The "Nearly"Last Rose of summer

I took this picture a few days ago. It's not as clear as I'd like, too wiggley. I planted about a dozen lilys on the east side of the house. MaryLou planted some bulbs in the front. I also planted a pretty lavender and white mum and a lavender plant. The strange thing about the lavender plant is that it ends up out of the ground every few days. The soil around it looks like someone either hit the plant with a ball or something, or that something, like a cat has been rolling over the plant until it's out of the dirt. It does smell very nice, though it isn't blooming. The leaves just smell good. I wonder if some neighborhood cat thinks it's as good as catnip?

Anyway, I've replanted it twice, this last time moving it to the front of the house, near the front porch. I hope it stays this time. I might have to move it to the back yard, but then I'll have to deal with Lady.

Life has been a bit strange lately. I suspect that's true for many of us. With all of the uncertainty due to our financial melt-down, plus the coming election, with the requisit mud-slinging, I guess we're entitled to be a little on edge. For myself, I have to add the fun of working in a retail setting with everyone worried about this next season,whether it will be okay or whether sales will be flat. I still have to increase my working days, and goals seem harder than ever to reach. Management seems to be pushing a bit harder than last year. One semi bright spot is gasoline prices coming down a bit.

I've been going through my smaller storage unit lately. The goal is to clear it out by this month's end, so I can save the money I'm spending on it. I've been going through some old pictures. In a way, that has been somewhat bittersweet, seeing my children as babies and toddlers, then growing up. I'm still dealing with Michele's loss and seeing her baby pictures is a bit hard, plus all the holidays coming up haven't helped. I just try to focus on good things. Like today, Maureen took MaryLou and I to breakfast. It was a beautiful day. The sky was so blue it almost hurt your eyes. No matter the worry, there's always something beautiful to see.