How I love coming home to Steffi's House! It is all that one would want from one's little nest. Not yet cluttered by life's progression (and I mean cluttered in the broadest sense of the word), it is pure and innocent. Cheerful and warm. Welcoming.
Here's how my rentrée (borrowed French term for re-entry to normal life after a vacation) progressed:
My transatlantic flight was seamless and on time. Coming into Chicago is a bit much for a provincial hayseed like me who thinks Detroit, with maybe two international flights arriving at the same time is too chaotic. Lines through passport control (ten different lines and it's up to you to figure out where you belong), long waits for luggage (lucky break for me that I do not have to recheck my bag because there are lines for that as well), and then you have to take a train to get to a place where you can pick up your Uber. No thanks. If I'm going to take a train to Terminal 2 (where Ubers come), I may as well walk from there to the Chicago El (their subway) station and take the train to my daughter's neighborhood. Cheaper and no traffic.
What I didn't count on was how awkward over bumpy uneven sidewalks the walk from the El to her home would be. I was helped with my suitcase on the station stairs, but thereafter it was just plain torture and my backpack felt very heavy. Next time Uber, you dumb scrooge you!
I was pretty wiped by the time I arrived at their place at around 5 pm. Still, it was grand to see the two girls! Kids at this age never stay in place for long and they already seem ten years older than when I last saw them in August.
I joined them for dinner, and we played a game and it was all great fun.
My daughter had actually been out of town and she arrived just as I was ready to leave, but I did catch her for a few minutes and every few minutes is good in my book! But mindful of my bus schedule (and total exhaustion), I left their home at 8, Ubered (wisely this time) back to OHare airport, and caught the bus back to Madison, arriving in my home city and state at just about midnight. Ed was there, waiting.
Julie, Millie's best bud, had left the house splendidly clean, which was a great gift for me! Still, as always, I felt compelled to unpack and take stock and so it was close to 2 before I fell into bed completely spent.
And this morning? Sunny and beautiful! First thing: take a look at the roses. They survived!
(The Primard gardens looked like they were shutting down fast. Mine doesn't look like it's in that much of a hurry.)
Several of the roses have significant leaf damage which I assume is due to rose slugs. I'll have to clean them up today -- rip out leaves in the hope of disposing a good chunk of the little green larvae. And all my plants need water, but no problem, I'm on it! After breakfast of course.
As you see, there are still blooms coming through here and there. I so appreciate them! We're not going to have another frost night this month so I expect my rose luck will hold. For now.
The slug control takes forever! An easier strategy would have been to use organic insecticidal soap, but since it is the end of the season and the leaves will soon drop of their own accord, I thought I'd limit my interventions to just manual removal. We'll see if that's sufficient!
Rose care always sucks up many if not most of my available hours. But you couldn't ask for a nicer day to do this in. Or... am I simply avoiding getting to the bulb planting? Possibly.
By 4, I am so ready to pick up Millie. I get a quick summary of her week ("she was perfect!") and then I bring her home and brush her, and hug her, and walk her, and hug her, and generally spend my time convincing her that I missed her very very much.
There is nothing to eat in the fridge and though I did order some groceries, they aren't delivered until very very late. That's what frozen leftovers are for! And my crispy wheat crackers. And chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
with so much love...
