Say hello to the new guys

Let's say hello to the seven new plants that have entered our lives today. I took the kids shopping with the intent of doing something nice for the house. I had a little Christmas money to spend, and I'm determined to make this place even more of my home.

I bought seven new houseplants today, including a brand new fresh sago. I also got two cacti, two other succulents, and two damaged succulents including one in a hanging basket.

I'm telling you this because you were there when I got two of the other three that have been here. You gave me the spider plant that's still getting by, though it has not yet flourished how it should. I need to give it fertilizer, but I don't quite know how.

I even transferred the rhinocerous plant to a new container, a much bigger one. Its roots were severely constrained by the one it was in, and I'm hoping it can flourish like yours. My aloe say 'allo.

Last week I wrote a long message to a woman I dated that I never sent. I wanted to, but I held back. The general point was to acknowledge whatever relationship we still have, a friendship in which I gained so much, so much more than I gain from most people.

One of things I gained is a love of houseplants and a desire to turn my house into a green place. This past year I've not really had any desire to plant anything, but in the next year I am ready to plant new seeds.

I bought the sago because it reminds me of her. Some of the best times I've had were when she told me about your plants. I loved sleeping in her sun room, one of my favorite places in Charlottesville. Looking at the sago's fronds and its big pineapple-looking stem reminds me of the times I helped move it in and out of her house. I remember how she told me it was poisonous, and that you had to be careful. I remember how she said they like to be left alone, and required little maintenance.

I'm pleased to have one of my own here and I will do the best I can to take care of it. No matter what course our friendship takes, I want you to know on this last day of 2012 that I bought