SAY MY NAME!

I was not planning to spend quite so long in the garden, but needs must!  I cannot fathom how my dad managed to spend so much time in his rather large garden, which was, in comparison to some, smallish!  I suddenly longed for the days of 'just watering', but knew there would be maintenance, even in this small area, which seems to take hours to clear!

The shoe rack for the peas actually works and with all the peppers outside, I was thinking about having my kitchen back, and wondering how I was going to cope with all the space!  I can finally get to my bakers stand, which has been inaccessible for months!  At least it seems like months!  I did not really need to get anything off the stand, but it is April, and therefore time for the bi-annual ornament dipping!  The other thing that is on the stand, is seeds.  Lots and lots of seeds!

"Would you like a tomato and pepper plant?" I asked my daughter.  I should have guessed the answer.  "Sure! But it would be really good if you could leave it here and water it for me, and I can pick the tomatoes and peppers when I get here!"  Just like the bedroom!

Swimming was wonderful, albeit the water was a tad on the chilly side.  I moved along to sit in the sun, which was warm, but out of the sun, it felt chilly.  Again, I was alone.  It bothered me not. One of my neighbours shouted down from the railings, "Is that you?"  I was tempted...!  "Is it cold?"  Of course it is cold.  It is April  However, as everyone appears to use me as a barometer, I cannot be unkind!  Another couple of weeks, and the 'hardened' crew will arrive, followed up in a couple of months by the 'regular summer timers and then back to Autumn, where I swim alone for the most part!  

We were very busy on Monday.  It was going to be a short week for some, but our courthouse is one of the few that opens on Good Friday. Therefore, we are open!

It was going to be a week of telemarketers, and although this is not abnormal, it seemed to be a little more prolific.  My first dozen calls were asking for my medical history, followed by several offering me a better rate on my car insurance, and finally, Jason, Greg and a third name I cannot recall, as he is new, telling me that I needed to have solar installed, right now, as I sat.  Jason and Greg are regular callers.  Electronic as they sound, perhaps they are real, and perhaps they have a wonderful business somewhere in the Bahamas, where they spend all day, gathering sun for their wonderful new fangled solar system, that can be transported to the United States, and offered to the likes of me at tremendously discounted prices, so that they can spend the profit on new ways to call without actually having to call.  Of course, Jason and Greg could be two old age pensioners, sitting in a 'two up, two down', in Birmingham, England, wondering how to get to the Bahamas, so that they can spend all day gathering sun....!

The lovely lady who called and told me that she had my details in front of her, got rather angry when I asked to whom she was referring. "I can see that you have...", and quoted my medical plan, or at least a medical plan, and then went on to ask me my age, and a few personal questions.  When I asked, "What name do you have on your screen", she got rather abusive, and told me that she could not give out that sort of information, as it was privileged and private!  I responded that if she would not give me my name, how did I know she was talking about me. She assured me that it was me she was talking about and now I needed to give her my age, to clarify.  Why she needed my age, if she knew all about me, knew it was me she was talking to, and had everything about me in front of her, why could she not tell me who I was! When she asked me for my age I was tempted to say "12" but thanked her for her time, and said goodbye. 

Most other telemarketers merely received a "No thank you" and "goodbye".  The problem with some of the calls is that they are routed through numbers that are recognisable, and come up on the phone screen with names that we know.  Some of the courthouses have a 'tell tale' silence before they connect, so I cannot just put down the phone!  How complicated my telephonic life has become!

The postman came in around four thirty and we discussed the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.   The animated conversation was not interrupted as no one had any idea of what we were talking about. He is a big fan, and has studied the sport in far greater depth than me, but I am familiar with more than most, and we are like the armchair football players, with all the ideas, opinions and obvious solutions to all the problems, to make sure that our guy wins the championship. Perhaps Greg and Jason are Formula 1 fans.  If they are sitting in the Bahamas, they can probably afford to go to the races!  Perhaps their solar systems can help with some of the problems the drivers are facing. I shall have to put that to Dirk, the postman!

