Mixed Feelings

Yesterday should have left me with a great, tremendous, fabulous feeling! And overall, I had a great day, yesterday. But just a couple of incidents kind of left me with... mixed feelings. Or maybe I should just call it what it is - annoyance, disappointment, that kind of thing. You be the judge.

Uncharacteristically for me, I wanted to get out of my house yesterday. And not so uncharacteristically, I wanted a huge breakfast, even if I can barely make a dent in it, ha ha. So I went to the breakfast place that's just a few blocks from my house, ordered an omelet that came with hashbrowns and biscuits, and ordered a side of sausage gravy to go with. I had a book, read for a bit, packed up all my leftovers, and off I went. Great #1!

Then I went to the bank, and across the street from the bank a yard sale was going on. As soon as I saw it, I realized that was what I was in the mood for - a day of yard-saling! I headed over, looked around, and was even excited when the people spoke Spanish to me (that was another plus more than once yesterday!). 

Now - I live in an area that is predominantly African American. There are some Latins, and even a few other pasty whites like me, but we aren't the norm. Still a very nice neighborhood, area, etc. However, the people running the yard sale sure were a lot more gracious about helping me than they were some of the African-Americans there. It wasn't overt, but I just kind of left there with my silver spoons and an odd feeling, wondering if that had really happened. 

Came home to look up more yard ales on Craigslist when Amazing Andy called and wanted to bring me two avocado trees. Of course I said yes! He came over, and as a fellow gardener, we looked at mine, talked about produce, organic, all that stuff (Good grief - I know! Are those of you who know me sitting down? Ha ha!). We also talked about both wanting lemon trees but how hard they were to find. Which also got me in the mood to track down a farmer's market, btw, but that's later in the story.

Andy left, and I trucked on over to the other yard sale I'd found. Got a couple of good deals, then decided the yard sale thing really wasn't working out so I'd focus on finding lemon and lime trees (the lime is for me - gotta feed my margaritas somehow, hehe). Found a nursery not to far from my house that I hadn't even realized was there, despite the fact I pass it every day on my way to work. Whoa - how observant am I? lol

It was the nursery that got to me the most...

Click read more to... read more. Ha!



There were some people there when I got there, looking around. I ended up going all over the place (it really wasn't that big, but I walked it all) looking for lemon and lime trees. Saw a million different kind of mango trees (no thanks - have two!). Finally, a woman came out of the office (she hadn't come out to help the other people, you know, the African American ones), and asked if I needed help. I told her what I was looking for, she assured me she had some, and off we went.

There were two trees. At first she said one was lemon, one was lime. Then speaking to someone else, no, they were both lemon. Then he came to look, and no, one lemon, one lime. As soon as we started talking about lemon trees, the black man from the couple who'd already been there perked up and came over and said he wanted one. I was torn - I really wanted two, one for me and one for Andy. But the people had been looking around longer than I had.

But that's when it happened. That woman just snapped at that man "She was looking at them first!" 

I don't know if it was her tone, or her body language, or even the words, but clearly, she wanted *me*to buy those trees if I wanted them. I was feeling really uncomfortable. It was true, I had been looking at these particular trees first - but only because she'd come out to help *me* and pointed them out, and the man heard her. 

I really wanted them both, of course, but I really would have let them have one if they'd wanted it. But the wife finally came by, the man pointed it out to her and she scoffed, and off they went. Clearly he was more interested in a lemon tree than she was. When they walked off, I went ahead and said I'd take them both. I felt bad, and kind of guilty regardless, after the obvious preference for my business over theirs. Looking back, what I should have done was not get anything. I won't go back there, though, of that I'm certain, even if it is just a couple minutes from my house. 

The one cool thing there though, was that the man who came to supervise the putting of my trees in my car assumed I spoke Spanish. So he and the guy who actually put the trees in my car spoke Spanish to me. Yay?

After that, the farmer's market and fresh eggs gripped me. I looked them up, found one open all day yesterday, and headed out. There were probably closer ones, but that's the one that stuck in my head. It was a bit of a drive, but worth it. They had a ton of veggies, very super nice people (including one who told me why my cucumbers and squash all died. It's an icky fix - not sure I'll try it, lol), and they were getting a delivery of fresh eggs straight from the farm while I was there!

You just pick the ones you want from stacks of
egg trays, 'put 'em in a thingy and off you go!

So I bought some hugely overpriced eggs, straight from a farm. A loaf of homemade bread, a squash, some new potatoes, and a lemon balm plant for a buck. That was a good trip. 

This stuff will take over, so placement is a
large consideration, lol. 

Here I am, debating fixing some of those eggs (they kind of scare me - I hear they have almost a totally different flavor than the eggs, I'm used to, lol). And where to put my lemon balm, as well as my tiny avocado trees. And also the nature of stupidity and prejudice and my place in it all. If I thought they'd take those trees back, I'd return 'em. I know they won't though. I'll give Andy his lemon tree, keep the lime tree (I think his name is Jorge, btw), and look elsewhere for the elusive lemon tree I want. 

What do you think?

:)