Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: December 2020

There’s not much bloom action happening outside right now in my Zone 6 garden in northwest Ohio; all the color is indoors.

Above: I received this African violet as a birthday gift from a co-worker at my previous job, some 15 years ago now. Since then, I’ve started a second plant from it… or is this the second plant?

Below: I only recently learned that the correct pronunciation of this plant’s name is not, in fact, kuh-LAN-cho — it’s kal-uhn-KO-ee. However you pronounce it, I have several kalanchoes that bloom in different colors, descended from cuttings from a former co-worker at my current employer about five or six years back.

This purple shamrock was a gift from a coworker who still works with me (hi, N! *waves*), also about five or six years ago. Even though it’s not currently in bloom, it still adds a welcome dash of color to my home.

I promise, not all of my houseplants were gifts from co-workers… just the more colorful ones, I guess.

Thanks as always to Carol Michel for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on the 15th of each month! As Elizabeth Lawrence said, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.”

Twitter Update: Pinconning Cheese

So, I have a $100 gift card from @pinnycheese burning a hole in my pocket… but the website only accepts credit/debit and coupon codes, not gift cards. Guess I’ll be calling Pinconning MI to use my gift card over the phone. There will be cheese, fudge, and jam in my future!

Bullet Journal 2021

I don’t usually take the time to really lay out my bullet journal like some people do; for me, it’s really a physical place to keep my medium-term memory, and I only give passing thought to making it look visually appealing.

This year, though, I must be craving the artistic outlet or something, because I just spent time over several days to design this cover page for next year’s journal.

Hell, I even created a goal brainstorming page. I’ve never sat down and done that before, even though I’ve almost always set yearly or monthly goals.

This year hasn’t been as bad for me and mine as it has for some people… but I still hope next year is better.