How I Spent My Summer Vacation
ha! Summer vacation. Why didn’t I appreciate it more when I had it? Now, I get excited to have two days in a row off, and then squander those days by doing things.
Stupid, stupid me.
Friday evening was pretty mellow….instead of our usual date night, we lounged at home, had pizza and beer and admired the 17 million weeds that have moved into our lawn.
Saturday, I went for a lovely run (almost 5.5 miles…go me!), then the architect & I headed out for our weekly visit to Home Depot. We bought many things. Mostly boards.
After lunch, we started constructing.
Construction continued for six hours.
Many boards were cut (close to 40, I think).
30 boards were stained/sealed…by me.
Here is but a small selection:
The architect, who not only designed the compost bin, did most of the work of putting it together (I however, am the digger of those awesome post holes):
Many hours later, and after I effectively protected myself from the elements by getting almost as much sealer on myself as on the boards, we had the ass-kickingest compost bin known to human kind.
It is probably important to note that after I took this picture, the bin was worked on a bit more, squaring it up quite a bit – I think the architect would be upset if I let you think it ended up as lopsided as it looks in this picture. Also, the right side will get another board, evening that up.
The front boards slide up & out for easy access to the compost. So – yay! Now I just have to get everything into the bin to start the dirt-making.
Yesterday, I decided to take it easy. So I went back to Home Depot for the last compost-bin board. And then I went upholstery fabric, but did not find anything I liked. And then, I went to the Garden of Eden. Or, the Portland Nursery as it is more commonly known.
It was awesome. I can’t believe I got out of there spending less than $100. I bought a baby Japanese maple bush-tree thing, some wisteria, some jasmine, and a variety of edible plants.
At home, I dug more holes (and people? I think I have found my gift. I am a damn good hole digger. I dig fast, and deep and accurately, which will be useful if I ever am on a chain-gang and have to dig ditches or something….pure natural talent), planted trees and vines, then dug up my entire garden, removed as much cat shit as I could, planted broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, a cucumber and citronella around the garden, replanted my seeds, and sprinkled the whole thing with black pepper (I read about it on the internet). Three hours later there was a cat pooping in the garden, and this morning, it looked all dug up again. They’re not messing with the above ground plants…but c’mon! I may be buying a bb gun.
So – after that, I was tired. We had more pizza & beer for dinner, and then did a lot of nothing.
I am looking forward to the 4-day week – I’m sure I will celebrate our nation’s independence (and my sister’s 27th birthday) with more exciting home improvement projects 🙂 And probably also with a nice, long run. My half-marathon is just over 3 months away, and I need to more than double my distance.
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