I. Don't. Like. Shopping. Particularly to buy gifts for people dear to me. I worry lots. From mid July to Mid August I have three important birthdays to recognise.
For the first, I bought an orchid plant. I bought it early, and had it in our kitchen for a week or so before the big day. Jazz the malevolent destroyer fell in love. He batted at its leaves and managed to tear two off. He then turned his attention to the blooms and discovered that if he really pounded into them they would come away and could be chased around the kitchen floor. He taught Jewel about these new toys too. So I had to go and buy another orchid. The first is now on our back veranda where both cats ignore it.
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| The first orchid |
When I bought the second orchid (also yellow, also beautiful) I was seduced by this.
I have other sedums, but had not heard of this one. And I loved its name.
Birthday the second (this Saturday) belongs to someone I have known for well over thirty years. I admire, and envy, her energy and her drive. But what to give her? This is where gratitude comes in. I think this is the friend who first introduced me to the works of Tove Jansson. A little while ago
Ampersand Duck recommended 'Fair Play' a book of hers that neither my friend nor I had. So I tracked it down and bought two copies, one for each of us.
But what else to give her? And now I have to thank
Two Tigers, a poet, photographer and artist. In a low point in my life I bought a print of one of her photos which brightened my day when it arrived and continues to lift my spirits each time I look at it.
So ... back on line to order two more from
here. It is her birthday tomorrow and I really, really hope she likes them. And am pretty certain she will.
Finally, to birthday the third. Which is the birthday of my nephew's wife. (As an aside, I was never a good Aunt, and now I am a Great Aunt. Weird.) I have never met her as they live in California but we exchange many, many emails and she has become dear to me.
She, like me, is a reader. So thanks now go to
librarygirl who strongly recommended these books. And of course I bought a copy of each of them for myself as well.
So a big thankyou, not only to these three bloggers, but to everyone else in the blogosphere who has enriched my life in many, many ways. You make me laugh, you make me cry, you fill my days with unexpected beauty and you educate me.
