Almost-red flowers

I've always had this thing about red flowers on my windowsill.

There's something so appealing about waking up to a pot full of brightly colored flowers sitting on the sill next to my bed. I imagine sitting up and burying my face in them first thing. What a lovely way to start the day.

I don't know why this image has stayed with me so long, but red flowers in a well-lit window sounds like happiness to me. It probably has something to do with the fact that I am a plant-killer, and the likelihood of my being able to keep those red flowers pretty and perky for more than a week is quite slim.

Exhibit A. My mother had a pot of the sweetest fiery-red buds sent to my office the day I was hired for my first full-time reporting job. At the time, I was living with my aunt and uncle, but the newly permanent position (I'd been working in the newsroom as an intern prior to being asked to join the staff) meant I'd be looking for my own place. The flowers took up temporary residence on a little table in my aunt's living room while I house-hunted. I often forgot, so she watered them. But by the time my flowers and I moved into my new home, they were not long for this world. They never did make it to my bedroom windowsill, because there wasn't enough light to feed their poor sorry little stems. Eventually, they went out with the trash.

My now-apartment has lots of pretty plants, all of them carefully tended by Alex. I try to water them when he goes out of town. But usually I forget, and he gets back in the nick of time to revive them.

I'm hoping he'll do the same with these guys, so I can keep them around for at least a few weeks:

Pretty, pink (almost red!!) flowers

I arrived home to those last night, along with a very cute note that, among other things, included very sweet and supportive words about this here blog effort. After a quick phone photo session, my blooms found a new home on top of the pile of books in my windowsill. And sure enough, I stuck my whole face all up in them as soon as I woke up this morning. It was just as good as I imagined it.

I don't know about you, but I thought it was awfully sweet of him to remember my little flower fixation.

So my flowers were pretty much the highlight of my whole day. But dinner was nice, too. Quick, easy, delicious. We planned our meals well this week, because halfway through the week we're usually scrambling to put together all the wayward ingredients that didn't make it into our well thought out meals.

Portobello veggie burgers with provolone and grilled onions.

Smothered in ketchup for me, of course.

Strangely enough, I used to hate onions. Grilled, raw, and otherwise.

Now I love 'em. Can't get enough. Put 'em on/in everything. Yum.

This has to be the most unappealing name for a beer ever (it's Moose Drool, in case you can't see the M).

Tastes pretty good, though. Mine's the Vinho Verde. So perfectly light and sparkly for summer.