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!

little acorns

This is not a mighty oak yet.

But apparently it has ambitions.

just because

I love this bird.

rainbow

Without rain.

A happy sight after supper tonight.

it's a trend

More head hiding is going on at work.

I assure you there really is a whole cat under that pillow, not just a pair of feet. I was told, by people who saw them moved into the suite, that another cat was under the bed, but I saw no evidence. If you could see the litter box (just out of frame to the right) you'd see that it was without a pawprint.


There is a whole chihuahua under that striped bed. He's not as lucky as the cat; his bed isn't floppy enough to cover him entirely.

And this fellow isn't really hiding. His face is behind the bed...

(not in the bed)

...because his sister won't let him use it. We put three beds in their room, and she chased him out of all of them.

She rules. You can see that at once.

Make the world go away

Yesterday at work, this dog was pretending her two bouncy companions weren't really there.

It was a trend among the cats, too.

By the time I got home, I was ready to join them.