It was warm enough to get into the pool after work, all week!  Despite there being a couple of days that were overcast, it was quite hot on Monday and Tuesday, and the forecast offered us more of the same, with the chance of showers, storms, and of course, tornadoes. 

My 'professor' of gardening, sent me some more emails during the week.  She was sitting doing a 'stake out' that our client had asked for.  "I can spend your money while I am doing this", she joked.  "The longer he takes to come out, the more I can see what you need!" she said.  However, her ideas caused my brain into overload, yet again, and I realised that I needed to get a hat stand or two!  "Well that will save a bit!" she said.  "Go to Goodwill!"  The charity shop that has it all!  Perhaps I will!  This did not stop her from giving me some more ideas, and websites to look at!

I drove myself to work and home again, midweek, and when I arrived home, was quite concerned to see footprints on my stairs.  It was a little bit unnerving. The doors were all locked and there was no sign of any disturbance.  I messaged Samantha, but she reminded me that she was not there in the morning.  The black soot only seemed to go up, and not down, so I checked all around, and found nothing.  It disappeared as I got two steps on to the landing.  I looked up as if something would be hanging from the ceiling.  I knew I had taken off my shoes at the door, so I was sure it was not from my footwear.  Up and down I went, trying to fathom this anomaly.  Then I found it.  The shoes I had on had a hole in the heels.  Somehow, they had 'exploded' and a black sooty substance had come up into the shoe, under my feet.  When I checked, the bottom of my tights were dark and dirty.  I felt so much better, but rather angry that I had to clean the carpet on my stairs!  "Did you find him?" Samantha asked, and I told her what had happened. When I explained, she laughed rather heartily!

Although the week was busy, Friday morning saw a slow down.  By two, everything appeared to be closed for the weekend. Emails all but stopped, and the phone calls were only spam calls.  

The garden centre was very busy, even though it was two thirty, and lunch break was over!  I pulled in and waited for a space.  "Can you tell me what doesn't like to be planted with what?" I asked the lady. "Oh, I think all 'erbs really like each other", said the expert.  I did not like to tell her that basil is a bully and does not like tarragon at all!  I got to the desk and got ready to pay.  "Are you part of our rewards programme?" she asked.  I thought I was, but apparently I was not.  I told her my last name, and then my first.  "We have a ....", and she went on to list all the names she had that accompanied my surname.  Perhaps she should get a job with the medical telemarketer!  Perhaps not!

Being April, the weather pattern is somewhat erratic, or perhaps neurotic! This, of course, is nothing new for Austin, but storm clouds form and then dissipate, it becomes cold, then hot, and before you know it, the trees are brilliant green, and the flowers are out in force.  The bluebonnets give way to other indigenous plants, and we are in summer.  

"I am trying to make winter last for a little longer", said my neighbour as she saw me wearing my swimming costume.  "It is still a bit winter", I responded, as she pointed to my outfit.  Thankfully, the tassels that were falling into the tree have nearly all gone, and the wind is now blowing less into the water.  I did not need to clean this weekend, which was a relief for two reasons.  Firstly, the obvious, I didn't have to clear away the debris, and the second is that there is little space left on my torso for anymore insect bites!  If you joined them all up, it would resemble the Bayeux Tapestry, I am sure!  I do not intend to join all the dots, but a picture is emerging!

Once again, it is Sunday.  The absence of real events last week is not problematic.  My garden is looking good, and I have the last of the peas to plant.  The carrots are doing well, but not quite ready to transplant.  I did buy some cucumber seeds, but I am not sure if I will plant them, as I have to find some more room!  Hence the hat stand, or clothes rack, as it will be easier to hang down that across. I shall look into the hat stands this week!

The sun is going in and out and I am going to enjoy my afternoon.  I plan to read and then perhaps plant the rest of my vegetables, but may just concentrate on the 'erb garden.  Perhaps next week will be a little more exciting, perhaps not.  It's been nice not to be too hectic, but maybe a meet and greet, or concert, or something similar. Next week is ........... another story!