Sunday Evening

Tomorrow begins the last week

of my ten week session of

kickboxing.

There will be final-results testing and tallies

an "after" picture

and a party.

 

I've already signed on to continue

for the next year.

I like the accountability.

I like the workout.

I like the way I look.

The way I feel.

 

We finished putting the deck back together.

(I really missed having my breakfast

under the tree.)

The hummingbird is back.

The green beans have been delicious.

Beets will come into play this week.

 

Aidan is here for the week.

We've already played tennis

and a round of golf.

Had ice cream.

And baked zucchini bread.

The State Fair is scheduled for Thursday.

And I'm certain the days in between will

be filled with a flurry of activity.

 

 

 

 

Monday Morning

We had some rain yesterday.

There could be more today.

It would be good to have a nice rain

but this time of year it tends to come as a

hard, fast storm.

 

Another round of moisture should

be enough to bring the

green beans to eating size.

 

Last night Tim grilled:

 potatoes

from the garden

with mushrooms and onions

and

shrimp in the shells.

Delicious.

 

Today it's back to routines:

laundry

gym

sanding.

 

They've upped the ante

at the gym.  I come home tired

in the way I was tired during the first

few weeks when everything

was new and

challenging.

 

 

We're starting week seven

- three to go -

so here are three things I've learned:

 

hunger and boredom

are not synonymous

 

I can, in fact, push my body

further

harder

longer

than my mind thinks possible

 

tiger balm and ibuprofen

do me more good before class than after.

 

 

 

Sunday

Our project this weekend was to replace

the window in the upstairs bathroom.

 

According to the papers that accompanied it

professional installation

would require approximately

one hour.

 

Whatever else we may be

professional installers

we're not.

 

Some creative problem-solving was required, involving

several additional trips up and

down the ladder.

 

What really slowed us down, though,

was stopping to watch the green beans grow.

 

Seriously.

 

google images

 

Last week Tim planted green beans

in the garden box on the south

side of the house.

The ladder to the window was set

just beside the garden space.

 

When we started the box was empty except for three (3)

fingernail-sized, green nubbins,

just emerging through the black soil. 

 

Over the course of the next 90 minutes

we watched those three nubbins 

turn into stemmed plants with

 leaves unfurled.

By the time we packed up the ladder

four more nubbins had emerged.

 

Amazing.

 

 



Saturday Morning

If you only knew how gloriously this day started.

 

google images

 

Picture....

picture....

picture a margarine commercial

because it would require

the combined talents of

Don Draper

and his Madison Avenue cohorts

to script such a perfect day.

 

Fade in...

birds singing in the background

light filtering through still leaves as a

pale sun climbs the

cloudless blue sky.

Pan to

verdant green expanses awash with

sparkling dew

as an earth-mother-type

tiptoes barefoot through the grass

to pick spinach

from the garden for her morning omelet.

 

The two hours that this idyll lasted

is the payoff for all the

extreme weather we deal with

in the Midwest.

 

p.s. the omelet was super, too!



Tuesday Morning

Yesterday was a glorious spring day.

Soft cool breezes, warm sunshine,

intoxicating fragrance,

 complemented by a melodious soundtrack.

 

 

Today is overcast and rainy.

Spring...



Thursday evening

We are enjoying a true spring for the first time

in several years.

 

The weather has been unpredictable.

Last night I pulled out an extra blanket.

Started today with a jacket and ended in shorts.

 

The chorus tonight has been songbirds and

lawn mowers.

 

Blossoming trees have been vibrant.

Gardens are beginning to show promise.

 

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Minneapolis

for Naphtali's move.

Tim will come up on Saturday.

She has plans for us!

 

It's been a busy week

with painting and shuttling small loads to

the new place.

Tomorrow it's a truck and a crew

and we'll be sleeping at the new house.

Can't wait!!

Saturday evening

It's been a long day.

 

I had wondered recently

how Proton would do with the new fence?

Not to worry -

he simply ignores it when the need arises.

 

To be fair, it has taken him almost a week,

but he did jump it today - twice.
Sailed right over it.
Apparently the dogs on the other side were too appealing
and he had to chase up and down
barking with them.

So we added what seemed like
a substantial barricade
using a trellis and the grilling table.

 

(Sorry about the fuzziness)

And he went over that about a 1/2 hour later.
We heard the grill rattle so we know he went over it.
Tim is already formulating plan B.

We put in several hours when I came home from work
building a privacy fence at the back of the yard
so the dogs didn't have our full attention.
Charlie waited in the shade watching us.
Proton watched us, waiting for his opportunity.

My wisteria is blooming.
 

 

I have a few things to finish before I can call it a wrap...

 

Thursday

My computer time has become

 less-than-predictably-reliable.

Walking the dog (dogs for another week)

and watering flowers

-activities to be finished before the day's heat settles-

 now claim the first blush of  morning.

 

google images

 

Evenings are simply too lovely to

spend at a keyboard...

 

 



Peer Pressure

We have always

always

always

waited until Mother's Day

to do anything with bedding plants.

 

This past weekend our neighbor and her adorable

preschool daughter

had filled their big, red wagon

with all sorts of flowers

and made their way around the yard

planting and

laughing and

oohing and ahhing

and having so much fun together

that I went and bought

some plants on Monday.

And Tuesday.

And they looked great.

On Wednesday.

 

Last night when I came home from work

I noticed those same neighbors had been busy

covering their handiwork with sheets

so I tromped around in the dark spreading

 a few sheets of my own.

 

It has been snowing all day.

 

All day.

 

All day!

 



 

 



Monday Morning

Busy weekend.

 

Tim caught the gardening bug.

I caught the respiratory crud bug.

We'll see who makes the most progress.

 

We picked up some fencing the other day and

Tim worked on creating a

 dog-free section

of the back yard so he can garden in peace.

There is a nifty little gate that

 calls out for an arch with clematis.

He planted peas, beets and

 a variety of lettuces and spinach.

 

google images

 

I had plans to putter out there a bit today

but overnight rain

and this cough have me re-thinking my plans.

 

Later this week I'll head to Fort Dodge.

We've convinced my mother that she/we all

have too much stuff laying around.

She/we should have a yard sale.

She/we will have one.

This weekend.

I've been gathering my contributions

and need to get things marked

and ready to go.

This is probably a good day to do that.