Broke And Broken

What a weekend!

Flush with payday cash, and tempted by the gorgeous weather outside, I decided to tackle a few projects in the garden.

In a burst of excitement on Friday, I skipped out of work for about half an hour to run up to the hardware store to purchase the savior of my summer…the ten foot patio umbrella. This just may be my best purchase all season, as it will make my patio a manageable place to spend my days when the sun and heat kick in. Looking forward to the three-day weekend ahead, I also purchased some garden edging and a flat shovel to assist me in my upcoming projects.

(Side note…I spent the rest of the day on Friday threatening to make anyone that irritated me the "first blood" to stain my new shovel. Ha!)

Priceless was the look on the guy's face at the hardware store when I convinced him that the seven foot tall partly assembled umbrella would fit in my car…no problem. When he asked me if my back seat collapses, I responded, "Nope. But we've gotten six foot tall bookshelves home in this thing before. It'll fit. No problem." A few minutes later, I was driving off, my umbrella securely angled across my passenger seat into the back seat behind me, with the guy holding the box and just shaking his head. See…it fit!

When I got home Friday evening, I just couldn't wait. Fred and I descended upon the patio with my new umbrella. It is ridiculously easy to assemble…however it requires a certain amount of grace and balance, as the umbrella mechanism is pre-assembled onto part of the pole. It took me a while to get the hang of it, balancing this top-heavy bohemoth, but I managed. It was obvious to me that this was technically a two person job, but Fred was offering no help. In fact, he was pacing the floor, as he always does when something that he doesn't understand is happening and it makes him nervous.

Saturday was spent pruning more shrubs in the back yard. Damn, it looks good! I'm just making guesses at my rose bushes…I really don't know a lot about caring for these gorgeous flowers, but I think that I may have gotten them trimmed up nicely. I still have a few more bushes to cut back (I'm limited by the capacity of my yard waste bin), but I am so pleased with how the back yard is coming together.

I also tackled a ginormous yellow jacket nest that I found hidden inside one of my overgrown shrubs. That was pretty scary! Just another joy of homeownership that Hubby is missing out on by being gone.

I also spent Saturday playing with my new satellite-dish like umbrella. Even though I was spending minimal amounts of time on the patio, I unfurled the umbrella so that I could see its effect on the area. As the day wore on, it became obvious that I had placed it on the wrong corner of the patio Friday night. So, taking a break from the shrub trimming, I maneuvered the top-heavy bohemoth into place. Again. Fred kept his distance, probably wise for the poor pup.

My last task for the day was putting together a new area of my bird sanctuary at the end of the yard. I picked through my marvelous PetSmart deals and selected a bird feeder, stand and copper bird bath to place at the end of the back yard. An ideal location for bird watching from the patio. As I was driving the bird feeder stand into the ground, I told Fred that when I'm cursing the birds for chirping outside my bedroom window so early in the morning, remind me that this was my brilliant idea.

We wound up the day relaxing on the patio. I was sipping sweet tea (I'm so Southern!) and Fred was basking in the sweet smells of the outdoors.

Sunday dawned and I decided that this would be the day that I tackled the project that has been sitting at a standstill since the heat of last summer. I would finally tackle the side yard paver project!

Holee Cow.

Alongside our house, we have a sidewalk that connects our driveway to the back patio. Between this sidewalk and the fence that divides our property from our neighbor's property is about two feet of dirt. What the purpose of this is, I don't know. It was filled in with mulch when we purchased the house. But over the past year, the mulch has broken down and weeds have sprouted up in its place. I've decided that twelve inch square masonry squares (pavers) and gravel would be the ideal way to fill in this void in our landscaping. It would also make the ideal foundation for a container garden that I would like to place in this area.

I pulled out the waste bins and my rectangular planters, clearing the way for the project to begin. Hubby had laid down about twenty five pavers already, but looking at the weeds that had grown over the seasons, I have since decided that a weed barrier will need to be placed down under the pavers and gravel to discourage any more unwelcome growth.

So up came the pavers. Up came the weeds. And I had to wrestle with the umbrella again, as it has been determined that the ideal place for it is right in the path of the pavers. It took me awhile to attach the garden edging to the fence (forty two feet of it!) that will keep the sand and gravel from spilling over into the neighbor's yard. Fred was ever attentive…once he got over the constant banging of the hammer to nails, he was right there with me, the best company to have. Once I was done with the edging, down went the weed barrier. I stood back and admired my progress. Now the fun would begin.

Off to the hardware store I head. In addition to the five seventy-pound bags of sand, twenty bricks, five additional pavers and ten retention wall bricks, I pick up a little plastic cart to assist me in carrying it all. The guy at the hardware store was put to work loading all of my new purchases into the car. (I love this hardware store because they load the heavy stuff for you…my kind of place!) My poor car has suddenly become a low-rider under all this unexpected weight. Fortunately, it's only a couple of miles to the house!

