I had a great day on Sunday. First of all, it was a stunning summer day. But the other aspect of the day that pleased me so much was doing scores of little things around the yard that I’d long put off.
There are stairs I never use that lead off the deck on one side. I swept them spotless. They’d not been swept yet this year. And on a corner of the deck no one sees, there was a pile of garden crap that I left there in March. It’s now gone. And one corner of the courtyard that is never clean—it’s where I pile crap that I sweep off the paving stones ‘to clean up later’—is pristine now!
I cut dead branches off Roses and shrubs, I deadheaded the Rhodo, mowed all the front lawns and attended to the shoots of climbing plants, making sure they all can climb and removing those that can’t. Plus, I cleaned the brick path to the old fire pit and the former pit itself of a year’s accumulated forest crap. And once I was done with the yard for the day, I really swept the part of the deck where we’d be having dinner and set the picnic table for my guests.
Pinecone Park has never looked so good!
I took the tools I borrowed back to Jay, planted five new plants and then prepped all the food, sprinkling love potion on handsome Kevin’s food, and sleeping powder on Shelly’s. Okay! It was salt and pepper!
Kevin is handsome and friendly; I am rather smitten with him. And Shelly is a kind and warm extrovert who keeps the conversation going and allowing me to relax. Last night was the first time we’ve spent time together, other than to chat briefly on the street as we led our respective lives.
By the time they arrived I was beat, but I did my best not to let on. We sat and chatted over drinks for a while and then I sparked up the barbeque. And when it was ready, we ate. The night seemed to be a great success; it was a lovely night (twenty-eight degrees) and we all seemed delighted to be eating good food outdoors together!
When they left, I fell into bed and a deep immediate sleep.
•
Today is for rest.
It’s a beauty of a day that’s predicted to reach thirty degrees. I’m going to go outside and see what happens—see what little things that I can find to do. I don’t want to do anything strenuous after finishing the boardwalk, cleaning the studio roof and weeding all the cracks in the former firepit that’s now a nice little patio.
What I want to do, more than anything, is go for long walks with Sheba. But the last time we did that was a disaster. That’s when she lost a pad on one foot, so I’m hesitant to go on any long walks.
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