Tonight, we went to the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NC State University in Raleigh, NC. The Gregg is on the small side. But, every time we have been there, they have had amazing exhibitions that are worth the hour in the car to visit.
There was an opening event for the newest exhibition this evening. I can’t go on the weekend and they aren’t open late any weeknight. So, in order to go with my friend, Kimberlin, we had to go tonight. We were all 3 gobsmacked.
We intend to go again, during the day, when we mostly have the place to ourselves. I may try to get some photos to show you what has me so blown away. I may be incapable.
I found a trio of amaryllises at Costco in 2019 and they have become a holiday tradition. My mother really likes them, so I decided to follow her lead.
A coworker had told me about buying all the bulbs that were on sale the day after Xmas one year and planting them in her yard. She said the patch bloomed the following year and has done so ever since. That was how I learned that having an amaryllis as a holiday decoration didn’t mean I had to try to store the bulb in my house and remember to do something with it the next year.
The first trio were probably ‘Red Lion’ because that seems to be the most common variety.
The next year, I got my mother a ‘Red Lion’ and ‘Picotee’ and ‘Minerva’ for me.
My mother had moved to a 5th floor apartment since the last time she had an amaryllis and her red blossom broke itself off reaching for the sun. She told me not to get any more for her.
I did plant her bulb in my front flower bed with my other red ones. The not-only-red bulbs go in the back.
The following year, I got ‘Magical Touch’ to be a contrast in the bed with ‘Picotee’ and ‘Minerva’.
Last year, I found one called ‘Zombie’ and it may be my favorite.
I love the pink pinstriping and the double petals.
A friend had been looking for an amaryllis during the holidays and every store she went to was sold out by the time she got there. She was a little miffed. So, when I found a few still available at Southern States last month, she was pleased to have me pick an ‘Apple Blossom’ up for her. And it is gorgeous.
They, also, had some sale bulbs that were dried out and sickly looking. So, I got a $5 ‘Apple Blossom’ gamble for myself and stuck it straight in the ground near its predecessors.
I put Diane’s bulb in a pot for her because it was going to be a week and a half before I saw her and it had already started sprouting. As I was messing with it, a teeny, tiny bulblet dropped off. It was just a bitty brown thing about the size of my pinkie fingernail. I stuck it in a pot of dirt and have been keeping the soil moist.
And it’s working.
It is so small. It’s not quite as long as the first joint of my pinkie. I’m really curious to see how long it takes to get any size and to bloom.
I do not remember going to the movies with only my dad. I vaguely remember going to the drive-in with both of my parents when I was wee, before I had sisters. and I remember being in the car with the sound box in the window more than I remember the movie, although I’ve been told that’s where I saw Snow White the first time.
Our parents did take all of their daughters to see Blazing Saddles. They had already been to see it and wanted to watch us when the cowboys had beans around the campfire. My sisters were 9 and 7; I was 14.
My mother, grandmother and I went to see Mary, Queen of Scots together. I was shocked by the murder of Lord Dudley. They were surprised by that. Kate said, “You knew he was murdered.” I said, “I guess I didn’t expect to watch it happen.” The only other movie I ever saw with my grandmother was Titanic and she was ready to leave after the ship sank. The love story was uninteresting to her. I believe she thought it was going to be a documentary.
I watched television with my dad. Laugh In. M*A*S*H. Hee Haw. Carol Burnette. I remember the 3 of us watching Ed Sullivan and Red Skelton together. But, when I was older, my mother either did other things while we watched those shows or didn’t really participate in the laughing and commentary.
One of her oddities was her loathing of day time soap operas but love of the night time ones. She did everything she could to stop me watching All My Children and Dark Shadows. I assumed she thought Dark Shadows would give me nightmares. But, I think she just hated that it was a soap opera. I binged AMC 2 or 3 times in my life, watching for a few weeks and then getting tired of it and leaving it alone for years. She always rolled her eyes and nagged me about watching it.f
But, my parents watched the night time soaps together and she loved them. Dallas and Knots Landing were never missed. Except by me. I thought they were stupid, the people and the stories. And not in an amusing way. The 30 minute day time shows amused me and the 60 minute night time shows did not.
I have 3 kinds of blue cheese in my fridge. I got Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Stilton at Trader Joe’s to see if I can tell them apart and/or care about the differences.
So, of course, Chuck prefers one and I prefer another.
I really only have a preference when I’m eating them at the same time. Individually, I like them all.
…and Chuck enabled me. I got another 100 gallon water trough and this time it’s going to hold water.
As a water garden.
And I found 2 varieties of waterlily (‘Madame Wilfron Gonnere’ and ‘Almost Black’) and a spiral reed at Southern States.
I haven’t finished putting it all together to be lovely. But, they are in the trough with enough water to stay healthy until we decide how to arrange things.
I am the Audience 