My Sunflowers

My poor little sunflowers...

When I potted them several days go, it was with the intent to begin hardening them off in preparation for planting them outside.  Alas, there hasn't been a single day of sunlight since.  Not one. 

Still, in spite of the dreary weather, they seem to be doing well.  

I've been putting them outside every afternoon so they can at least get some light, even if it is shady, cloudy light.  Hopefully, if the forecast holds, the clouds will move off tomorrow and we'll get a couple of days of sun before the next round of rain moves in.   We're also expecting another cold snap this weekend.  Good thing I didn't go ahead and move the firewood back into the shed. 

The good news is, one more of my Cosmos has germinated, so I'm going to give them a few more days to see if any more of them make it up from South America, where I apparently sent the seeds.  This afternoon, I bought another packet of seeds, but of a different variety.  I didn't intend to, but I couldn't find the same type as I'd bought the first time.  Oh well, we'll have something different to work with. 

The bad news is, I found my level, and as I suspected, my kitchen cabinet isn't. 

I checked it both ways, and it's close, but no cigar.  I have an old sewing machine -- you know the kind that folds down into a table -- that is very level.  Right now it's in the snake room, but it's kind of hard to get to.  I'll have to see if I can find room to move it into the kitchen/dining area before I replant the tray.  If I can put it where I'm thinking, it'll also make the tray easier to get to and monitor.  

Of course, when my seemingly immortal snakes eventually do go to that great herpetarium in the sky, I plan on moving my seed starting stuff into that room anyway.  If I ever get it cleaned out, that is...

But enough about that...

A couple of weeks ago, I told my coworker, "You know, when I go to the ladies' room, I spent one minute doing my business, and the next nine trying to convince myself to stand back up."  Man, my feet have been hurting so badly these last few days.  Even my knees and legs ache.  

This morning, I called Supervisor over and asked, "Is there any way you can get us new mats?"  Now, for those of you who don't know, they put these cushioned mats in front of our work areas to make it slightly less hard than the concrete floor.  Ours are so old, they're almost as hard as the floor beneath them.  

"How long has it been?" asked the brazer next to me.  "At least 6 or 7 years," I replied, but in truth, it's been so long I can't even remember when we got those. 

Supervisor said he'd get the safety team to order us some new ones, but there's no telling when they'll get here. 

"That's the problem," I said, "They always say they're going to order them, but then they never come in.  Or if they do, they tell us 'We have to give them to the lines first, and if we have any left over, we'll bring them to you.'"

So, we'll see, but I've been out there long enough to know not to hold my breath.  But we'll see...