tea is good, but cats are better

driving here and there to fix my computer took us to augusta georgia, then over to aiken south carolina where we found a lovely yarn store. i am quite bad at remembering to take photos, but i did manage to capture this pretty bloom that was right outside the store.

when i arrived back home it was to a waiting box of tea yumminess. since coming home i've tried den's tea, and now ippodo tea to get my sencha and genmaicha fix. i had visited ippodo while in kyoto, so i felt comfortable ordering from them. their website is so whimsical, with illustrated instructions for brewing the different types of green tea.

meiko decided the box would be a comfortable sleeping spot. she often puts me in mind of a muffin top.

spring? more like summer

it always amazes me how a few days of hot weather and warm nights brings on a rush of growing things. my mulberry tree survived the winter, and is leafing out rapidly; the flower buds look like little eri caterpillars.

amongst the soil in the clematis pot, a colony of moss captured my interest; the little worlds are so alien. i only wish i could grow it inside, but my green thumb has yet to achieve such feats.

after my foray outside, i happened to glance at my leafless flowering orchid, and noticed a little wanderer. a teeny tiny grasshopper that wouldn't look out of place in my dollhouse.

planting color

i'll be the first to admit that i haven't much of a green thumb. some would say, black; or at least grey. my orchids have survived, for the most part. however, putting aside all that, today was a day to dig your hands into soil, rip roots loose, and arrange heights and colors in a container of clay.

we have a front porch that sits mainly in the sun, which perhaps makes it seem barren and harsh on the best of days. it's nice to sit out there once the sun falls behind the house, but at that point the mosquitoes become your bosom buddy. i've learned that the little blood suckers absolutely abhor lavender. so to my way of thinking, "lets plant lots of lavender on the front porch, thus fending off the mosquitoes". lavender loves the sun, anyways.

so into the neighborhood big box garden store, which of course, did not have a stem of lavender. but oh, there were lots of pretty smelling flowers. so i started grabbing plants which met three requirements: strong scent, either pinky purple or yellow green flowers, and of course differing heights. so these were the groupings i put together when we arrived home. i hope they like their new neighbors. this is definitely new to me, you know, gardening. better luck tomorrow as we go a'hunting for that lavender!

thoughtfulness

my mother's been feeling down lately, and there isn't really anything i can do to fix it. however, on my way home from work the other day i stopped in at madame chrysanthemum's, a local florist, and got her a spur-of-the-moment bouquet. she felt much better for a little bit at least; and look there's a giant heart in it!