(no subject)

So, in adventures of self care, i now have highlights in my hair. No one will consciously notice. I don't think anyone who sees me via video will notice even subconsciously. We went two shades lighter and throughout all the hair. If anything, it's like she dyed half of my hair, strand by strand, and it looks incredibly natural. 'Spensive in both time and money, but apparently low maintenance, and thus should last four months.

I need to wait for it to be lighter outside to take the after photo. I am not confident even after the light gets brighter outside that the "after" photo will be distinctive from the "before".

I'll share, whatever the outcome.

The department of transportation is back fixing the road. I wish i knew whether what we have experienced was phased fixing - first must do X, then Y -- and they just left the job between X & Y. Maybe the first phase was excavating areas and filling and now they are repaving the whole surface?

Last week, on the 14th, Christine's brother called me. I was reserved and resisted all the responses i've been socialized to make that take the responsibility off the other. Part of my mind accuses, "Rude!" but i resist that label. Christine's brother pled ignorance and blamed his wife and offered the wishy-washy half-apology of "If i hurt your feelings, i'm sorry." He did say the letter was clear, so there should have been no "if". At the end of the very brief call he said we should get together, sooner rather than later. Knowing how Christine has written and called to propose things, the statement sounded more like a request for assurance rather than a genuine desire. And i did not provide the assurance.

It felt good to be able to act as this defense for Christine. I know she aches over the empty relationship and wishes it was otherwise. For her to have received the half apology with no acknowledgement of her experience would have been terribly painful - -and i think it would have been very hard for her to not provide the gracious responses.

(no subject)

I don't think it's that noticeable without the before and after, but "before" is more dishwater and "after" more red gold. Brown? Blonde? I dunno. It's just enough, like cleaning the baseboards. One doesn't necessarily notice noticing the baseboards, and yet it makes a little difference to a room.

Season observations & garden notes.

I noticed the first blooming daffodils and forsythia on Feb 14th in Pittsboro. The following Saturday, on the 17th, i noticed redbuds blooming at Fearrington's entrance. I believe those trees were far earlier than others last year. I've noticed more and more daffs and forsythia since then. Yesterday i also noticed some ornamental fruit trees on 15-501 that have frothy pink blooms. Other trees are budding: i presume they're maples but i'm not sure.

I hope i have some more precise notes about our daffodils. The single one near the road has a bud, as does one of the five in the moss bed in front of the azaleas. One of the Crocus chrysanthus "cream beauty" has bloomed from the five or six i planted in December; the crocus and daff bulbs i planted so belatedly in January are sprouting above the soil, too.

I think i've mentioned digging up the proliferating Star of Bethlehem -- it's everywhere. Fie. Currently the targets for casual eradication are Youngia japonica (Asiatic Hawk's Beard) rosettes, clumps of Star of Bethlehem and native cudweed and spring onions. I'm digging violets up from the garden to fill the holes left when i dig up the onions. I stood around this evening with a limp clump of onions in my hand. It's the randomness of the tufts that is not particularly desirable, not the plant itself. I wish there was some way i could use it to some good effect. It's life cycle seems opposite of stilt grass so i don't think i can use it in my battle.

I'd seen a single violet blooming over the weekend, i think, but mostly the violets are coming back up from where they were killed back by the freeze. I don't remember them dying back so far before. I noticed more blooms today.

I think one of the prior owner's peony plants has sprouted from my somewhat abusive splitting of the crown. Christine's heritage peony shows no sign of growth yet.

I've planted my two camellias. Getting them out of the pots was not graceful: i worry that if the freeze hadn't done them in, i gave them a shock dumping them out. The Camellia sinensis (tea!) is planted in a old stump hole, and the hybrid 'Senritsu-Ko' is planted to the west of the tea.

Last week, or maybe over the weekend, i noticed that the driveway autumn olive had leaf buds that had broken open; as i was planting the Camellia sinensis in the glade tonight i noticed the bud break on those Autumn olive. Honey suckle is greening up as well.

The saucer magnolia has pink lipstick buds showing outside the kitchen window. Drama!