flowers for the sun

I always celebrate the summer solstice by changing the hand-painted-by-relatives plate on display, but I like to have flowers on the table, too (all the time, if possible.) After all the mowing that got done before the auction, I was lucky to be able to find any at all, but yesterday some black-eyed Susans bloomed at the edge of the trees where the tractor missed them.

The daisies, from another edge, are also rayed like the sun.

The tent of destiny

Saturday afternoon the house I've blogged about here will be sold at auction. I haven't been able to sell my old house (which is rented, but the rent is not enough to pay off the loan on this one) and I've decided not to struggle any more to scrape up the property taxes. Even with my new slightly better paid job, I only make enough to cover my expenses every month. (I'd really like to have health insurance again, but it will take a while.) Turning loose of this house that I expected to live in for the rest of my life has proved startlingly easy. I will miss it, but I need to move on. My allergies will miss it more: I dread going back to hot air heat, which is all I can find, and I don't expect to have the money to rip out a whole heating system and replace with hot water heat. The 45 mile commute is a factor in how willing I am to move. When I built this house I intended to work from home. That has not been possible, and I love my new job (and I sort of still love my old job where I'm still working two days a week) but I spend two hours on the road every day. Someday I'll cut back to a five day work week, but not right away, so being twenty-five minutes closer to work will make a noticeable difference in my life. I've found several possible houses, and on Monday I'll make an offer on my favorite. I'll let you know how that goes!