Once home, I wish that I had someone to unload the heavy stuff for me, as I begin to pull out the five seventy-pound bags of sand, twenty bricks, five additional pavers and ten retention wall bricks and haul them around to the back of the house.

I eventually get it all unloaded and crack open the bags of sand. They get poured down on top of the weed barrier and spread out in an attempt to make the ground a little bit more level for the pavers. As rain begins to fall from the sky, I start putting down bricks and pavers. About halfway through the pavers, I take a break and head inside to wait out the rain. By this time, I'm beginning to feel pretty sore.

When the rain breaks, I return to my task. Eventually, all the pavers that I have are laid out and I start shoveling gravel into place. I'm so pleased with my progress! As I empty the wheelbarrow of two bags of gravel and note how much turf it covered, I look at my remaining two bags and determine that I'm going to need at least two more. sigh. While I'm at it, I look at where the patio umbrella will rest and determine that I need three more square pavers to make a solid foundation to rest the base of the umbrella on. And that still leaves a rectangular area bare…hmm…I had noticed something called a masonry cap that is basically a rectangular paver. Maybe this will work? Armed with a measuring tape and dimensions, I return to the hardware store.

I find that they're out of the gravel that I need. Damn. The guy in the warehouse looks at me and asks, "Back again?" when I pull up to get my pavers. "Yup. I'm almost done!" I reply.

Back home to unload the new (heavy) purchases and haul them out back. Once they're in place, I spend a few minutes getting them leveled out to make a place to rest the base of the umbrella. I then use my retention wall bricks to keep the gravel from spilling into what will become a flower bed along another side of my patio and I'm back to spreading gravel. Soon, all of my gravel is spread, leaving a bare spot in the middle of the project. Yup…gonna need at least two more bags. sigh.

But not tonight. I'm grimy and sore and tired. I put all of my tools away. I reassemble the umbrella, embarking on the fine balancing act. Again. Fred keeps his distance. Again. The grill is moved back into place, the waste bins are returned to their stations. For the night, I am done. A cup of hot tea, two Advil and the television await me.

I awoke this morning with a revelation. How will I keep the umbrella sturdy when the wind comes? What will keep it from rocking? sigh. I peek at the base of the stand (an "X") and determine that I should add three more square pavers to the list. These can rest on the stand, holding it in place and keeping the rocking to a minimum.

Bidding Fred farewell, promising to return shortly, I hop into my car and head out to another location of my favorite hardware store. Tickets for my gravel and pavers in hand, I decide to take a quick peek at the nursery, just to see what is in already. Ah, heaven! Vibrant colors and fragrances…I cannot wait for planting season! I take a few notes…plants that catch my eye that I will research later on at home.

When I pull my car around to pick up my gravel and pavers, I am delighted to find that they do indeed have my gravel, but appear to be out of the gray pavers that I wanted. Groan. You've got to be kidding me!I ask the guy if I can have the tan pavers instead. They won't match the rest of the project, but they'll coordinate beautifully with my mocha umbrella. They'll be tucked in a corner behind the grill, anyways. And I don't want to have to make another trip to the store! Reaching agreement, I am on my way.

Arriving home, I unload my purchases. Three pavers to anchor my umbrella (and they work nicely!) And two more fifty pound bags of gravel to fill in the bare spot in the project. In no time, I have the gravel spread out and am so pleased with the final result that I'm not even bothered by the fact that I probably need to purchase one more bag to bulk up a couple of thin areas.

Finally, this project, seven months in the making, is complete! I place some planter stands along the fence, envisioning my container garden in place once planting season begins.

Oh! Planting season!! I've got Dahlia tubers in the garage that need to be planted!! Back outside I go.

It doesn't take me long to determine where the new additions to my garden will go. I pull up some spindly snapdragons and get to work. I've got ten holes to dig, and I ache so much! But since I'm down here, I might as well pull some weeds before they get out of hand. When I'm finished, I take a few minutes to check out my other babies…the bulbs I planted in the fall. My tulips are peeping through the soil. Daffodils appear to be getting ready to bloom any day now! Freesia is filling out nicely and my blue poppies are leafing up nicely. Soon, color will return to my garden!

I've got plans. Next payday will see the addition of new plants. Probably my remaining two jasmine for the back yard. Since I've built the retention wall for the area of my patio that will be home to a flower bed, I'll pick up a cube of garden soil and most likely some lavender and a vine or two. In the front garden, gazanias and osteospermum will make a debut at the base of my tree. Perhaps a flat of some other colorful addition.

And I need to tackle the weed infested area under the cypress trees. I see the purchase of more weed barrier in my future. And mulch. Don't forget the mulch! I think that my newest plan is to put weed barrier down covering that entire area, leaving gaps for the trees to get water. I'll mulch over the barrier to make it more attractive, then set pots of gorgeous grasses on top of that. Low maintenance. I'm lovin' it!

Hmmm…I'm going to need more pots.

Is it any wonder that I'm so broke?