Has it really been two + weeks?

Has it really been over two weeks since I have written on the blog?  Wow–time flies…  We went home for a birthday party and I ended up staying longer than I had planned.  Bob and Eve had birthday dinner for Janey and Suzy on July 27.  We had a great time, great food and even got in a trip to the Atlanta Ikea for both Katy and Caroline to look at some furniture.  Katy needs a TV stand and Caroline–well Caroline will need a lot of things in the next few months since she is moving to Utah to begin a job with Qualtrics.

While I was at home, I had a garage sale!!! Not so fun, but it felt great to sell things we no longer use.  Many of these items had been in my dining room for over 6 weeks.  Those things had to go because we planned a going away party for Caroline for August 9–just one week after the sale.  Everything came together in the end.

During the garage sale, a customer who happened to be a botanist asked me about a plant in our yard.  For years we have called this plant a Coral Bush, never having bothered to look up the exact name.  My grandmother from Commerce, had giving me this bush years ago after it had overgrown her front sidewalk.  It has beautiful coral, toucan shaped blossoms and very sharp stickers. 

The botanical name of this beautiful plant  is  Erythrina crista-galli.A South American legend claims that the tree was a princess who after being captured while defending her people she was set afire.  In the morning after her death,  at the spot of her death was a tree with red flowers called the flame tree–another name for the Erythrina tree.  Other common names include Cry baby, Christ’s Tears, and Fireman’s Cap. 

Internet connection at the Poole house has been scattered and infrequent, but I hope to get out another post soon.

Joy