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Saturday, April 29, 2006

free day bliss

Debi asked what I did with my Free Day today. Well, I'll tell you.

(She's going to tell! She's going to tell! She's going to tell! She's going to tell!)

Pardon me, Monty Python moment.

Anyway. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous day. I would add a few more 'gorgeous's but I think you get the idea. C has been wanting to plant a garden for a few weeks; she dug up a spot for it but since a) our soil is awful and b) her chosen spot gets a lot of foot traffic and no sun I suggested window boxes or the like. So today we looked at the utter gorgeousness all around us and decided that This Was The Day. C noticed that we had the same sandals, and wanted us to dress alike. Everywhere she went she told people that we were "egelegant twins". I'm not sure if she meant "elegant" or "identical", and I wasn't going to ask because then she would stop saying it.

(the scene: Outside the hardware store
C: The only problem is that we are not the same height.
I: No, we're not.
C: Maybe if I jump. Here, you stand there [off the 3" curb] and I'll stand here and JUMP.
C: [hops maybe five inches in the air]
I: Still not quite the same height.
C: Taller! I was more than your height!)

We went to the hardware store for planting boxes and seeds, and to the feed store for a six-pack of plants that were already... started? I am so garden-techy, aren't I. We got home and LT helped us set everything up. He nailed the boxes to the railing so that they wouldn't fall off, and then (oh, the hardship, poor boy) helped fill them with dirt.

Any time I call these my herbs, C reminds me that they're OUR herbs. That's her own personal watering can. It cost $6 at this little landscaping store in town. And ... it stinks. Really. Might as well use the hose. But hey, it's photogenic.

C picked out petunias at the feed store. "Petunias" sound like the stereotype flower, don't they? I always want to say it in a shrill, creaky old-lady voice. Pe-tew-nia.

I think C's favorite part of the day was when I dispatched her and LT and their friend to the backyard to dig up worms for our "experiment" bed. It's actually an old leaky aquarium, which we filled with extra potting soil and then planted with the extra seeds (not pictured above, by the way, is the bed seeded with phlox and alyssum) and two petunia plants that wouldn't fit in the petunia container. We're hoping to see some root and worm action through the plastic. Here C is petting the worms. She LOVES worms like most girls her age love kitties and bunnies (to be fair, she loves kitties and bunnies too). I have a picture from last year of her two cute chubby little hands just OVERFLOWING with a worm family that she wanted to keep in her room. Observe my restraint as I refrain from posting it, to spare those of you who may be squeamish. (I like worms as long as I'm not sticking them on fishhooks, myself.)

After the gardening extravaganza (I really hope all those plants don't die just because I touched them. It has been known to happen) I took some pictures, and then went for a walk and took some more, and then barbecued chicken (mmmmm). And then we laid on a blanket in the backyard, all four of us, and watched the stars come out and quizzed each other about constellations and where the ecliptic was and all kinds of fun nerdy family stuff.

And THEN I came in here, finished Northanger Abbey, and took the time to blog about my day before going to bed so that I can pull this entry up when I feel unappreciated and frustrated. So, maybe ... tomorrow. :)

Comments

Posted by: jenn at May 1, 2006 11:54 AM

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