Eclectic Like Me: May 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

Stop and Smell the Roses

It's rose time again! This year has been especially good for my roses. 'Louise Odier' has been blooming profusely for over a week, filling the air with her scent. And 'Roseraie de L'Haÿ,' though not so profuse, has been absolutely gorgeous. I should have taken pictures when they were at their peak, but I believe that time is now past.

Anyway, 'Frau Karl Druschki' was looking perfect this morning, and I had to stop and take a picture:

Frau Karl Druschki

I love each of my roses for different reasons. What 'Frau Karl Druschki' lacks in scent (she has practically none), she makes up with her magnificent blooms. I have never seen a more a more perfect white rose from any other variety. I also love that the buds come out pink but open to purest white.

Quite a few of my other roses are about ready to burst: 'Veilchenblau,' 'Basye's Purple Rose,' Rosa gallica 'Apothecary,' and a few others. I can't wait. I also need to find a time to go out to Fulks Run and check on my roses there: 'La Reine,' 'Rose de Rescht,' and 'Suma.' Why is it so easy to take time to stop and smell the roses, but so hard to make time to mow the grass?

Random Things About Me

I don’t like talking on the phone.
At some point in school I had to read “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. I hated it. Ever since then, I have disliked all books/movies/TV shows about cold, snowy places.
Sometimes I use pivot tables in Excel. I don't know whether to be proud of this or ashamed (because it means I use Excel way too much!).
I don't like mangoes.
In the course of talking through a problem with another person, I often have that “aha!” moment when I answer my own question. In order to waste less of other people’s time, I keep a rubber ducky, named Johnny Mustang, on my desk, and I talk through problems with him instead.
When I get cravings, it’s most likely for one of the following foods: chocolate, onion rings, cheese, or buffalo wings.
My father and both grandfathers all have names that start with E: Eldon, Emory, and Elias.
I think the spread of cell phones has introduced a whole new way for people to be rude to one another. If cell phones weren’t so incredibly useful, I wouldn’t have one.
I love to laugh. A lot. I’ve never laughed so hard I peed my pants, but if I did, I would probably laugh about it.
I defined my own “Hierarchy of Cleanliness” for assessing which guests my house is clean enough to host. The categories are: (1) me, (2) family and close friends, (3) acquaintances and strangers, (4) hot date, and (5) the president. To date, the cleanest my house has ever been is level 4. I hope one day to achieve level 5, but as presidential cleanliness is about so much more than just getting rid of dirt and clutter, I have my doubts.
Most of the best cakes I've ever eaten were cakes I made.
I can't bring myself to wear black and khaki together even though I think it looks fine (even good) on other people.