Saturday, May 31, 2008

a camera-carrying day



This rose lives amongst many, in the huge public rose garden on which my house is situated. The formal rose garden, in which this photo was taken, is just beginning to bloom.



I like this photo, because the rose looks like a sculpture.




After our early tour of the rose garden, The Child and I headed for the nearest coffee shop.



Sometimes I think I'm the only person on earth who actually orders coffee at these places. I mean just plain coffee- black, whatever they have on tap.



Artwork from the public French immersion school adorned the coffee shop walls. I especially liked the armadillo.



See what I mean? Even my own child orders a fancy-looking dessert-type drink, having little if anything to do with coffee. Of course, in his case, it's just as well- I don't particularly enjoy watching him bounce off the walls.
After his dessert drink, His Highness decided he wanted to eat. Due to plumbing problems, I lack a functional kitchen in my house, and food prep is nearly impossible. So we went to this neighborhood "deli". They call it a "deli." I'm from the East Coast- I'm not fooled. This is no deli- it's an Italian restaurant. I suppose it really is this city's version of a deli, although come to think of it, there is one famous deli near downtown where Bill Clinton ate during his presidency. OK, so this is my neighborhood's version of a deli. That's embarrassing, but I do like the character of this place.



Notice the cow sculpture adorning the "deli."




The Child plays with his food. He's known widely for his pitiful eating habits. I was surprised that he allowed me to bring him to the "deli." Throughout his life I've kept a list (albeit a short one) of the foods he'll tolerate. It changes regularly but never features more than 10 items. Tossed salad with ranch dressing, seen above, is included on his current list.

Since I had the camera, I thought I'd offer a shot of the whirlingbetty mobile. Nothing's wrong with the car; I just applied too much wax yesterday and lacked enough time to finish trying to rub it off. I explained to The Child that it wasn't "half-assed"- it was "half-waxed."

20 comments:

Laurie said...

Our sons could be brothers! Only
difference is that yours will touch
lettuce. The boy wouldn't touch it
to throw it off his nasty greese
dripping burger.

I do LOVE the pictures of the
flowers. They are just one of the
prettiest things to see when they
aren't being covered in pestisides.

Also, I have no idea what brought
on the boy getting his hair cut.
He just said he wanted it cut short
and my dad took him after school
on Wednesday when he had a half day.

I know that he likes it but you
know a 14 (going on 15) year old
will never admit to it. I hate to
upset you but the laundry...yeah,
they will produce more and you'll
wonder where on the goodness of
the green earth they got these
clothes.

HUGS!!!

B.S. said...

Dear Laurie,

Ah, yes- here we have the visual results of all those pesticides. Or so we think. I've seen stunning nontoxic rose gardens too, and I've told the city about that.

I'm going to show The Child your blog photos of your son for inspiration.

Hugs,
Betty

Monogram Queen said...

You and the child crack me up! I admit to only drinking frou frou desert coffee too. I think black would kill me! LOL
Those roses are gorgeous. My MIL grows some beauties, I would like to try cos' I love them so.

Big Dave T said...

Very pretty pictures. Makes me wish I had some roses in my garden. They take some special care though.

I found out today at my work that we had vanilla-caramel and chocolate-cream Creamora. I'm in coffee heaven. You're right. I rarely see anybody take coffee black, except maybe my brother from South Dakota.

B.S. said...

Dear Patti,

I'll probably have ulcers some day from the black coffee- you're probably better off with frou-frou.

You know, there are some wild rose bushes that are easy to grow (WITHOUT pesticides!).

Hugs,
Betty

B.S. said...

Dear Big Dave,

As I told Patti, I want to be sure that you know that wild (old fashioned) roses are very easy to grow, and there are some gorgeous varieties available. They can be vine or bush form.

I do like flavored Creamora, especially in bad coffee.

Hugs,
Betty

Lynilu said...

I love the picture of the roses! So beautiful!

And coffee .... depending on my mood, I like it hot, strong and straight up most of the time, but a sinful mix is not likely to be turned away from my lips if it struts by!!

My truck needs waxed so badly. Could I borrow you son to do it? Betty, breathe, stop laughing so hard!!!! I was just kidding!

Constance said...

Good Wednesday morning to you, Betty ! Pretty roses.

The child's eating habits cracked me up - I was the same way until I was past 18 !!!

A silpat is a silicone cooking thing. In my case, it was silicone muffin cups instead of the traditional paper ones...

cyber hugs :)

B.S. said...

Dear Lynilu,

Hah! The Child would be a big help! You did give me a good laugh- much needed!

Seriously, though, he did try to help me wax the Honda. It didn't take long for the whining to kick in, and something tells me you know that.....

Hugs,
Betty

B.S. said...

Dear Annie,

The older I get, the less I try to cook, as if I finally accept who I am. But your blueberry muffins did look awfully enticing, and now that I know what a silpat is, who knows? I'm not totally sure I get the silpat concept.....

I'm glad you outgrew those eating habits, because I'm not sure how long a human can survive like that!

Hugs,
Betty

Kacey said...

Perhaps the pesticides are actually keeping the roses from being eaten by aphids. If so, they are doing a spectacular job! You know with a big dessert drink and the size of the "Coke" or whatever is in that cup....no wonder he doesn't eat much....he's on a liquid diet! Most kids are too lazy to eat and prefer drinking...thank goodness booze is off limits for the youngins'.

B.S. said...

Dear Kacey,

Yes, the pesticides undoubtedly help with the formal roses. Some years, though, the roses develop problems anyway, including aphids. They finally tried a patch of nontoxic roses the past couple of years (maybe to shut me up) and the first year they were great. The second year, something happened to all the roses including the nontoxic ones.

And don't be fooled by his drinks- he barely touches them. I used to get upset when ever he asked for Coke until I figured out that he only drinks about an ounce of it. In such a small quantity the Coke acts as a homeopathic remedy for hyperactivity.

Hugs,
Betty

Mary Ann said...

Beautiful roses, beautiful son, actually. His face in repose is simply beautiful as he ponders the salad.

I hope you have a good week! Thinking of you...

B.S. said...

Dear Mary Ann,

Yes, there is a lot of beauty in my life, and maybe today I can focus on that.

You have a great week too!

Hugs,
Betty

Laurie said...

Hey Betty,

Just checking on ya to make
sure all is alright there.
With it being almost two weeks
since a post I'm wondering if you
are finishing the wax job on the
car? HA!

HUGS!!!!!!

B.S. said...

Dear Laurie,

Thanks for noticing my neglect of my blog. It's nice to be missed. Unfortunately, I have not been working on my wax job- the car still looks the way it did in the photo.

Hugs,
Betty

Dust-bunny said...

Betty, what beautiful pictures of those roses! I would be walking in that rose garden every day, it's so pretty! And I love the cow sculpture in the restaurant...what a hoot!

Hope all is going well with you...I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, and it seems I have a lot of catching up to do!

B.S. said...

Dear Dust-bunny,

What a pleasant surprise! I was always hoping you'd be back, and sure enough- it's happened!

This is pretty much the peak of rose season. Everybody knows it, too, and the garden is always croeded, even very early in the morning!

I'm SO glad you're back!

Hugs,
Betty

Daisy said...

Flowers, Art and Coffee. Some of my favorite things. The roses are gorgeous. And I like my coffee black.

B.S. said...

Dear Daisy,

Hah! Another black coffee drinker! Welcome to this very limited club.

Good to see you again, by the way!

Hugs,
Betty