cornerofmadness

Why I'm at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh - Romeo.

Romeo is the short lived, stinky Corpse Flower that blooms for only 24-48 hours and takes about 10 years before it blooms at all. It smells like carrion to attract pollinators and was the second reason after Bill Cosby, that I wanted to come home. They pulled out all the stops for this, staying open until 2 AM and running zombie movies

Hi, I'm Romeo and I'm HAPPY to see you!

The Phipps is a pretty cluster of structures

Romeo is still happy to see you

And I'm happy to see Romeo

And to go with all the phallic stuff, here's a flower off some tree (they weren't as well marked as I'd have liked) that are rather vaginal.

There is SO much glasswork, Dale Chiluy (because it's mandatory he's there) and many others. Mom made me take pictures of all of it) Here have a fountain full of glass and flowers.

have a glass Wooly Mammoth remains.

or glass seed pods floating on a pond.

A bonsai that I loved

A Century Plant mom can't stop talking about

The aquatic garden

glass lotus

wedding chapel

Victorian Room

Orchids that smell like chocolate

orchids and bromeliads

More orchids and bromeliads

orchid room and little glass men

and lastly BUTTERFLIES

Black Swallowtail

ditto

not sure what kind this is

There are so many rooms of flowers and outdoor displays. Naturally it was steamy hot. I think Mom and I lost 20 pounds of water. Still, I love going to conservatories. If I lived closer to it (or the Franklin in Columbus) i'd have a membership. What made me happiest though was a teenage African American boy there on his own, taking gleeful pictures. You don't usually see teens in these places unless dragged screaming on the school tours. He was enthralled by the bonsais.

Dad didn't want to go. I wasn't sad about that since he has no patience and even mom and I were a bit put off by the timing since it was move in week for Chatham, Carlow and Pitt (which are all within blocks of each other). He does have an interest in science and botany so we figured he would want to hear all about it. No he chose to be a dick. When i tried, he went on a rant at how much it would have cost if he had gone (10 frigging dollars) and when I pointed it out he started on the gas costs and parking. Dad, it's FREE parking and it was a gallon of gas with the mileage my car gets. a gallon. well I still would have bought lunch. I refused to answer. Mom came up from downstairs and tried to tell him and he told her he didn't want to hear it so way to put a damper on the day.

I came home and packed. I'm SO stressed about this semester. It's going to be awful. too many changes in a group of people who fear and loathe change.

While Mom and I were watching Broadchurch (anyone else watching this) I brought up the local real estate websites and looked at home all the way up to 160K which is way out of my range. STILL god damn manufactured homes. These things begin to fall apart in 20 years so why would I pay that much for a used one? Only THREE actual homes. Dad naturally has to point out I should at least live til I'm 80 and that place will fall down around me. He has a point (even though I plan on going into senior apartments at some point. I'm not the type to cling to a house until I die) This is why I DO NOT want one. I hate where I live. I don't think you can understand how much unless you've been here (well a couple you have been)

As I was packing, I saw Pookie on the floor. My very first teddy bear. He too is 46 and a stray thought crossed my mind 'i want pookie to go with me when I go to great unknown and then I cried. sigh.