Mark’s Notes On The Go

Thanksgiving Cactus

Almost two years ago, I visited my now-late grandmother at Christmas. While there, she gave me cuttings from two of her cacti. She told me one was a Thanksgiving and the other a Christmas cactus - the main difference being when they would bloom. Neither of them bloomed last year. This past January, Granny passed away, and I’m still dealing with the grief.

Just now I was heading out the front door when I passed the cacti and some other plants that I moved into the foyer from outside when the first cold weather threatened. One of them is preparing blooms!! It looks like fingers crossed that one of them will bloom for Thanksgiving this year!

I can never decide how I feel about spirits and the like. I had an experience with an apparition as a youngster that I still don’t know what to make of today. This year, when warm weather came, my parents had a Crepe Myrtle blooming by their back steps. Granny gave me that plant around 5 years ago to take home. I neglected it. It sat all winter in the old plastic bucket she sent it in. In the spring, the plastic disintegrated and it just took root on its own. That alone was a miracle. I still ignored it. I guess it’s just a coincidence that it burst into bloom this year? Or that, according to my Aunt, my grandmother’s yard was bursting with blooms this year?

Part of me wants to believe that these are signs from my grandmother that wherever she’s gone, she’s happy… and we’ll see her again..

Today would have been Granny’s 93 birthday. Last year my Dad and I went to see her a couple of days before her birthday since it was on a weekday, as this year. That’s the last time I really had a conversation with her. When I saw her on Christmas Eve, she was in ICU. The only thing she said to me was “I hurt.” That was more than she had said the rest of the time there according to family. When I saw her a couple of days before she passed away, she was too weak to speak.

I would have liked to have had the day off today, but I didn’t have enough vacation to swing it. I don’t think I’m going to accomplish much today…

I spent the weekend at home. I worked a compressed work week last week and was off on Friday. This week I splurged vacation days for Monday and Tuesday. Got a good bit done around the house. Did most of the trim painting that was left including the remainder of the front porch floor. Because it rained on my last day there, I have one storm window left to put back up and another to take down to finish the painting. Well, there is the little matter of the back of the house that needs painting, but I figured after the way this summer went, the part of the house no one but us can see would be the last part to be done.

We also went to the Andersonville Fall Festival. Had a really good time. It’s not a large fair by Atlanta standards but it was enjoyable to me. Ran into a couple of people we knew including one of my former neighbors/classmates and her little girl.

Sunday my Dad and I did some maintenance on my blazer.

Monday my Mom and I went to Byron, GA, to the Big Peach Antique mall. I got a couple of new pieces of pottery from a local artist’s booth.

Back to work… helps blot out some of the memories…