Update and a New Friend!

The interview went well yesterday. Thank you all for your kind wishes!

I was pretty exhausted when it was all over. It was 45 mins of questions and I felt good leaving the interview but you always think back about things that you should have said. Luckily, there weren't too many of those. I think overall I did ok for my first interview of this sort. Even if I don't get the position, it was great experience to know more or less what to expect next time. Anyhow, now there is more waiting... I should know sometime next week!

On to our newst addition to our plant collection!!
It is a 35 year old cactus (anyone know what kind?). It is 75 cm (or 30") tall and 45 cm (or 18") in diameter! It is so heavy that it took BOTH Diego and I to carry it up to our apartment. We covered it in a blanket to minimize the number of spines we got in our bodies! However, we were still picking many out of our hands with tweezers after re-potting it!

So where did I get said cactus you ask?? For FREE off Kijiji. This lovely lady was advertising it as a piece of Nova Scotian History! She was moving her father to a new location and they couldn't keep the cactus and wanted to find a suitable home where it would be appreciated and well cared for! So being the plant lover that I am I couldn't resist. So I sent her an email with a link to my blog and I think with all the photos of my plants and gardens she decided I was the one!!! :)

So here is the story. The cactus grew from a piece of Joseph Howe's Granddaughter's cactus. For those of you who are not up on Nova Scotian History. Joseph Howe was the premier of Nova Scotia from 1860-1863 and fought against the Canadian Confederation from 1866-1868. After failing to persuade the British government to repeal the confederation he became part of the Federal Cabinet under Sir John A. MacDonald. In 1873, he was appointed Lieutenent Governor of Nova Scotia but died after only 3 weeks in office (for more info click here).
Now back the the granddaughter...she lived near what is now Penhorn Mall in Dartmouth. The government expropriated her house to build the highway. Having to move, she decided to donate her cactus to the museum. The sister of the lady who gave me that cactus worked at said museum and took a cutting of the plant 35 years ago and now here it is, quite a lot larger chez moi! I think it is pretty cool! Diego is not a fan of cactuses given that he lived in an area where they are THE plant (desertic area on the west coast of Mexico) and has been pricked many times in his life, but given the history of this one, has welcomed it into our home!

So we dicided that given its history and sheer girth, we need to name it...any suggestions?