red and white

Tulips and roses grace my book shelf this afternoon. I am just home from my stress test and echo cardiogram tests and everything seems to be OK, at least nothing exceptionally unusual was discovered. I spent hours waiting for my turn to be tested in a series of tests that make up the stress test which was rather frustrating on an empty stomach. It is good news to know that I don't have some major problem but I will not know the full story until near the end of the month when my doctor will have reviewed all the test results in detail and brief me on my condition. It is a relief to have this baseline testing done at last.

My good nurse was great help today, taking me first thing to the clinic for my tests and bringing lovely flowers for me to draw and photograph this week. After three days without coffee or any caffeine he made me a pot of fresh coffee and found a chocolate cup cake to enjoy when I came home. What a prince! During my long waits at the clinic I read about 6 chapters in my book on the two John Tradescants royal gardeners to James I and Charles I of England. Only a couple more chapters to read before I reach the end of their story. Besides rare and exotic plants they also collected a cabinet of curiosities which are still housed at Oxford University and include a mantle which is reported to have belonged to Powhatan the Chief of Chesapeake Indians and father of Pocahontas. It is still there for visitors to see and may have been collected by the younger John Tradescant when he went to Jamestown, VA in the 1630's to collect plants, shrubs, trees for gardens and curiosities for the Tradescant ark.