Today turned out to be pretty good after all - I spoke to L. today and went out for a late lunch with my mom - and found gristle in the steak of my sandwich. I even tried to be inconspicuous about it...but my mom heard me bite into it from across the table. I don't know what it is about the stuff that makes me want to toss my cookies whenever I bite into it and not only did I end up with one piece of the stuff in my sandwich but I had three. That is utterly disgusting - there is nothing worse then gristle, except perhaps half dead Gah.

The storms that were expected today evidently stalled over Missouri and Arkansas - now the weatherman is saying that they'll be here tomorrow or Saturday. I need to relearn all those little symbols that are present on the weather map - I don't remember what represents the cold fronts and the warm fronts. I also need to refresh myself on the cloud patterns. About the only ones I remember are the mare's tails and the circulocumulous (or something like that) clouds that spell rough weather.

The drive is kicking in early this year. I found some packages of iris bulbs for a dollar apiece while I was out. I ended up with 20 dutch irises and two bearded ones. I've already started a bunch of seeds in peat and had some marigolds to sprout...add that with the black-eyed susan and sweet marjoram seeds I bought the other day and I'll have a whole world of bloom this year! It's taking just about all that I have to keep from planting - all these 60 and 70 degree days have me just itching to go out; sow all those seeds and like the angels in the koran, bend over them all and encourage them to "grow, grow."

I want to put something in front of the porch this year - if I can find something that can thrive on western exposure to light. I've tried morning glories - with only one success - and several other things that escape my memory at the moment. I wonder if marigolds would grow there? Seems like they grow everywhere else...but then again, that's what I thought about the morning glories. When I was a kid, you could find morning glories and passion flowers everywhere but now you don't see them at all unless someone plants them intentionally...and the darn things decide to deign to show their faces. I guess I could try the marigolds and perhaps also some of that vine that I found growing up the clothes line last fall. I think I'll see if I can get some of those seeds I harvested to grow...

See why I call it the drive now? Being in charge and responsible for all those growing plants...maybe I'm just weird. I'm o.k. with that.