Daffodils, potholder and broken bits

 The squirrels evidently like the daffodils, too, and broke a couple playing with them. So they're now indoors, scenting the room powerfully, the white one fruity, the yellow ones peppery 

Here you see through to the patio, chairs summerized,  just organized for sitting in, not washed yet. Rushing the season.

And here's one of my favorite paintings, which I've shown you before but it's worth seeing again. And when I remember the painter's name I'll credit her. Ed note: Brynhild Parker, thanks to Yamini.

And Atomic Shrimp went mud larking on the fossil coast of the UK, where a Victorian landfill slumped onto the beach, full of bits of crockery. His YouTube channel is full of excursions like this.

Gary is back from a trip and came dashing over last evening to get his photo taken to prove to his daughter he does still get dressed up in a suit sometimes. He'd been in the city today. To people here that means Manhattan. 

He also arranged to fix my leaking downstairs toilet today or tomorrow, and renewed his pleas on me not to send the eight- foot ficus to the library, he'll miss it!  So will I, but better to do it now than leave it for Handsome Son later. 

I won't miss hauling it out in summer and back in fall, and my friend at the library is all set to do all that, even has the indoor and outdoor spots picked out. 

Their indoor light is so much better than here, plenty of overhead light, just what a ficus likes. I just get to admire it when I visit. I've taken care of it for fifty plus years, time to hand over.

And meanwhile I'm nearly done with the Quilted Potholder.

I learned quite a bit in the course of making it, one thing being that my running-stitch skills are rusty, after only a few weeks of not stitching. 

Another was that toweling shifts and creases with handling the way batting doesn't, and needs more securing pins at the outset.  And that I need more pins, having used all my meager supply and it wasn't quite enough. 

A bit more overcasting round the edges and it's ready to use. There are no leftover scraps, the hanger having used up the one extra bit. My Mermaid Potholder is almost there, though I'm not sure mermaids use them much.

Newish Haggard Hawks puzzle

Funny clues only, and bear with me if your clue is too subtle for me and I solemnly answer it!

Happy day everyone, don't worry if you miss the point, there'll be another one along in no time.

Sun after days of beating rain

Some daffodils were flattened by the days of wind and rain. So they're indoors.

And the sun's welcome reappearance through wet trees this morning.

Everyday disasters aren't suspended for the virus

So this morning, midst the storm I heard a creaking, screeching crashing sound, thought it was a tree down, couldn't see anything.

Then fire, police, ambulance showed up, sirens, flashing lights. Neighbor reported to me that someone, trying to back into his own parking spot, had crossed the street, jumped the curb, crossed the grass and come to rest in the kitchen across the street.

A nonvirus, nonstorm calamity.  One person led gently into ambulance, fire department checking safety of remaining wall, shutting off utilities, we have gas, vital to check. Now boarded up and tarped against the rest of the storm.

I could hardly think of a worse time for this to happen.  Cue the locusts.

While I was out  l found my daffodils broken by the wind, cut them

Here, left, the rescued daffodils, and on the right the bag of spent flowerheads I keep in the freezer for future paper making.

And a neighbor on the other side I haven't seen for a while offered to shop for me, share supplies etc. I'm very lucky to live where I do.

Which is more than I can say for the poor folks with a hole in their house. But all the emergency folks were here in maybe five minutes. And they won't get rain indoors. So there's that. Not exactly what they were expecting today.