Monday, March 19

Progress!!

I was quiet this weekend because I was either busy or asleep. Good stuff for the Forever Home.

Exterior:
We got the first raised garden bed built, painted, and out into the upper meadow. It's beautiful. Zorak ran herd on the boys while they painted it. I tried to go watch, but had to just snap some photos and then run back inside. Drip edges make me twitchy and overbearing, and I didn't want to ruin the adventure for the boys by micromanaging. So I'd slip out, shout *rah* *rah* *rah* *Look at you guys go!* (click, click, click), then run back in before I said anything else. That seemed to work well.

We got quite a bit of land tilled. By hand. God bless the horse-drawn plough. *whew*

We pulled two barrels full of weeds from Old Mrs. Cook's garden plot by the barn. That'll be our melon patch this year. We cut down quite a few stray trees, dug up quite a few stumps, removed about half of the rotted railroad ties, and turned the first few feet of soil. Then we collapsed in a heap.

Interior:
We refurbed the old bookshelf from the boys' room and set it up in the guest room, then loaded it down with the rest of the boxes in there. Turned out to be box after box of Zorak's school books. So now, it looks like we expect our guests to indulge in a little light differential equations and statistics reading before bed. (J, I promise I will find a better selection to add to it before you come! Honest!)

Are you familiar with those boxes that get packed at the very end of a move: pictures, drawings, single pencils, paperwork, tea bags, the occasional stray shoe? We went through a few of those. Probably three moves' worth.

Zorak trimmed out the master bedroom closet! WOOHOO! It's still a gaping hole, but now it's a decorative gaping hole.

Last week, Me-Tae gave the boys some foam critters that grow when you put them in water. So far, John's crawdad has grown to the size of a lobster. Smidge's pink seahorse is getting pretty big, too. James' whale-shark-thing just exuded some kind of slime and rolled over, but didn't grow. Actually, they all oozed slime, but his seems to have absolutely spewed it. We have a pretty nasty little menagerie on the bathroom counter at the moment. (How long do y'all normally keep things like that laying out before you make the kids pack 'em up?)

And now, we're back to work of another kind: areas of polygons and addition by 8; Caesar Agustus and Dick and Jane; the end of Aeneis' journey and the return voyage for young Harve and the crew of the We're Here. For me, this work is more restful than that which we did over the weekend, although both are equally valuable for forming young minds, and old bodies. It's good, good stuff.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

5 comments:

Jenni said...

Wow, I'm impressed! That makes me feel laaaazy. We keep *thinking* about how we'd like to do a garden, but we have yet to figure out where we're going to put it.

Melora said...

I've been thinking about a raised bed for my future veggie garden. How about a picture (and plans!)?
You guys accomplish so much! While I am browsing through garden picture books and dreaming, you are digging up trees and cultivating. It is a good reminder for me about how things actually get done -- thanks!

Laura said...

What a great weekend! I love reading about your progress on your home and garden - you inspire me to get to work!

Dy said...

Jenni, LOL - we feel lazy, too, as most people get up and started a lot earlier than we do. We don't usually get up until somebody makes us. LOL. But you have animals, and they aren't dying off in droves, so I *know* you aren't lazy!

Melora, I will post a "tutorial" on the garden beds. (Have to use ironic quotes, because getting directions from me is like asking the dead guy to dance, but since you asked...)

Laura, It's your beautiful photos of your well-loved, and well-tended place that inspire *me*! Just beautiful, and so encouraging.

Dy

Emily (Laundry and Lullabies) said...

How, how, how do you get so much done in a weekend? Tell me your secret, please!!! Somehow we never seem to get done even the basics that we hope to accomplish - the weekend is taken up with catch-up chores and grocery shopping and errands and then maybe, MAYBE we'll get one of our house/garden projects STARTED...sigh.

I guess part of it is that I don't have a hands-on go-getter husband like yours. Mine is WONDERFUL, (don't get me wrong!) but his idea of a happy and productive day involves reading or writing or programming. And maybe taking a lunch break. ;) Projects are sort of my thing, I guess, only I don't have enough "oomph" to get them done without his assistance! :)