FLOWER FRIDAY - THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER

Whilst cutting down and pruning yesterday, I came across this beautiful Compassion Rose, so decided to cut it and take it indoors, where I am now enjoying it on my kitchen windowsill, and thought it would be a good shot for Flower Friday.  I did minimal edits, but put a frame around it using the Carbon App for iPhone.

This morning, Mr. HCB and I went for a coffee at Hall & Woodhouse, just over the bridge from Waitrose, and then did some shopping.   I have been using Lactose-free milk, but sadly they didn’t have any, so when we got home, I popped down to Morrisons and they had the milk I wanted, so I was happy.  

Even better, on the way out, a lady was giving out bunches of Chrysanthemums that were a day “out of date” and I found myself clutching one as I walked back to the car.  As you may remember, we have lots of them in the garden, so I asked a man packing his car if he would like them, explaining that I had plenty, so he was very happy and said his daughter would love them and that I had "made his day!"

About ten minutes later, Lynn, our lovely next door neighbour, appeared at the door, also clutching a bunch of Chrysanthemums that she had been given at Morrisons.  However, she can’t have them in the house because she is allergic to them, so wondered if I would like them.  Jokingly, I said that I still had plenty in the garden, so  I would take them down to Linda, another neighbour, - talk about “paying it forward”!  

Off I trotted to Linda’s house when she said that she had had a “rubbish week” and was delighted to be given a bunch of beautiful yellow Chrysanthemums that would cheer her up - and then told me, after the week that she had had, that I had "made her day."  

It doesn’t end there either - I had an email asking me to ring a Policeman with regard to the traffic incident we were involved in a few weeks ago, on our return from holiday, but as he wasn’t there, had to leave a message.  However, once I had left the message, I forgot to “click off” my phone and it continued to record the conversation Mr. HCB and I had about the latest cricket scandals - oh dear!  

The only reason I knew about it was when my phone “pinged” and I heard a voice saying I had used all my recording time - which was five minutes.   When the said Policeman rang me a few minutes ago, I apologised that he had had to listen to us having a conversation about racial prejudice but he just said he hadn’t listened to it all, but enough that it had "made his day!" 

So, in the space of two hours I have "made someone's day" three times - not bad for a murky November Friday.

“Really, if you think about it,
     it can take so little effort
          to make someone’s whole day brighter.
One simple act of kindness
      has huge power.”
Lisa Desatnik