“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 817 (Saturday) – pollen party

The 57-degree morning was chilly but the day warmed up to the 70s as forecasted, making it a most pleasant afternoon for the youngest niece’s graduation party. 

Pre-party preparations at my house included hunting for vases, which is when I remembered that most of them were donated for lack of use during a Big Brother Big Sister pickup sometime in the past two years. This necessitated a trip to Family Dollar to look for some sort of flower holding containers, which I would swear I have seen there before, but were tragically nonexistent today. A plastic lidded food storage container was bought for one arrangement. One of the few remaining vases, which held dried pink roses on a shelf in my home office, was the perfect size and was commandeered for a second arrangement. Now the dried roses it held are homeless, and this is why there is anxiety over getting rid of pretty much anything. Given enough time, a donated item is suddenly needed and not easy to replace. Always. 

Windowsill roses.

There was time in the front yard cutting roses, rhododendrons, and bleeding hearts for an arrangement for my sister, whose birthday was Friday. These went into the newly-acquired storage container. From the back yard, purple irises and small yellow flowers, comprising the school colors, went into the narrow tall vase for my niece. Some of the shortest stem roses went into a juice glass on the narrow kitchen windowsill. 

The driveway at my sister’s house was set up for guests and decorated in purple and school logo decor. A large canopy provided shade for the tables and chairs. There was sunshine and a brief appearance of a bank of dark clouds that moved through without incident. As the sun moved through the afternoon, the people suddenly sitting in the sun were warm. Those in the shade were chilly and I even got my denim jacket from the car because I am a wimp and hate being cold.

There were plentiful breezes that fluttered the purple table cloths and sent a couple paper plates flying. Twice, gusts toppled over the vase of irises and yellow flowers and spilled the water before the vase was anchored in the handle of purple plastic pail centerpiece that held a potted basil plant. Visible clouds of pollen blew through, coloring the air yellow-green. Yuck.

There was enough food for an army with two massive party deli sandwiches and four types of finger sandwiches (tuna, egg salad, seafood salad, chicken salad), three kinds of chips, buffalo chicken dip, graduation cake, and cookies with lemon icing. Nobody left hungry. No, I didn’t take any photos of any of it. Or of the guests. I don’t understand it, but that’s just how it was. It was a day of very old-fashioned sitting, eating, and chatting.  Many of us hadn’t seen each other since 2019 and there was some catching up to be done.

Pollen covered.

On the ride home, I stopped for gas and it took everything in me to not cry at the pump. I rolled in with about a quarter-tank and a dashboard message that I had about 70 miles "range to empty." The pump was stopped when it hit $40, because psychologically, I just couldn't let it keep going. It was even more depressing when I started the car and the indicator moved only to three-quarters full. 

Once back home, sitting on the deck reading a book felt like the perfect activity. The table was covered in dust and pollen and took lots of vinegar and water and paper towels to clean. Armed with a glass of ice water and the June book club selection (Book Lovers), I sat to read. I made it halfway through the 14-page Prologue, felt chilly, and went back inside, thinking that I should have kept that denim jacket on. It’s all good. I can read inside the house, too. Anywhere, actually, including moving vehicles and noisy waiting rooms.