That was the question running through my mind all day today. Finally, this evening, I came up with the answer! Anybody agree with me??
It's the fairy godmother from Shrek (maybe Shrek II?)!!
Around my neck of the woods at this time of year, a profusion of pale pink flowers start to bloom. They come up along roadsides, around trees, near fences, as well as in peoples' yards. These flowers grow on brown stalks and have no leaves to adorn them. I suppose that the astonishing lack of leaves or any hint of green on them is what gave them the name, Naked Ladies, although they are also called belladonna lilies.
For some reason, I HATE this flower. I really don't hate that many things--but these flowers, flourishing and reproducing themselves every year in larger quantities, just give me such an annoyed reaction. Now, if they were on green stalks and had some sort of leaf, I think I would like them very much. But those brown spindly stems make them seem like an abomination. Or if they grew in a green field where their stems were hidden, even that would be acceptable. But I live in a region where the summers are extremely dry (no rain has fallen here for months). These naked ladies seem to flourish in dry plots where not much else is growing--so they stand out, showing their nakedness all alone.
I wonder if part of my distaste for this flower is because of the time of year when it blooms. They signal the approaching end of summer and the time when we rev up to back-to-school mode. No more lollygagging in the heat of long summer days, no more illusions of whiling away on a lawn chair, slightly bored, but in a way that is relaxing and renewing.
Okay, so I never really lollygag or while away any day or take much time to sit in lawn chairs--and I'm pretty much never bored. But the POSSIBILITY of those things seems to end when those infernal naked ladies start popping up everywhere.
I may never understand my hatred for these flowers, but at the same time, they don't stay in bloom for very long. They'll be shriveled up and lose their petals before I know it. And even though I hate them, that thought makes me a little melancholy.
Wow! Where does the time go? I can't believe it's already August. I've already taken my girls shopping for back-to-school clothes. The countdown has begun.
I am usually an ultra-productive person. I like to fill every minute of my day with tasks--work, sewing, housework, cooking, shopping, gardening, exercise....I never have enough minutes in the day to do all the things I'd like to do. Even when I watch TV, I have to multi-task. I save some of my handsewing to do while watching, or I have a knitting project at the ready.
Today, I spent the morning taking photos of my bags so I could post them on my website--something that I haven't done for MONTHS! It's not one of my favorite things to do. Here's one of my new bags:
Then, because I had asked the girls to clean out their bookshelves, they brought me STACKS of books that they had outgrown. We took photos of those and listed them on eBay. So, I ended up spending the better part of the day at the computer.
After that, I just wanted to VEG and do nothing. So I did! I watched some mindless TV withOUT working on ANY projects! My husband and I went for a walk after dinner (it was a gorgeous day), and we talked about what we want to do when we retire someday (we're only in our 40s, so we still have, like, 30 years to go--we like to plan ahead).
Ahhhh, it really felt so good to NOT accomplish much this afternoon and evening. I got some necessary things done this morning, so I didn't have to feel like a total slug. But I realize that I need to allow myself downtime more often. Life is too precious, and time passes WAY too quickly. 
Here's a recent photo of my daughters. They are both taller than me now, although since I'm only 5' tall, it wasn't that difficult for them to bypass me. Still, my babies are almost all grown up--BUT there's still time to be savored and relished with them. They still like being read to at night, hanging out at home during the day, eating dinner all together, making popcorn and watching our favorite shows on TV. Life is good, and it was nice to stop and smell the roses, "while these moments are still called today" (Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, "History of Us").
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