My flower bulbs are here! I don't have the bed ready for them yet, though. Also, some of the bulbs I was looking forward to the most (Oriental lilies on sale, the absolutely adorable "Jumblie" daffodil, and nectaroscordum) are out of stock. These were sort of crucial to the plan of the bed. Besides, I was really excited about them! :( The bed is going to be a burgundy-red color scheme, with sparse amounts of pale greenish-yellowish-white (sort of a moonlight yellow) allowed. I'm also trying to keep at least some of the foliage in the dark greenish red range, such as peppermint. Oh! If they smell good, that's better, because this bed is right next to the front door (which I don't use right now, but hope to).

Tenative replacements:

Lilies: Black Beauty, Black Dragon, Speciosum Rubrum, or Moonlight.

Narcissus/daffodils: Jenny (same shape as Jumblie, slightly bigger, not so cute, but paler yellow) or Thalia (very fragrant, grew it at my children's father's place where it is still quite the knockout- I just love Thalia). Tete a tete is another option, cute, small, but very yellow and lacks the reflexed petals which Jenny does have.

Tulips: Burgundy Lace is an extremely attractive looking fringed tulip. So is Swan Wings, but that's white, so I'll probably wait until another bed for it. Tulip Wilsoniana, a species tulip, is very red, has nice form, and is also small and cute at only 4-6" tall! (itty-bitty!!!) Tulip Sylvestris, another species tulip, is yellow-gold with a more graceful shape than other tulips and pendant buds. It's also fragrant, so has a better chance. Too bad it's not red on top of the rest of its attributes.... I might get Tulip Tarda (another species) even though it's yellow with white centers, simply because it's tough, little, cute, and fantastically inexpensive. We really need to stick with the red, though.... Burning Heart, a larger Darwin type tulip, is cream-yellow streaked and flamed with red. I've grown this one before. It was distinctly satisfying to see. It has enough red to go with the scheme, especially if combined with other all-red tulips, such as Madame Le Feber, a fosteriana type, which is easier to perennnialize than standard tulips.

Hmmm.

Or, I could just double up on the fritillaria persica, which I already have 3 of.... Groan, this is SO hard, I love plants!!!!
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I am seriously pissed off with the "assistant manager" at work. I put that in quotes, because she seems to have distinctly forgotten the "assistant" part of it. This woman has a huge power trip going on, and there's nothing I can do about it. he knows that I have Asperger's, she knows that I have sensory issues, and she's pissed at me, because I'm completely uninterested in kissing her ass. There is no rule that I have to like her, and I refuse to pretend that I do. Oh, I'll jump through the hoops and do as I'm told, but as far as I'm concerned, this is all a formality. I know who the real manager of the bakery AND Deli is, and she's a sight more competent than this bitch is. I just keep my mouth shut when the A.M. is around. It's very easy for me to go off in my own little world and think and just work, and I get more done that way. Oh, right, so Asperger's...well, today she purposefully squeaked and squawked a mylar balloon she was inflating because she knows that I have a *particularly* keen sensitivity to that noise and find it almost unbearable. I mean, she made the thing SCREAM. It caused a physical pain, and my ear still hurts. What a fucking cunt. This female cuts me NO slack for anything aspie related, including stims, but she goes out of her way to exploit the weaknesses. I hate her. She is so incompetent as a manager that I really cannot comprehend why they haven't fired or at least demoted her. We just lost hundreds of dollars worth of food a week ago thanks to her laziness and self-interest (the refrigeration went down and she didn't move the food to a working cooler). She never, ever works on a day off or goes the extra mile, even when there is some huge monetary factor like that at stake. Oh, the food was lost, but she got out on time, that's what counts, right? She gets to see her soap opera, so all's well that ends well...for her, at least.

It isn't that I want her position, either. In fact, I think it should go to the person who should have had it in the first place- the worker who has far more seniority, kindness, and competence, who never wrongs anyone and whom everyone loves. I am not exaggerating, either. She really is that nice. We often don't agree, but we always get along, she definitely knows what she's doing, she bails the A.M. out when the shit hits the fan and the A.M. is cozily at home resting on her day off while we cope frantically, she does it uncomplainingly, and she has a way of putting us in our place without offending us, which frankly, is really damned hard- I have no idea how she does that. This woman is the epitome of a dedicated employee...I can't understand why she was passed over for the other gal, who hadn't even been there a year when she was made manager, while this one had some 5-6 years of seniority.

Oh, here I am griping about work and it's close to midnight. My ear is still throbbing. I don't dare say anything about it, because nothing will happen except she'll hear that it bugged/hurt me, and she'll take full advantage of it in the future.

Ah, and tomorrow is voting day!!! Woo hoo! Vote those jerks out of office! Steve Elgar, you have my vote!