22 days of getting things done
I broke my toe 2 days before my kids’ joint birthday party. Of course I was supposed to be resting and keeping it elevated but Mama’s got things to do!! Not everything was done before the big day but sometimes I go a little cray-cray with my plans. Even though my toe is still broken, the bruise is still there but stopped growing finally. That means it’s healing, right?? 😉
In addition to finishing up a few more things around the house, my two boys are gone for 22 days. This gives me a bit more freedom to get things done I wouldn’t normally like a big fridge and pantry clean. I know – the fun I have.
The first thing on my list was to go to our local nursery to stock up on all the flowers/bushes/herbs/trees I’ve had my eye on. I had to get this done ASAP as they’re closing up for the season soon and we are borrowing a friend’s truck. Also, this truck is stick which I never learned so James had to drive it while I took the kiddies in our other car. We got to the nursery with my list and changed it up a bit while Alice and Patrick played hide and go seek for an hour. This was the first of two hauls:
Oh, and we also HAD to do this right away since James and Patrick were leaving for Australia that night. And James had been gone previously in NYC so I had a little laundry and packing to do.
I figured we’d get the big stuff planted together and I could work in the back with the veggies/fruit/herbs later. My front yard had other plans. Apparently there is so much clay mixed in with the dirt that I was ready to install wheels and build a kiln. It. Was. So. Hard. To. Dig. James and I took shifts with picks/shovels/watering and got a good chunk done. We were able to plant 5 rose bushes, 6 small shrubs, 1 hydrangea bush, and a lime, fig, and cherry tree – with 3 varieties!!
I have no idea how I’m going to do the rest without him. My body’s not in pain, but my hands are so raw from the pick that I had to take a day off. Luckily the front is seeing progress in the former dirt patch!
Despite the clay soil in the front, I feel like the land around us is very fertile which is what gets me so darn excited to plant in every square inch of our property. Our neighbors have apricot, apple, every type of citrus tree, tons of berries, squash, etc. I’m amazed at how often they share their harvest with us, and I do what I can when we had fresh plums. It’s like our own little farmers’ market sometimes as we trade produce.
Right now we’ve got pumpkins going nuts and lots of sweet corn!
Hopefully I get my second wind back to finish planting the hydrangea bushes, meyer lemon, nectarine, and apple tree (with 6 different varieties!!), artichokes, raspberry bushes, and herbs. I still have tons on my list, and hopefully I can get lots of cleaning/organizing/work done with the boys away. More updates on that soon!!