Fourth of July Weekend

This is a nice long weekend for us all. I'm asking myself, how is it different from any other weekend or day right now? But we have a lot of birthdays around this time, our state is opening up without a "second wave," and the mood is finally improving in this neighborhood.

One of the things that has helped my peace of mind lately is body numbing workouts in my garden. 

Last week, I edged--you know, stomping on the edge of a shovel again and again. After a couple of hours, I was so tired my brain totally shut off, not to mention I slept like the dead that night. Nevermind that the next day I could hardly walk!

Like a good fairy tale witch, my house is at the end of a long road in the woods. This does not lend itself to fabulous gardens, but here and there I have worked a little magic and coaxed a thing or two out of the ground.

Here's a little tour... For those of you who are San Fran Stitch fans, this might seem like a trip down memory lane for you-- much inspiration is drawn from this little acre!

Recognize these?

Or these?

I have caladium bulbs I plant and dig up each year--

they are the DH's favorite. This year, I may have put them in a bit too early-- they are completely pathetic. So I bought some in pots. I'm not sure the type of bulbs that you have to pull up every year are really for me anymore.

I tend to just do little areas at a time-- it's all I have in me. But the effort adds up. This is the lampost out front.

Since the kids left the house, the DH has turned lawn care into a religion-- I've tried to up my game with the flowers. You know-- when you fix one thing up, it always makes something else look bad-- a principle I learned well in our first home, a fixer-upper. Weeds don't go with a manicured lawn!

Note the hydrangeas to the left.

Three or four years ago, the DH came to me and said,

"I did you a big favor."

He had trimmed those five foot beauties down to the ground.

In that moment, I fully understood that Southern saying,

"Well, bless your heart!" for the first time. 

They still haven't fully recovered, but I note with delight I have accomplished the perfect acid/alkaline soil balance to get both blue and pink flowers on the same plant this year. (without even trying.)

We had a super rainy spring and everything is blooming like crazy.

You could really be out there every day tending it, but it's starting to get very hot now! 

Today was cloudy and I put about three hours in--

so tonight, all I have left in me is a sitting job!

I did get my Month Five "Sew in Love" blocks done this week--

if I can get each month's work done in a week, I'll be done in twelve weeks instead of a year.

I thought I had to make eight of these blocks, but it was only four. A good thing-- the fabrics were as pretty as always, but, boy, were they fussy to put together... look at all those pins to get the rows together... and all those matching points!

Month Six is eight more blocks that are very similar, so I'm going to allow myself to go out of order and work on the next hand applique blocks, Month Seven, instead. 

That's my sitting job tonight-- prepping pieces.

So I had a lovely little day today, and I hope you did, too. Tomorrow's a hot one-- so I'll spend the afternoon inside, sketching out the next cottage--

the LIBERTY cottage, of course!

xox 

Carol