Could’ve Fooled Me. (And Did!)

This past summer I walked a lot with Maggie Minx. Wait. Who am I kidding? I walk Maggie Minx a lot ALL seasons – not just summer. But during the summer, I’m not as anxious to get back inside and out of the wind and rain and snow.

 

So my summer strolls included more observations and I enjoyed looking at the pond in the middle of the complex here. There is a fountain, and I enjoyed watching the water tumble and fall and create ripples that sparkled in the sun.

 

There were a lot of ducks early in the spring, but they made a mess out of the walking path, so we avoided it lest we risk getting nasty duck poop on our shoes and paws. Frankly, I knew I’d be careful where I stepped, but Maggie doesn’t pay all that much attention. And, since she’s not the one cleaning the floor, she is blithefully unaware and doesn’t much care where she steps.

 

So we mostly stuck to the sidewalk for our daily walks.

 

Anyway, sometime around mid-June, I noticed there weren’t as many ducks. And I glanced over at the far side of the pond and saw two white swans. I was thrilled to see them as I think they’re beautiful creatures.

 

So all summer I’d see the swans floating around in the pond, but toward the end of the fall I started wondering about their habits. Shouldn’t they be getting ready to migrate south for the winter?

 

These swans weren’t leaving.

 

And – just as suddenly – it occurred to me that I’d never seen the swans out of the water. Nor had I ever seen them flap their wings.

 

And THEN it occurred to me that they weren’t real swans!

 

I know, I know – all you geniuses would’ve immediately known they were fake swans. And it took me more than three months to figure it out.

 

What’s worse, I’d been showing off “my” swans to friends who visited. I’m sure they thought they were real, too, as none of us ventured to the far side of the pond to check them out.

 

Fortunately, I confirmed with someone that they were, indeed, fake swans that had been placed in the pond to reduce the number of geese and ducks from flocking there.

 

I say “fortunately” because a few days later the temperature dropped below freezing with snow and ice on the water and the swans were “stuck” in the ice. Had I thought they were real, I might have called some wildlife rescue to save them, which would have been, well, mortifying.

 

All I could do was laugh at myself for my gaffe. 

 

But this sort of thing happens a lot.

 

Like last week, a couple friends came over to visit. One friend asked me what the plants were in front of my neighbor’s hedges. I said I didn’t know – that she had planted them last summer.

 

I’d never really given them more than a cursory glance because I’m not one to dig in the dirt. And it’s not like I planned to plant some of my own.

 

Also, I don’t know the names of plants. I don’t know whether they need direct or indirect sunlight or how often they need to be watered. It’s a miracle that the six indoor plants I own have lived as long as they have – and a few of them have even survived my move last year.

 

And, no, I don’t know the names of them. I identify them by calling them the “spiky” one or the “frondy” one.

 

My friend, by the way, can tell you the genus and species of many plants. If that includes the Latin or Greek name of it, she knows it.

 

Yeah, I know. Perhaps I should’ve paid more attention when I was younger and I wouldn’t have to resort to calling my snake plant the “spiky” one.

 

Mom had a green thumb and she tried to impart some of her knowledge back in the day, but I didn’t get the appeal of kneeling outside digging in the dirt. Mom called it therapeutic. I just called it messy. Cleaning dirt from under my fingernails? Uh, no.

 

Anyway. After my friends had left and it was time to walk Maggie later that evening, I walked past my neighbor’s house. I furtively bent down and touched one of the plants – and discovered they were plastic!

 

Yeesh. I had given her the benefit of the doubt that she’d found some sort of plant that would survive all year.

 

But I had to give myself a little bit of a break. After all, a couple of my former neighbors had small white flowers that bloomed in the winter. (I just looked it up because, naturally, I couldn’t remember the name. They’re called “Snowdrops” and they will bloom even when there is snow on the ground.)

 

Still. I had to wonder if I’m just that obtuse or do I simply not pay much attention to things that don’t interest me?

 

Let’s go with the latter. Obtuse is not an adjective I really want to use to describe myself.

 

Lately, I’ve been watching some Tiktok guy @SydneyRaz who starts off with “Here’s Something I Didn’t Know Until I was in my 30s…”

 

And I watch his videos because I want to make sure I know about these things. You never know what you don’t know – right? 

On the other hand, I was glad that I already knew that the top rack in a dishwasher can be adjusted and that you can put a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water and it won’t boil over.

