LysmachiaMoon's blog: Wandering work

I decided to just get to work this morning, with no plan other than I knew I needed to do the laundry and gather up all the weed piles and put them on the compost heap. Wow, did I get a lot of little things done. I got the sidewalks sprayed with Roundup, and also the strip between the deck steps and the house wall (I have a terrible infestation of nutsedge in there and today was the END for it....I have been pulling that stuff for years. Then, I FINALLY got rid of the terrible frayed piece of clothesline I had tied between two deck posts to serve as a sort of small permanent line for damp dishcloths, etc. I put in 2 nice eyebolts and strung some nice new line and it looks nice... It was one of those things that is there slowly becoming an eyesore for YEARS but you just don't see it. I finally "saw" it a couple weeks ago and was horrified. *HA*

We have a problem with condensation on our well water tank (I don't know what it's technically called...I think it's the pressure tank) also our water softener things...drip drip drip all over the basement floor. I finally decided to do something about it. I wrapped everything in old carpets and secured it with bungie cords. (Yes, I know...eyesore in the making...but nobody ever sees them down there in the corner of the basement). I'm hoping this will help.

Once it got hot outside (about 9:30 a.m.) I moved inside and decided to tear into my closet/drawers. Holy moley. I swear to gawd, every time somebody in my family dies I end up with their clothes. And then I'm too sentimental to toss them. TWO HUGE BOXES of clothes to the goodwill. The problem with this is,....I have a lot of nice stuff in there that I don't wear because I forgot I had it! I actually had several blouses (very nice ones, like new) that my Aunt Liz gave me in 1982 (NINETEEN EIGHTY TWO) when she retired from her office job. I think I wore one of them maybe twice. Remember shoulder pads? Yeah. THOSE kinds of blouses. Maybe somebody will buy them for Halloween. Why do I have FOUR white turtleneck jersies? I hate turtlenecks. I look awful in white and I do not have the figure for clingy jersies. I look like the Michelin Tire Guy in these things. Where did they come from? Who knows? Where do they go. Goodwill.

What am I keeping my late nephew's black dress trouser and oversize, stained, and faded dirtbike shirt for? I don't think I'll be asked to attend a formal dinner where I'll be required to wear a suit and I don't own a dirtbike. I love my nephew and miss him, but I think I have better ways to honor his memory. Dave, buddy, you'll understand....Goodwill got 'em.

I own a black and white houndstooth jacket that is so tight I can't get it buttoned. With shoulder pads. And these big flashy buttons. Where the HELL did that come from? Well, I know where it went....

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After my drop off to Goodwill, I had to go to Walmart for stuff and they had all their summer bulbs on clearance. Most of the stuff is dried up and dead but I took a fly at a few...2 packs of Bowl of Beauty peonies (can't have too many peonies), 2 packs of mixed dinner plate dahlias, and one big pack of mixed canna. The peonies are looking pretty dry, but there's definitely buds on two of the 4 roots. I got them soaking in the kitchen to rehydrate before planting. The dahlias are better than I hoped. Some are sprouted and making an effort, only one root of 10 looks completely dried up and useless. the cannas are iffy...several are sprouting and look ok, the rest look rotted. I've got the surviving dahlias and cannas in a shallow pan of water with some compost tea and potting soil to get them going. I'm hoping with some fresh air, sunshine and proper moisture they'll do ok. I think I'll put them all into the veg garden nursery bed tomorrow.

Next year, I'm definitely going to have to start my zinnias indoors early. The plants I direct seededare up and doing well, but still way small. I remember my dad always had a bouqet of zinnias to take to the church on August 15 (for the Feast of the Assumption), so he must have planted his seeds very very early. I know he direct seeded all his annual flowers. Same for my cosmos... I got everything in the ground late. The cosmos are up and growing but not nearly big enough for flowers (plus something ate them!).

First sweet corn out of the garden tonight. I always plant Ambrosia and I'm hoping it's as good this year as always.

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