Lilies and Lessons Learned

It seems like July's been a long, hot ordeal for everyone. 

The hand of fate may have dealt us all another really messed up month but the lilies in my garden have kept their promise and showed up in spite of everything.

Sometimes I forget all about them because they bloom after the roses and just before the hydrangeas, both big, showy attention grabbers. Or it could be because they bloom on tall stalks that blend into everything else so when the flowers open it seems like they have suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

In any case, they're great little surprises, especially when they pop up in places I don't remember planting them! 

Speaking of surprises. His Madness and I waited a little too long before getting our last booster and came down with covid a week after our fourth shot. Even though we pay attention to the news and knew there were variants about, it seemed reasonable to expect some level of protection after four doses of the vaccine. We were wrong. On the bright side, it didn't kill us and I really don't mind not being able to smell the garbage but I would like my sense of taste back. 

In the middle of our covid craziness a line of thunderstorms with strong winds blew down a couple huge trees in our neighborhood. It's not unusual for bad storms to pass through our area in the summer but we've never lost power before. It was another learning experience! Now we know what we need to do to be ready for the next time. Luckily, I was on a decluttering binge and had just come across a candle and a lighter when everything went dark. Once I found my phone I used the flashlight to find a few more candles and some batteries for the Luminara ones - that oddly, don't give off nearly as much light as the real ones, but you can put them anywhere without starting a fire. 

It started to rain around six o'clock in the evening and we should have realized something big was on it's way when it got so dark the we needed to turn on the lights. HM managed to override the electric ignition on our gas stove and remove all the hair from his right forearm at the same time. Another plus for having no sense of smell. He was making paella that evening and had everything chopped up and ready to cook which kept further injuries to a minimum. 

Thanks to this little guy from Cracker Barrel's online store our living room stayed lit enough to navigate through for the rest of the evening - on three AAA batteries! Sometimes it's handy to be so obsessed with Halloween that you start shopping for decor in July. Another thing I learned was if you turn off the flashlight on your phone and absentmindedly set it down in some random spot, it's really hard to find. 

In the middle of the night all the lights came on when the power was restored. A rude but very reassuring way to wake up, at least we got back to sleep. It took nearly a whole day to restore the internet and cable. I was stunned to realize how much I rely on electronic devices! Eventually we figured out ways to pass the time without electricity and resolved to always keep the piano well tuned. Is this going to change our internet addiction? Probably not but we will definitely be keeping our vaccines up to date. 

Stay safe and thanks for stopping by!