flower so it makes me inordinately happy to see them again and doing so well.

It’s Victoria Day here in Canadaland so I sat in that very chair for a while eating some rice and letting the blossom confetti rain down around me. The birds are chirping, the neighbours are chattering and it’s just about as pleasant as can be. I really wish it were easier to capture the whole tree at once. The blossoms are soft pink and the tree itself is absolutely massive. The blooms have meant a few new kinds of birds visiting and there are bumblebees dopily poking along.

Later tonight there will be fireworks down at Ashbridge’s Bay but I think I’ll keep reading my book and enjoy the boom boom booming from here. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book through and for someone who once read voraciously, I have missed it. Right now I long for a little adventure and Nicholas Christopher’s A Trip to the Stars is hitting the spot. 

Today was a dumb day as the counter offer deadline came and went with nary a peep. It is just as well as the only thing the lowballers were doing was making me feel bad. Like I said, both sides should feel good entering into negotiations and I really did not. Anyway, the apple tree is in full bloom and smells terrific so I am just gonna chill out and prepare for a better day tomorrow. The end.

Yesterday there was a bungalow almost identical to mine here. It’s just around the corner from where I live. It sold for somewhere in the neighbourhood of what I’m asking for mine… and then it was bulldozed into smithereens. I know this happens and whomever buys a property is well within their right, but I got a little verklempt seeing it torn down anyway. That seems to be the trend of late as there are two homes on this street alone that have been torn down and then built up into two stories. One is quite lovely, the other is a strangely ornate monster home that doesn’t even remotely fit in with the neighbourhood.

Anyway, none of that changes the fact that I have some interest in my house, but no offers as yet. I know it’s a waiting game, but all tolled, I feel like I’ve been mentally on hold for so long now. I miss Josh. I miss being able to make plans. And I’m eager to do some of the things I have lined up in my brain ahead. If that weren’t enough, the number of dreams I have about the house falling apart around my head or being attacked by lizards and vermin or fire are increasing and I haven’t slept all that well in some time. Fun! Anyway, look at that blue sky. It sets off the yellow in that homesmasher machine quite nicely.

Not bad, sky.

I’ve spent more than normal on fresh flowers of late, so it’s kind of nice to change it up with blooms brought in FOR FREEEEEE from outside. It’s a few weeks behind but the apple tree is starting to blossom and it smells amazing. The birds are pretty happy about it too.

Being a homeowner is a strange business. Before this weekend, I couldn’t have begun to tell you what these parts are and what they do exactly. But, it is a very bad thing when you are trying to sell your home and the odd drip in the tub faucet starts to become a steady pour. There’s no way it’ll go unnoticed and not register as a “problem” in the mind of a potential buyer. So, I was looking up plumbers but then decided to ask my Nova Scotian neighbour if he’d ever fixed a leaky faucet himself. He described what I needed and that it was fixable for under $40. So, I called the manufacturer, got the part numbers and the tools needed and found a very good Youtube tutorial. And both my neighbour and the man in the video were right, it was fixed like a dream in about 20 minutes and I felt like I held the whole power of the universe in the palm of my hands. I now know what cartridges and seats are and that mine were in not great shape. Now they are! I feel like a bee oh double ess. I like it.

Mother-daughter fro yo disasters!

Pom tree.