Small Victories

I suppose the national news scene has been another three-ring circus this week.  No, not a circus: another grand guignol production.[i]  I don’t really know: I turned off the television and focused my attention on small victories, of which I have three.

Apricots

For the last three years, the old apricot tree in the front yard struggled to produce ten sad apricots.  This year it is covered with large golden fruit.  Thursday, I picked the first batch of ripe ones: they are soft, juicy and full of flavor.  There is nothing better than tree-ripened apricots . (Is it possible to buy a descent apricot from the supermarket?) I suspect I must thank last year’s wildfires for the bounty of fruit. They filled the air with tons of ash that settled into the soil and boosted the nitrogen content.

African Violet

There’s an African violet in the kitchen window that stubbornly refused to bloom for the past two years. Two days ago, Voila! two deep purple flowers, with a third in in the bud.

Kitchen Cupboards

Three cheers for The Dollar Store. I bought a case of their small, metal shelving units. About two hours spent with these in the kitchen has doubled the storage space. The kitchen cupboards ARE ORGANIZED, and there is enough shelving left over to conquer the “under sink” storage as well.

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[i] Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol – known as the Grand Guignol – was a theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris. From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialised in naturalistic horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amoral horror entertainment, a genre popular from Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre, to today’s splatter films