A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Remember when Mr. Rogers sang that song on his children’s program?  Once in a while, as an adult, we get to have such a day.  And, last Sunday was such a day.  A friend and I made plans to go to a rocks and mineral sale.  Another friend joined us.  My Tahoe is a little better for fitting in three adults, so we took it and drove a far distance from the center of town (where I live) out east to the edge of the metropolitan area.  A far piece, indeed.

The show was held in a hotel with a gigantic venue for shows such as this.  I didn’t count the booths, but the number would probably have been in the hundreds.  I can’t ever remember being at such a huge show.  Maybe, the February Home and Garden Show in the downtown area, but not a show with rocks and minerals, fossils and jewelry, and hundreds of shoppers.  Beth and I had a specific plan; that being, to find mineral specimens that either have the name of a flower or that look like a flower.  We plan to use them in our rock club’s February 2023 show and sale; we’ll create a display case with them.  If we begin now, we’ll only have ten-and-a-half months to get it all together.  Whew!  That’s not really much time because we each “have a life,” you know.

So, it was down one aisle of booths and up the next, examining the specimens at each booth.  We talked with the vendors, explaining what we were hoping to find.  That was often helpful because they knew their stock and could suggest something.  Beth is a cautious and discriminating buyer.  With a Ph.D., she really “knows her rocks.”  And, find specimens that will work, we did!  We came home, somewhat poorer, but very happy with what we (Beth) found.  By the time we were ready to leave, I was really glad I had my cane.

We left the venue and knew that we wanted some lunch.  Linda had just the right place in mind.  So, we went to the Olive Garden (still on the east side of our city), had a great lunch, great service, and, generally, a really wonderful experience.  And, each of us took home enough food for one or two more meals.

The quince blossom waiting for me at home.When I got home, I had a surprise waiting for me.  Several weeks ago, I cut some twigs from my quince bush and put them into a beautiful antique vase with water.  When I came through my front door, the sticks had bloomed.  Forcing these quince blooms is something I do every year  If you have flowering bushes, you can do the same thing.  It’s a wonderful way to bring spring into the house before it is in full stride outside.  I really didn’t get started as early as I usually do in mid-February  This year, it was mid-March before I got the sticks cut.  We had quite a bit of snow, still on the ground around the quince bush.  But, Sunday, there they were.  Glorious buds had swelled and popped.  It is always like magic seeing those apparently lifeless sticks with color!

All in all.  It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  I wish the same for you.

Be Safe and Be Well.

The Cranky Crone

Thoughtful comments are appreciated.