A Week Off (Not Really)
7:08 p.m. - 2012-05-28


Still learning the serger, going page by page through the manual, but in about two pages I may actually be able to sew something! Most of the week has been spent working in the yard though. The big garden patch has been dug up, I've planted the tomatoes behind the shed, put down the drip hoses, planted the basil, and worked on 'the hill'. The spouse was digging out the invasive ground cover along the fence, and somehow ended up with no ground cover and a big pile of dirt near the clothesline. Not sure where all the dirt came from, but the 3 ft tall hill was obscuring my view of the new rose bushes not to mention all the poppies and squashed that were sprouting all over the hill. Whilst the spouse was gone on vacation, I dug up a little of the dirt everyday and wheelbarrowed it across the yard to the back of the big plot. When he came home, he finished it up and we transplanted two of the huge squash volunteers since they were so vigorous. We hope to put down paving stones next week up against the fence and then the garbage cans will have their own place.

While the spouse was digging up the big plot, he dug up a huge sage plant and threw it in the back of the yard. I guess he forgot I asked him to dig it up carefully because I was going to transplant it. It sat out in the hot sun for hours and hours with its roots flapping in the breeze until I came out and saw it there. We decided to see if it would survive, so I trimmed it down, he dug a hole, and soon it was in its new home. It never even looked stressed and is already putting out new growth, so that must be one strong, drought-resistant plant.

Melissa wanted to go to IKEA on Saturday, so while my poor sage plant was gasping for soil, we drove in her nice new car to Emeryville. I got some magazine holders, an area rug for the kitchen, and a few other things. And, of course, a meatball lunch. While we were driving, she was talking about Malvena's wedding, and since she is in the wedding party and I am supposed to do an alteration on her bridesmaid dress, I asked when the wedding was. Somehow I thought that I had about three more weeks. I was shocked to hear that I had 6 days. Gasp! The next day was Sunday so I managed to finish up the dress before M came to Sunday dinner. All I have to say about that is that whoever made that dress was very serious about it because it was definitely SEWN for posterity. It took forever to open it up enough to shorten the shoulder straps, there was so much stitching. Oh well, it's all done now, thank goodness.

So that was WSP's vacation week, and we haven't worked so hard in ages, me more than him I might add. But the yard is looking tons better, the rug is cleaner, the squirrels are more wary, and summer is almost here.