 

Whew.

 

But clearly there were things I didn’t know until I was in my 60s…like sometimes swans in ponds and plants planted outside can be fake.

 

Now I know. Can’t fool me twice.

 

 

A Good Day

The last blog I wrote was about the “oops” kinda day I had recently. Calamity Jane was even referenced. But I figure when I have bad days, I can either laugh about ‘em – and write about ‘em – or I can feel sorry for myself.

 

If I’ve learned anything at my advanced age, I know that the latter doesn’t really help. Oh, sure, sometimes I give myself a few moments to grumble and rant a little or even shed a tear or two in frustration, but then I have to move on and take care of things. It’s not like I have a magical fairy godmother who is following along behind me sweeping up my messes.

 

But, anyway, by the same token, if something good happens to me, then I should write about that, too, shouldn’t I?

 

Well, last Friday I had a really good day. And, by the end of it, I was filled with all sorts of happy vibes and cheerful smiles.

 

The weird thing was, all that happened was I had a great phone conversation in the morning with a cousin of mine – and then a fun lunch followed by a little impromptu shopping with a long-time friend in the afternoon.

 

So it’s not like I won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes or anything. But neither did I spill anything that required me to break out the dust buster and the mop.

 

Anyway, I guess it just goes to show that it doesn’t take much to make me smile.  

 

My cousin and I hadn’t caught up with each other in a while, so we scheduled a phone call for Friday morning. We talked about this and that, everything and nothing.

 

I was telling her about how Vince could talk to anyone, strangers or friends and family alike, so it was easy to be in social situations with him by my side. And how that was but one of the things I missed about him.

 

But it’s not so easy for me to talk to new people because of my innate shyness. The operative word in that sentence being “new.” She understood what I was saying. And she said she could picture me as a little girl with my bangs and long blond hair, sitting back quietly and watching the goings on in our family without saying much.

 

Not many of my long-time friends think of me as being shy. Because once I know someone well, it’s hard to shut me up.

 

But she has known me my whole life and “gets” me. There really isn’t anyone else in my life who knows me like that anymore. So it was kind of comforting.

 

We were also talking about how gray and gloomy the weather is in both Ohio and Michigan this time of year and how we were looking forward to the spring. Toward the end of our little gab-fest, she marveled at how the sun had come out for the first time in what seemed like forever. So she planned to spend some time outside soaking up a little Vitamin D.

 

We ended our conversation with the promise that we’d schedule these calls more regularly. When I took Maggie out for a walk a few minutes later, I noticed it was all sunshine-y here, too. Oh, happy day! 

 

After I managed to locate my seldom-used sunglasses, I left for lunch with my friend. We went to a restaurant in German Village that I remember going to as far back as my early 20s. So we reminisced about those fun times and the people we knew back then.

 

And we laughed. About silly things. About…well…I guess I can’t give you examples. Maybe it was one of those “you had to be there” kinds of things. Probably one of us said something lame or obvious. And the other one had to call her out on it. But we laughed a lot. And, no – no adult beverages were involved.

 

But, really. I love those kinds of interactions.

 

We had decided to go across the street to a little shop that has been around forever and we had fun poking in all the drawers and rooms holding all manner of trinkets and treasures.

 

And then, because we didn’t want to end the day, we went to another few shops in German Village, none of which I’d ever been to – and I worked in German Village for over twelve years!

 

Our last stop was at a fudge shop across the street from Schmidt’s Restaurant und Sausage Haus (because we were, after all, in German Village). She and I wandered around the small store and exclaimed about all the candy they still sold that reminded us of our childhoods.

 

Anyone remember candy necklaces? Pop Rocks? Wax bottles with liquid sugar juice inside? Candy cigarettes? (Can you believe they still make that last one?)

 

Sheesh. It’s a wonder we survived our childhoods.

 

But in this last shop, I discovered a tiny artificial white birch tree with glimmer lights hidden away behind some other treasures and I decided I simply had to have it.

 

And when I drove home, I was tired but happy. I reveled in having a simple but a good day.

 

And now I have a cute little tree that I set up on my entryway table and added some pink hearts for Valentine’s Day. I envision little shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, pastel eggs for Easter…well, you get the idea. And it’ll make me giddy looking at it all year long.

 

Again, it’s the little things, people!

 

So I wish for you a good day.

 

And, since it’s already the first of February, I wish for you a good month.