HOW THINGS CHANGE!!!

I was given a small present from an elderly neighbour today. it contained a very nice painted metal pot with 5 bulbs, (Indoor Muscari) Grape Hyacinth.in the pot included 3 round discs of compost they measured around 2 inches each disc. i read the instructions> place 3 discs into 450mls of water and wait for 2 mins.i had a lot of
doubts for this to work but i was amazed to see how much the three discs swelled . in 2 mins there was enough compost to fill the pot and then again, never seen this before. :thumb:

 

How lovely John, Im sure you must be a treasure to her for her to send you such a lovely gift.

Its like cut dafs in spring tight budded and without water.

It still amazes me how they come into flower once you put them in water!!

(Id still rather see dafs planted though any day)

 

Sorry to be negative The fact that they flower under such adverse conditions is purely down to their last ditch attempt at survival of the species. The parent plant is doomed, so it directs its last reserve of energy into setting seed.

Sorry to diverge from the topic of the thread but as kind neighbours are mentioned; in autumn my dad and I cut the boundary privet hedge that seperates the old lady next door and my front garden. We asked the old lady if she wanted her side trimming first. Then the job was done and all was forgotten, until a couple of days before christmas when the wife and I were surprised by a late night knock at the door (not that late, we were still up). It was the old lady from next door. She brought a christmas present for our young son, as a thank you for tidying her hedge. I was stunned, I must have stared at her for a good few seconds before I could even muster the words to say thanks. We don't really know this lady, she is not a long term friend, yet she took the trouble to go out and buy a very well chosen toy for our son, just because we trimmer her hedge for her when we were doing my side anyway.

 

People dont talk any more, most neighbours tend to shy away from getting to know you.

I think that's what the oldies miss, someone next door to talk to like it was when they were younger.

Everyone is so wrapped up in their own life, these days, that talking to the next door neighbour or doing them a favour, is chore, especially if they are from another generation.

Modern life is not very good.

But well done to those that cross the generation gap

 

yes, that was nice of your neighbour to buy the toy, Clueless, but it was good of you too to cut her hedge. I know you were cutting your own anyway but some people wouldn't have bothered.
I have to say the neighbours round here are super. Everybody looks out for everybody else and people do what they can to help each other without getting in anybodies way - and so friendly and polite.
Maybe because it's a small community and everybody knows everybody.
I think in bigger towns and cities it can be different.

 

This is a good point. I hope more younger folks pick up on it. I was 20 years old before I realised my grandad was a person, as opposed to being an old fossil, or just 'grandad'. Sadly I realised a bit too late, and he passed away just a couple of years later. In those couple of years between, I came to realise he was actually interesting to talk to, had a cracking sense of humour, and had himself once been a young man about town who occassionally drank too much and liased with the ladies if you get what I mean.

Since coming to that realisation, the only way in which I treat older people any differently to younger ones is that I accept they may not be able to do as much physically as they once could, but other than I tend to find they have lots of interesting stuff to say, lots of wisdom and insight, and quite often, if you give them a chance, a sense of humour (that old folks aren't allowed to have according to most young folk).

 

In my previous home we had an older couple next door,(a proper Lady and Gent). when i cut my Grass i would step over and cut their grass and any other things they would require done ie painting/decorating etc. they had a son and daughter but they lived abroad, so they were totally on their own. i did not feel sorry for them ,i just thought, i am younger and i can help!!. i received some rewards, sitting in the back garden Sun Bathing on several occasions ,a hand would appear through the hedge with a Huge glass of Grouse ,( I could make 3 or 4 drinks from the measure ) it gave a new meaning to sunbathing .
at Hogmanay they were the first house we would (First Foot ) ,they looked forward to this every year.
I play the Guitar ,so we would have a few songs then the wife and i would do our Rounds to our family.


ALL CHANGE THIS YEAR> The wife and i never sang one song at Hogmanay!!.
We were invited to AN ORGANIZED PARTY!!! . Wii Games, Just dance,Bowling,Zumba Fitness etc etc .
We were Knackered Before the Bells, and ready for our beds at the last chime of the Bells .
How Things Change.