Am I the only one, or does it feel like winter snuck (or is it sneeked) by and the BAM...spring arrived in full force? Well, one of the reasons I'm feeling the **BAM** part is because with all the much awaited, beautiful little leaves and flowers in bloom, my body has decided to develop some pollen allergies. Alas, on a recent trip to see the familia, their trees let forth their pollen in time for me to arrive. It's been a good while since I've felt that bad. We're talkin' that congested face-in-a-winched-down-vice-grip feeling, accompanied by excessive brain fog. As if still being on the quest to recover my pre-preggo brains weren't bad enough, pollen pushed me to an even further level of being dazed and clueless.
Once my roadtrip down south (for a beloved friend's wedding!) was complete, the bebe' and I returned home...just in time for our trees, shrubberies, and every growing thing to release their pollen. Yes my friends, that's what I'm calling a double whammy. Nature is conspiring against me.
Thanks to a small arsenal of homeopathic remedies, I am on the mend, and felt well enough to join my husband in what I can only describe as being our version of "Survivor: Home Improvement Edition". I had always looked forward to weekends, but after this one, I was never more glad for it to be over. I teased my husband, asking him to go back to work so that I could get some rest.
The first event of the weekend was planting our seedlings in the garden. Something must have been wrong with the soil I started the tomato seeds in, because my green thumb told me that 6 week old tomato plants should be more than 1 inch tall. *sigh* Our yard-work and household repairs inevitably required a trip to Lowes where I happily found some sturdy heirloom tomato plants to replace my puny ones. As Andrew did some roof repairs, I planted the beauties in the garden boxes with some d.e. powder and fish oil capsules, then watered and mulched them. I'm anxious to see how they fare. **please, oh please, oh please...**
Other conquered obstacles included spreading manure, mowing, edging, tree trimming, chicken coop tending (all accomplished by my wild man), and my reviving flower beds with new black liner, planting new flowers, and mulching. I ended up potting some marigolds in the front and back yard and quite frankly...they make me happy.
As if all of these things weren't enough to put us under, we attacked the mammoth to-do project (drum roll please)....trimming the crepe myrtles. Crepe myrtles are supposed to be significantly trimmed back every year, and as a favorite master gardener of mine jokingly told me, you can "trim the crepe out of em and they'll be just grow right back".
Judging from the wild and wooly state of the trees, the former homeowner turned a blind eye for several years. These beasts were prying their way through our fence, and infringing upon the walking space of the sidewalk. We started with pruning shears, but that only lasted for so long. During our Lowes trip, hubs finally purchased a chainsaw to complete the dreaded task. Even with a power tool on our side, we still had no clue what an enormous project it would turn out to be. Our neighbors must have thought we were crazy; wearing long sleeves and jeans in the blazing sun, branches crashing into the street as we attempted to clear out the overgrowth. Cutting the trees was one thing, but cutting branches down to size to be bundled was another. It took hours. Needless to say, we were incredibly glad to be done with it all at the end of the day!
The final and most delicious act of the weekend was to try out our new grill (thank you Craig's List!). Andrew took it upon himself to buy some fat steaks earlier in the week, and after all the excruciating labor, we were more than happy to try them out. We ended up using sea salt to break down the meat before drizzling them with a mixture of olive oil, crushed garlic and rosemary. 5 minutes a side yielded some juicy pieces of meat. I believe it was a combination of our being worn out, and the deliciousness of the steaks that caused us to, once we finally sat down, savor each bite as if it were out last.
Sunburnt and exhausted, we finished the weekend with our steaks, some tater salad, sliced fruit, and a glass of cab. Though I'm hoping we can take things easier in the coming weekends, it sure was nice to reflect on all the work we did together, and to wake up to see some marigolds smiling at me through the back window.
P.S. Despite my best efforts, I got a sunburn on top of a sunburn. In the past I'd be in a lot of pain, but this time I slapped on (urr...carefully applied) some coconut oil mixed with lavender oil. The lavender takes the misery out of a too-long encounter with Mr. Sunshine. Try it! :)
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