Cactus flower: Careful what you throw away

Cactus flower, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Cactus flower.
Steel magnolia.
Gloved fist.
Yin yang.
Such beauty in the contrast.

I walked out the door, heading to work right into this absolutely breathtaking beauty this morning.

These flowers bloom on two of the ugliest plants I've ever lived with. When we moved into our new home in December, two gnarly cacti were on the front porch. They are planted in old, wooden pots and kind of shoved into the corner.

I often look at them as I come and go, thinking, 'I should toss those old plants. What can I replace them with?'

Hallelujah!!

Thank goodness I procrastinate. These plants are going nowhere! I'm told the blooms may be gone by the time I get home. And the plants flower very infrequently. I will gladly salute those ugly ass cacti every day until they bloom again.

Lesson to us all: Be careful what you throw away.

Robin, Sonoran Desert, Phoenix

Perfect paint colors are in the eye of the contractor

We're starting to think about painting the house.

 

"Somewhere between a healthy Winesap and an unripened Jana."

"You got that, Charlie?"

That's Myrna Loy playing the homeowner with a vivid imagination. She's married to a character played by Cary Grant in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, made in 1948.

This film proves that nothing ever changes. The experience of renovating an old home was the same then as it was for Tom Hands and Shelly Long in The Money Pit in 1986.  As it is today for you and me.

 Mr. Blandings is full of witty dialogue and well worth renting - can't find it streaming anywhere, dang!

I still like the idea of running down to the store for a pound of the best butter to find the perfect sunny, warm shade.

We're still at the stage where we are driving around the neighborhood, seeing what colors and combinations work well on other houses.  Maybe we should head to the grocery store.

  Robin (& Sue), Tempe