We try not to stray very far from our subject matter around here, but when a member of your family publishes a book (a real book!) that would seem to justify a little subject straying. Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening is about, well, competitive rose gardening (and insofar as roses are used to make perfume, it is at least tangentially related) and it was written by a member of my very own family. It is being published by Algonquin (a real publisher!) and it has a lovely blurb from Bailey White (a real author!) on the cover: "Not just rose nuts, but gardeners everywhere will love this book."
If everyone will just go and pre-order five copies at Amazon (eligible for free super saver shipping!) perhaps the author, Aurelia C. Scott, will buy me a vat of Chanel 28 La Pausa or something. One can always hope. And as long as we are on the subject of my family, have I mentioned that my 8 year old son is a GENIUS?
Please convey my congratulations to your relative, R. If her writing is up to your standard, it will be a great read!
That is so neat! Congratulations!
BTW I am totally unsurprised that your son is a genius.
Also re: staying on topic — my pathetic post today is about how, in spite of my frantic sniffing, I couldn't find anything to blog about. Which would baffle anyone who looked at the vials scattered all over the house, wouldn't it?
How very cool! I'm very glad you posted about this because it's w/out doubt something I'll really enjoy reading. I'm a certified (certifiable according to DH) gardening nut and, although I'm not doing it w/ this house, in the past have been just a *bit* obsessive about collecting rare woodland plants.
Congratulations!! How very cool!
I wish there were more sentences forthcoming after the last one though. I would love to hear more about your boy!!
Ummm, when is Mothers Day in the US? My (UK) children tend to grow in stature mid-March….
Thank you so much! As she has been published in NYT & elsewhere, I'd say I have a way to go before my writing is up to her standard, LOL…
LOL — so true! It is not until May, by which time he will have surpassed Einstein in stature
Not at all — I swear that it is when my sample collection is particularly out of control that I cannot bring myself to decide what to blog about!
I used to be very “into” gardening, but lost that enthusiasm when I became a parent and my time was therefore constricted. Something had to go, and that something was gardening, followed shortly thereafter by cooking. But at one time, I was very much a plant collector, and had a filing system for seeds that very nearly rivals my current filing system for samples. But finished reading Otherwise Normal People a few weeks ago and it is (of course) fascinating!
Well, let's just say that he is such a genius that we are having trouble keeping him from being expelled from the 2nd grade, LOL — he is far too intelligent to deal with the educational system as it now stands
Heh, it's March and little green shoots are popping up around the house. I put bulbs down last year with absolutely no expectation of ever seeing anything come up; this warms the cockles of my heart so much it could cause a heart attack. It's amazing you have a seed-filing system, because none of my seed packets was ever viable again after one year.
If I ever become a parent, I'll just try to merge the mad cook tendency into child-rearing. Mine will be the first baby ever to be fed roasted brined free-range chicken breast and baby carrot turreen with a reduction of apple and thyme-infused cider. All pureed to an unrecognizeable mush, of course.
Just pre-ordered a copy from Amazon. Can 't wait! I'm afraid I'm very seriously considering giving all of my roses eviction notices this year because, like you, I just don't have time and am already having to do battle w/ the aphids. Grrr. And cooking is definitely something I gave up a while back due to time concerns. Our oven is filled w/ books and my art supplies.
Yay, congrats on your bulbs! What are they?
And you may well manage it, but all I can say is that most everything I swore I would do as a parent went out the window when confronted with an actual child, LOL…there was not time for cooking, gardening, reading, and internet, so cooking and gardening were discarded in short order. After all, somebody else can cook your food, but nobody else can do your reading for you
Aphids!! I hate aphids, especially as I always tried to control bugs organically. Don't even want to think of how much time I used to spend with a spray bottle of Safer's Insecticidal Soap in my hands.
They are a mishmash of narcissus, hyacinth, tulips, all from the Last-Chance-Before-Compost bin at HomeDepot. I figured my chances of success to be miniscule, so I opted to not throw away so much money. Heh, creative wealth-destruction through gardening, someone needs to write a book on THAT subject.
Aphids! Fear no more! Last year we used the Bayer Advanced concentrated stuff on our trees to prevent another round of devastation by the Japanese beetles. I had some left over so I poured it on my two surviving rose bushes. That was it. No more aphids, no more beetles.
Congratulations! SO's mom adores roses, so this might actually be something she might enjoy.
I didn't know HomeDepot had such a bin, and will have to tell the husband — he is now the family gardener, and there is nothing he likes better than buying something very cheap with very little chance of it actually living, much less blooming
Ah, then she will need 5-6 copies at least!
That is so cool, R! I hope she does buy you that vat of La Pausa 28, because you certainly deserve it.
And… I knew your little one was genius! I knew it! I have his photo on my frig, and I just knew from the expression on his face that he is some special man.
Hugs!
LOL — of course I deserve it! And you should talk, your kids are *adorable*. We are both lucky
Congratulations to your relative, and to yourself for having such a talented family.
Thank you J!