Taking a Breather

Whew- what a weekend!! My aunt and cousin came over yesterday to help me do some gardening on a particularly weed-prone corner around the pool. My aunt is super master-gardener, and she brought me some cuttings from some of her most aggressive perennials, in hopes to beat out the weeds. We planted them and also some daffodil bulbs she generously brought for in between my day lillies. We also covered a layer of newspapers with a thick layer of mulch to provide a natural (biodegradable) weed barrier. She uses it in her gardens, and she swears she never has to weed!! Sign me up!!!

I am going to divide some of my perennials maybe in October in the front garden areas to make the design/layout more organized. I am a perennial-er for life- I didn't buy any annuals this year, and I have pretty consistent flowers out front! Bonus!

But after pulling weeds, transplanting about 15 plants and about 45 bulbs, putting down the newspaper layer, covering it with 10 bags-worth of mulch, we were pretty tuckered out around 4 pm yesterday. (My 11-year old cousin who came along to "help" somehow was splashing around in the pool, even though the water temp is close to 70F!!! Holy moley!!) Luckily, I had started the base for chicken and dumplings in the crock pot yesterday morning, and all we had to do for dinner was make spinach walnut pesto for over noodles (my aunt is a vegetarian), and the dumplings for me, Mr. A, and my cousin. I tried a new dumpling recipe, and it was GREAT. Yum.

Today it was another early morning- we all went to the early service and then came home and made a big breakfast. (Except my aunt, who is hilarious, ate another portion of the spinach walnut pesto noodles, because she loved them so much last night!) We took Banana for an extra walk, during which my cousin discovered some houses for sale on the route that she'd like to buy. The rest of the walk included her trying to convince my aunt that they should move here. When I told her that she might have to contribute to the down payment and asked how much she had in her bank account, she said "I have $11, but if they need it for us to move here, I'd be glad to give it to them!!!"

Ah, childhood. Haha.

It was a great weekend, but Mr. A and I put in "Char.lie Wilson's War" (one of our favorites) after they left, and I admit I fell asleep for about a half hour of it. Then we went out and surveyed our slowing-down veggie garden and picked what we could...I think it is just about the end of the season, and we are already planning a bigger and better version for next year!!! We picked a watermelon that was obviously not done growing, as it was the size of a cantelope, but I really don't think they're going to get much bigger, since it is definitely not as hot anymore. It was not red inside (more like pink), but it tasted like watermelon!!! Very juicy!! The cantelopes are the size of plums, but we might pick one of those, too, to see what they look like inside right now.

I really have not undertaken any hand-wringing about being in the 2ww (although I do include it in my morning prayers as a general intention), and I'm planning on keeping it that way. It's a really nice break. I'm expecting to start a new cycle on October 1- all aboard for the injectibles at that point!! Or obviously, I'd accept a positive pregnancy test as a consolation prize....