In Full Bloom

After all the rain we have had lately, combined with never-ending heat and humidity, everything in the garden must think it is living in a greenhouse!  Every plant and weed is flourishing! 

The rains have been coming regularly and often aggressively and at times beat everything down - some plants are totally flattened, others just droop, but soon they all catch their breath and come back asking for more! The rain yesterday was really heavy, but at least we were spared the flooding that Toronto and some other areas suffered. This morning, all was well again and those hydrangea blooms, as hardy as they are, were out there still holding their heads up high. (extra) 

I just had to take photos to send to Eldon, my neighbour who took over my gardens a couple of summers ago before he moved away. He chose and planted these three hydrangeas at my front door and at the time, wondered if it would be a good spot for them..Well yes, Eldon, seems it was! 

I spent some more time again today with a travel agent..something I have not done in decades...I have been my own agent for years and at no time did I find it burdensome, but this time, for whatever reason, it did. Maybe I am just getting older and tired of the hassle. 

I did all the major accommodation bookings as usual, as no travel agent would have the patience to do the endless searching for the perfect houses that I do..and that part of travel is not in their job description anyway. The rest? Let someone else do that. And the bonus is, that if something goes wrong, my theory is that you have more clout if you have an organization backing you up. 

The only major issues and "surprises" I have had to deal with over the years have been with car rental agencies. I have stories to share..but will not. I won in the end with most of them, but the stamina and patience it took ? I am too old for that now. Let's see if having someone else do the booking makes a difference - like, will that organization step up to the plate to solve the issue? Hmmm..am I expecting too much?