I suppose it's to be expected in an old folk's home, but it's still taking me by surprise. There are some really old people here. Audra turned one hundred last week. A fellow named Merle will be one hundred in December.
In addition to that, we celebrated the seventieth wedding anniversary of a couple, Faye and Fred. Neither of them is ninety yet! There is only one other married couple here, but one is in this building and one is in assisted living. They are Bert and Gert.
As someone who is terrible with names, I am fascinated by all the help from the names themselves. There are three Mary's here. I only fastened on Jean's name after I realized there was a Gene and a Jean, not related. Gene has gone to another facility, but I got Jean down in time.
It seems most everyone has a name not currently popular. My particular friends are named Maddie (Madelaine), Marcia (my great grandmother's name), Rose and Betty. The last is a version of Elizabeth, my daughter's name.
I bought a couple of crooks for hanging plants in one of the outdoor atriums, and asked Maddie to buy mandevillas to hang there. She called from the nursery to tell me all the mandevillas were already trained on hoops. I hadn't considered that old problem. Laura and I always deconstructed them and repotted into my metal hanging containers.
But ever resourceful Maddie had a solution, dipladenias. Best yet, buy one, get one. She came back with two of them, red, and her son and dil helped her plant everything she brought. I didn't think to take a picture this morning, so here is one I stole from the internet.
And last, but not least, the thread I ordered is scheduled for delivery Tuesday, next. I hope to be started loading the new warp soon after. Tuesday I have a dental appointment (cleaning) and then a picnic at my sister's, with some of the grands. Hamilton, Blake and Laura. Maybe Bek.
So, I'll get serious after that. I've decided first to weave off the few spools of thread left, and then to weave with red, yellow, blue and green to start. The new pattern will be rosepath.
the dipladenias look very much like mandevillas. going back to towels, right?
ReplyDeleteRight. I cleverly didn't mention that.
DeleteYes, all the Barbaras and Lindas that I know are of a certain age. And then when I drive around and see the graduation yard signs, the names of them are definitely of today's world.
ReplyDeleteIt seems you have to have a "designer" name these days. I could get into a lot of trouble if I listed the names of recent children in our wider family.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of years stacked up inside yonder walls! Now, if only those walls could store all the memories and experiences... my best to the fam - particularly Laura - enjoy them and the little respite from weaving. YAM xx
I love that vibrant color! I'm surprised there is no Margaret. :) I love my name now and am growing into it, age-wise. LOL
ReplyDeleteOf course there's a Margaret. Sadly she is right of right. We don't have much to talk about.
DeleteI was named after Princess Margaret, just so you know! These days, it's not common and the younger generation can't even spell it properly. When I order a take-away, it always says "Margret" on the bag.
DeleteBeautiful flowers to enjoy all summer long!
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy! And you are so right- there are some OLD people there. Can you imagine being married to someone for seventy years, not even having been twenty when you married?
ReplyDeleteGlad you got some flowers to love. I always think of your flowers when you lived in the trailer.
Good for you on learning names. I've never been good at that and now I'm abysmal.
Lovely flowers. I'm glad you get to hang them as you did the mandevillias.
ReplyDeleteYou must feel youthful alongside centenarians!
Name fashions are fascinating, over the years seeing what influenced them.
ReplyDeleteThat is certainly an intense colour on the flowers!
Rosepath is a good weave..looking forward to seeing that
I am also bad on names. Shamefully bad. And know that if I come across someone with my given name we are very likely to be of a similar vintage.
ReplyDeleteHaving vibrant flowers blooming adds much to any space. You will enjoy them for the next several months.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired jus reading all you do. Whew.
ReplyDeleteGosh a 100 YO Can't even imagine living that long and the 70 year marriage too. Interesting names.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
We've been looking at dipladenias, but it is still too cold to plant them. Nights are in the low 40's and they don't like that. Maybe someday. They're nice plants, they keep blooming and they're pretty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers such vibrant colour. Traditional names still have a plzce here among 'traditional' families. Private schools (called public here for some strange reason) are stocked up with Henrys and Sarahs and the like.
ReplyDeleteI sat next to a 70 year-old American on a train to London yesterday who bored a trapped Brit with photos and videos of various plants he had seen on his trips around the country, so your photo brought back recent memories for a moment.
ReplyDeleteI have great trouble with names, or even if I know them, coming up with them at the moment that I want to use them.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the 100 year olds!! And I love Mandevillas! Have fun on Tuesday (with the picnic, not the dental cleaning). And another name I don't hear much is my real name - 'Sharon' (not that I ever really cared for it).
ReplyDeleteYour ‘old home’ was the first thing I thought of when I read you wanted Mandevilla - good idea to get something similar when first choice isn’t to be
ReplyDeleteI meet / have met very few Catherines - seems I’ve always been the odd one out. There are several 100yr olds where I volunteer but not one Catherine😊
I'm terrible with names as well. They usually only stick if they're a bit unusual, like Katia or Lavinia (two of my book club members). Otherwise they go straight out of my head and I have to be constantly reminded.
ReplyDeleteI am sure it is quite rare to read fluent and interesting blog missives from a residential home. Thanks for sharing Joanne.
ReplyDeleteBetty was such a popular name at one point. It was my mother-in-law's name and as I remember, she had friends named Betty as well. None of them were Elizabeth's. Betty was the name they were given. It must have seemed so modern in the 1920s and 30s.
ReplyDeleteI meet very few Elizabeths these days so I always feel lucky to have been given the name. When you work out your new prices, let me know. My store bought towels are shredding.
ReplyDeleteI am awful with names and it seems to be getting worse now as I get older. My uncle is 104 but his memory and health is fading. It's hard. I'm so happy for you that you have friends close by.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the "old" sounding names for you are Maddie, Marcia, Rose and Betty. Marcia is an uncommon name here, but Betty is the only one that isn't used. Here in England, in 1953, Queen Elizabeth was crowned, and of course many people called their babies Elizabeth. Many of those people are now getting on so Elizabeth is sounding old fashioned, and Betty has not been in common use by the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteYour retirement home sounds really wonderful. Retirement homes here in Hawaii are super expensive.
ReplyDelete