Although my pink flamingo has lost most of its colour, it still makes an attempt to engage my attention. This time it has decorated itself with a flower.
Tag Archives: RDP Tuesday
RDP Tuesday: Slow
A flapjack, a kalanchoe species: I saw it and decided it was just the thing for me. Anything with the name kalanchoe appeals to me: the wonderful succulents that seem to be permanently producing little flowers and can almost live forever. The label in the store said kalanchoe, on the pot the name “flapjack” is embellished, so I was sure it would be a winner.
I had it outside during the Summer as it seems they like the sun, but not too much. Now it is spending the Winter days inside. It is known to be a slow grower. The name flapjack is probably because of the red rimmed large leaves. It is not a very thirsty plant, just some water once a week to make sure it does not dry out.
My dreams of flowers have remained dreams. Apparently one day, with good treatment and conditions, it will flower with a stalk growing over a meter tall. After this burst of energy it will collapse and die leaving its little baby plants behind that afterwards will grow if replanted.
In the meanwhile I watch it grow. The smallest leaves in the middle have grown a little, but there is no rush. I love this plant. It might not be as flowering friendly as its cousins, but it takes its time: no stress and no hurry.
RDP Tuesday: Vapor
There is vapor rising from the chimneys
We live in a modern time
They tell us not to worry
The vapour is clean and not full of grime
You wonder what they are burning
It is better when you do not ask
There are reasons why it’s not wanted
so wear an oxygen mask
Travel on the railway
search for something cleaner
Although this is not better
Even a worse misdemeaner
We have a nuclear power plant
Another form of vapour
it belches day and night
Another modern caper
But not to worry the government says
No problem if it enshrouds
Take a flight in an aeroplane
See it rise and pierce the clouds.
They say it is only steam
Just water that has boiled
I am sure they are telling the truth
With radio activity we will not be soiled
Smoking is very dangerous
is not so good for your breath
Is the chimney vapour better?
Who knows, let’s ask Mr. Death
RDP Tuesday: Error
Has our garden made an error, or was this hollyhock meant to appear at the end of September. I notice it a couple of days ago, took a closer look with the camera, and yes it is full in flower. We have temperatures outside of about 16° C at the moment, but it is surviving.
Our indoor temperature is only 20.7 °C and Mr. Swiss is convinced that the heating is not functioning properly. It is quite cool indoors, but I will survive. My body makes mistakes by registering the temperature. Whilst I am still moving around at home in shorts and a t-shirt, the others are shivering.
Otherwise to error is human and to forgive is divine said my mum and she was always right, at least she always thought so.
RDP Tuesday: Missing
This is the walking stick belonging to Mr. Swiss. With age certain things must be adjusted and Mr. Swiss needed a stick. He is no longer so certain on his pins (cockney word for legs). I already had one due to my MS problems, but he was also a member now of the club. He decided on something plain and simple and this was the result. Walking sticks are very long objects, and so you wonder how could a walking stick go missing.
“Have you seen my stick” is now the latest Mr. Swiss war cry.
“Where did you have it last?” is my answer.
“I must have taken it to the bathroom” is the answer. The bathroom is a small room and so I cast a glance and do not find it. I begin to search in the other rooms and find it next to the printer for the computer. He usually parks it next to the bed at night, although it can often be that it is forgotten in that place that we visit during the night.
Yesterday was the superlative, the crowning glory. He suddenly realised that the stick was missing and was almost certain that he probably left it in the garden when giving the plants water. It was already getting dark, so I illuminated the way with my iPhone lamp, which is very strong, but there was no stick anywhere. Perhaps I mistook it for a tree branch. No, this was not the case. I decided to search in the apartment, again no success.
We were getting despaerate. Was their a stick thief amongst us? You are lost without your stick of course, although I also have one, and have never lost it, at least not daily: just now and again. About an hour later I heard the joyful call of “Eureka” in Swiss German of course. Where was the stick? It was leaning on the arm of his TV chair where he stays during the evening. The chair is black leather and the stick is black, so it had camouflaged itself.
Of course if you buy a normal neutral black stick you will never find it when it goes missing, but he probably did not want to be too conspicuous with the newly discovered stick. If only he had one with a silver skull on the handle, it would have reflected in the light at least.
Now if he has organised a stick something like mine, he would never lose it.
And mine even as the name marked at the top. This stick never goes missing.
RDP Tuesday: Scrap
Joe walked passed the house every day, he could not forget it and it was on the way to his bus stop. He lived there for many years and was glad to be able to sell it. After his wife left him he no longer had a reason to live in such a large house: too many memories would haunt him. There were good times and also bad times, like in any life.
He had moved into an apartment, not too far from the old house. Old habits die hard and there were some events he could not forget. He noticed that the new owners were having alternations done and every day the bricks and rubble was being piled into the container. He got a little nervous when he recognised part of the wall from the cellar. The new owners wanted to enlarge the cellar for an exercise room and found it strange that when they began to break down part of the wall it was not part of the original plan of the house, but had been added.
It was when they found the decomposed body of Joe’s ex wife in the extension packed in a bin bag that they called the police. She still had the nylon stocking wrapped around her neck with which he had strangled her. And now Joe no longer had to take a daily walk. The only walks he took were in the prison yard for exercise.
RDP Tuesday: Web
They hover everywhere in Summer, sometimes they even have a prepared lunch paket, wrapped in web of course. They stay in their own little corner of the world and wait.
Something like this one. I believe it has a fully grown earwig in its parcel waiting to be devoured. We cook our meat in a pot or perhaps in an oven, spiders just suffocate it in a web and suck it dry.
And if you wait patiently they might even produce their egg sack. This is a so-called St. Andrew’s Cross spider and it has been quite productive. It was hanging over my cupboard in the garden suspended by a few threads. And do not search for the male, the female probably digested him for lunch after they met.
Of course spider’s also have an artistic flare and leave their designs behind when they have gone, just to say I was here.
