Yeah. Sobering. A great post from a young teacher in the trenches:
Month: April 2015
Part Two- My Yard “Cleans Up Good” more of APRIL Project of the Month
Out with the old, in with the new.
Went back to Walter Anderson nursery today, found Leslie and she helped me pick out more semi-drought tolerant container loving plants. These should last longer and hold up to our dry weather better than the ubiquitous annuals that I have planted in the past.
We found…
Into the pots they went. The portulaca is nifty- I’d never noticed it before and hope that this succulent-ish flower really can take the heat. The salvia should bloom for quite a while when it gets going, but I have no clue how the celosia will do- it sure is a bright red and it looked really nice with the white portulaca. White with red and blue with yellow kind of pops, so that’s how these got planted.
I still have three or four more yard projects to tackle that involve trying something different or doing the job on my own for the first time… “NEXT!” she yells out to no one in particular.
APRIL Project- Do You Clean Up Good? Part One…
My yard “cleans up good.”
I hd never heard that phrase until my early 20s when a neighbor paid me the compliment. I may not recall what special event The Boyfriend/Husband was taking me out for that evening, but the “You clean up good, kid!” I remember like it was yesterday.
This is the sorry state of affairs that I am working with. Just this very day I am learning that this desiccated disaster is not entirely my fault. It seems that The Husband had turned of the water… for the last three weeks! Now, April has been a rotten month for me so far, but usually my entryway doesn’t fall apart to this extent. I’m glad to know that I had help in this mess.
To help prettify my window boxes, the dead alyssum, pansies and geraniums are headed to the compost pile and being replaced with less thirsty flowers.They aren’t natives or succulents, but with help from Leslie at Walter Anderson Nursery I learned that succulents wouldn’t take the heat and the local plants that would, get way too big. Trust your Garden Center Gurus. They know all.
Here are the replacements (you can click on the small photos to see their detail and names):
And here is the lovely finished project. Sorry kitty lovers, but both cats had jumped down from the window by the time I took this photo:
If I remember, I’ll post an update in a month or so when these little guys fill in more. In the meantime, this is what gets replaced tomorrow: 
New Things Daily. Really. Or At Least Attempted…
On Monday, I had intended to give an update on the Book of the Month. Even though the plan derailed, my train of thought is powered by a compulsive desire to see those little calendar dates all filled in, each and every day.
Monday was Migraine day. Sometimes after a migraine ceases you feel physically lighter, floating or at least as if a weight has literally been lifted off of your head. Sometimes you feel as though pressure has been released… or that the vacuum chamber that you are stuck in has finally unlocked and your entire being is returning to normal.
Weird, I know. It feels cathartic to just explain what the pain feels like to me. I wonder if by being able to put words to the extreme discomfort that I am conquering it in a way? Psychologists, doctors, med students, and Psychiatrists, feel free to chime in. Seriously.
So, Monday I didn’t even lift my book. I didn’t even lift my body off of the couch most of the day.
But- here is the book update about my new read this month:
Need a good laugh? Go get this book. Bill Bryson’s “The Lost Continent.” Warning: you have to have thick skin to read this book, because he busts on just about everyone across the country. Overall I am loving this book, lots of laugh-out-loud moments!
And, later today I will move this post on over to Monday. Where it belongs. Out, damned blank spot! Out, I say!
…I wonder if Lady Macbeth had migraines?
Our $20K Coffee Mugs
Home again, and nothing tastes like your own coffee on your own couch with your pets in your laps and CBS Sunday Morning. Today’s coffee is brought to you by our new mugs from The Official College Bookstore of The Girl’s First Choice.
It has been an overwhelming past 10 days or so. This is all I can manage today- sharing a photo of our new coffee mugs.
Earlier today I posted on Facebook, “The last ten days have been a blur. There was no ‘break’ in my Spring Break. I want a do over. Wait. No, I don’t.”
Life never slows down, not for anything or anyone. I’m ready to Carpe me some Diem tomorrow.
I actually do have a couple posts to fill in the missing days on this here blog thing… some photography and a new read that was surprisingly funny. For now, I’m taking the rest of this weekend off (I’ve sunk to using my dad’s jokes, time to catch some Zs).
branching out... on a limb 