During my last staycation two years ago, I painted every room in the house. I wasn’t quite that motivated this past week. As a matter of fact, I spent a good deal of it in comfy pants, snoozing on the couch with a dog on my feet. It was brilliant.
It’s not that I didn’t do some stuff. I spent almost two days in Philadelphia – one day at a writing workshop where I learned how to hone ideas into potential articles. Unfortunately when I got home jazzed to write I panicked instead. My ideas cut like spoons… Something to work on. Or not. I might rather freely blahblog on squishy topics like “Gardening is awesome”, “It’s raining”, and “I like orange”. The morning of the second Phila day I hung out at the Flower Show admiring flowery footwear and every perfect plant in the horticourt. I’ll probably say more stuff about that tomorrow at work…
I like to think that I would have gotten some good gardening work done over the week if only it hadn’t snowed. I did manage to get the pair of pears pruned before the disgusting weather, but as soon as the snow melted on a 60° day, I couldn’t do much but lie on my back with my face in the sun. But while I did that, Z got out the tape measure and graph paper and helped me plot out the beginning of a lawn eradication plan. The overall design of the yard has been giving me fits lately. When we moved in it was such a perfect blank slate that for the last two years I’ve been plunking trees, shrubs and garden beds in a plan-less willynilly. So yesterday we finally worked on envisioning the yard as a whole garden. I’m happy to say we’ll probably leave the trees where they landed but one grave shaped bed we created last year – I like to call it the Nicotine Patch – will be (gasp) grassed over again.
I had also planned on painting the shed and the great white wall of the garage but am secretly glad to have had a weather related reprieve from that chore. Maybe next weekend… Meanwhile it looks like the dog is desperate for some company on the couch.
I know I’ve got a lot of virtual catching up to do too – what did I miss in your garden this past week?
kristin green | trench manicure 
This one really cracked me up. And those shoes… cracked out! My brain feels like it seeped out through a crack in my head. There, that’s all you missed, a bunch of cracks. When the weather’s better, we can all get down to our projects. For now, comfy pants and canine company on the couch sounds alliteravely attractive.
Thanks, GW! – I’m glad you appreciated the shoes. I love plant porn anyway but put it on shoes and OMG… -kris
I like orange, too, and I share the impulse (to write, to panic). You write to us all the time, really thoughtfully. Let the panic keep the doggy comfy for a while and give it a go! If you will, I will 😉
Otherwise I’m just going to endlessly rearrange my blog in miniscule ways, endlessly…which I did this week. Also made a new compost bin and will fix the falling down one when it unfreezes. Also got out graph paper and started a plan for the veg patch. Also signed up to be a tour guide at a big public garden, which is terrifying and thrilling, since I’m more a dog and plant person than a people person. AND, saw snowdrops coming up in our yard and lots of bulbs emerging on campus, so I rejoiced! and am still. Glad you’re back. Stay jazzed! Can’t wait to see the bones of your new plan.
Thank you, Lynn – and you’re on (“if you will, I will”)! And the very next time I get a notion to do another one of these workshop thingies I’ll try to get you to join me. I’m totally impressed with all the stuff you did – especially signing on as a docent (I know it sounds fancypants but isn’t that a great word?). I have to say that I’m terrified by any kind of public speaking but if I’m showing the garden (bwold, not mine!) to people, I can’t shut up. I hope you love doing it. -kris
about all I did was watch crocuses emerge from melting snow. I am getting some therapy done on an old and neglected shoulder so I just looked at plants. for now.
Wayne, watching crocuses emerge sounds like the perfect garden chore to me. I hope your shoulder is mended soon though. -kris
And here I thought you were in Philly and then on a beach somewhere! Staycation….you are too funny. I think I need a writer’s workshop. Anyway, you missed nothing but mostly bad weather. Glad you’re back though.
Layanee, I wished with all my heart I was “on a beach somewhere” but was thwarted by rotten economics. I know I’m not the only one these days taking staycations (it’s such a thing to do that I didn’t even have to invent the word). I’m glad to be “back” though too. Pretty much. Mostly. ! -kris
Grave shaped? Nicotene patch? Sounds like it was destined to get turfed over. The process seems very familiar and natural. I think you need to live with a place for a while before you make any big plans. And experience has taught me that I should just embrace the fact that I’m going to undo lots of the things I thought were done for good. As spring approaches I sometimes think, “why don’t we just buy a townhouse with a patio so we can do a nice, compact container garden that we can rearrange at will?” But as soon as the first warm afternoon hits, I’m out raking and digging until dusk. This year I have the added motivation of an energy-filled 3 year old daughter working by my side, wanting to do everything I do. Lets hope she’s still that thrilled about gardening when she’s old enough to take over part of the garden herself!
Oh I know – what was I thinking? I’m just impatient to have it all be beautiful NOW somehow right THERE (no, THERE). I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my garden’s “mission”. There may be a post in that thought… How lucky you are to have a wee helper. If she’s into it now, chances are she’s a born plant geek. -kris