First I re-potted all my indoor plants which I suspect have been struggling these last couple of months; especially my little roses which bloomed so prettily in spring, but look more like wannabe bonsais these day (a.k.a. bare and dry, and without the elegant postures no less).
We also bought some new plants for the little plot we have in front and at the back of the house. Jude insisted on a yew bush (get it? get it?) so we got a bobbink yew which is supposed to be really hardy in the winter. Flowers like lilies and sunflowers would look really nice but come October, my yard will be the graveyard of flowers- it would have been too depressing. We figure shrubs and bushes are a more sensible choice in the long run and might be more interesting in case we decide to add other plants around them. The yew looks a little puny now but it grows pretty fast so it should look good by the time my birthday comes round when my parents and sisters come visit! :)
For the backyard, we chose two young lavender plants. I love the smell of lavender- so calming. Lavender and wildflower honey are the two smells/ tastes which remind me most of Australia and they bring back really wonderful memories so I'm glad we got them. The lavender plants are a tad small right now but they smell gorgeous already. Can't wait till they get bigger. Imagine the fragrance wafting through the house...
Our biggest project was re-staining a table our friends Dave & Jen gave us. After the couch, this is out favorite piece of furniture. It looks more like a handyman's work table (which is why we love it), and comes with two benches. It's was handmade and the varnish was peeling off. We had to painstakingly strip and then re-stain it. We wanted to make sure the table's really protected so ended up using a resin/ epoxy mix to coat it. Man it was hard work! Thank god the table top was removable from the legs so we could work outside. First the stripping took at least two hours, and then the varnishing another hour. Now we have to wait seven hours before we can move it, and to dry completely, it's another seventy-two hours! In fact, I'm writing this as I'm sitting on my front steps watching the varnish dry (yes, gives new meaning to the term "watching paint dry"...) We're afraid the neighbors' kids might come by and touch it- not so much that they might spoil the stain, but that they might get epoxy on their hands. It's toxic (smells it too...).
It's now 7.57 pm, my clothes are so dirty they would walk to the washer themselves if they could (not my line- adapted from my beloved best friend...), I'm more thirsty than hungry, I'm so pooped I can barely haul myself upstairs to shower, and we have three hours before we can move the table.
No wonder Tim and Martha get paid to do what they do...
No comments:
Post a Comment