How does your garden grow...

I thought I knew a thing or two about gardening. I thought it was a-ok. But it wasn't until I started to design and create my own garden and put my hands in the dirt that surrounds The Nest that I really caught the gardening bug. The first sign was when I had Bill hold a flashlight for me while I dug and planted the first batch of plants after sundown. I just could NOT wait till the next day!

After weeks of digging, cutting, dragging, bundling, building, planting, watering, and just generally toiling, the front garden is pretty much done for now. It's hard to overlook the dramatic change to the appearance of the house and neighbors pass by daily and remark about the transformation and the work and care we have put in. I'm grateful! It's comments and cheerleading like that that help me stay focused on what we have accomplished instead of getting wrapped up in how much more there is to do. It can be overwhelming!

As soon as all the overgrown brush was cleared, I started dreaming up the plan for new plants and flowers. Here's what's been planted so far: 

Meet Jackie, she's a Weeping Cherry Tree and the Queen of this garden. A gift from my mom. The same species that we had in our front yard in the home where I grew up. 

Fragrant Lavender at the base of the staircase. 

Forget Me Nots that will love the shade of the Cherry. 

A line up of stunning flowering perennials: Lily, Shasta Daisy, Bee Balm, Echanasia, and Fox Glove, choreopsis (not pictured) and some Ajuga for ground cover. 

And finally, Todd. A Juniper Tree. Named after our amazing Real Estate Agent Todd Denman. 

I've learned so much about the art of gardening in these past few weeks. Although there is plenty more to learn! Mostly from my mom, one of the greenest thumbs I know. But also from the neighbors stopping by to chat and share ideas. My favorite moment was coming in from a particualrly long and hot shift in the garden, during which I had been chatting with all the neighbors. I looked in the mirror and saw this!! 

Just one of the side effects of that good ol' sweat equity!

Here's a little before, during, and after tour:

Just when I thought I had run out of garden projects for season, my mom brought over a few packets of bulbs. Those first precious flowers that come up in spring have to be planted in the fall before the ground freezes. So, as they say, the work is never done. But it's so worth it!

We Are Fa-mi-ly! 🎶

This past weekend my cousin came to visit! And by visit I mean... WORK! My mom is one of seven children and my dad is the middle of three, so I've got lots of cousins who I love dearly. But Megan... Well, I'll just say it... She's my favorite. Out of all the cousins, we are closest in age. So we sat at "the kids table" together. We played endless games of make-believe at the beach (we were the best mermaids ever!) And we have enough random inside jokes to make anyone groan. She's got the truest heart, so when she offered to come help with the house in a Facebook reply, I knew she was serious!

Megan knows her stuff when it comes to building. Her dad (my uncle) is a contractor and has taught her a ton! Bill was even impressed, especially when his drill burned out and she quickly offered "I've got a cordless in my trunk, wanna borrow it?"

Megan, my mom, Bill and I had a solid "to do list" dreamed up for the weekend. We wanted to paint the front porch, expand the driveway a few more feet, lay mulch and build a retaining wall in the front garden, and finish clearing the backyard of brush and debris. Makes me tired just thinking about it! We also threw in a few bonus jobs, like staining a set of table legs for an antique oak table top I got as a hand-me-down, and clean the chandelier in the dining room. And guess what, we did it all!

First, we tackled the front garden. Adding mulch made it look much more finished. Mom put it perfectly: "it's like makeup for the Earth!"

Megan and my mom dug out a few more feet to make more space in the driveway. Hard work!

Bill built this killer retaining wall to keep the dirt in the garden and give us a good border to follow when the snow comes and we need to shovel. 

We started painting the porch. But I was very disappointed when my Cadet Blue came out looking like Cookie Monster Blue!!! I just couldn't convince myself to love it. So Bill and I went back to The Depot to have the color adjusted. 

While we were out, Megan and my mom disassembled the chandelier and ran the crystals through the dishwasher. Magically years of dust and cigarette smoke residue just dissapeared! Check out that before and after pic!! Now it's officially dazzling!

Late at night, after mom left and Bill hit the sack, Megan looked at me and said "ok, what's next?" I laughed, but then realized she was serious. Not many people have a battery like mine and I was happy to take advantage of our momentum! 

We finished off the night staining the table legs so they would be ready for Bill to assemble later. 

The next day we added the second coat of paint to the deck. And the crowning jewel to the weekend, we finished completely clearing the backyard of brush! The swamp monster was defeated!

On Thursday we put all the bundled brush out on the sidewalk for the Trash Service. They took it all! 

Finally, as the sun was cooling off on Sunday, we cleaned up the tools and looked at each other. It was time for a treat. We had a nice trot down the street to the pizza place for cream soda and slices. Three cheers for a job well done!!

Having my cuz there by my side was yet another reminder of how blessed I am to grave such an amazing family. It reminded me of my mom and her sisters, how they show up for each other when it matters most. 

I remember when I was in high school and my mom was sick. My Aunt Carolyn (Megan's mom) showed up to help out. Not only did she give my mom a hand with the basics, but she also managed to enlist me and my brother to help her paint the living room walls! It's memories like that one, and the memories that Megan helped make when she visited that really make up the yummiest parts of life. 

It's Not Defeat....

The dryer: we were determined to conquer this one ourselves. When we did the walkthrough of the house we were happy to see that the previous owners left all of the large appliances, most of them in decent shape.There was a washing machine and a gas dryer hooked up in the basement apparently ready for use, and a second dryer sitting off to the side looking a little rough. We also brought our washer and dryer from the old apartment. The basement was starting to look like an appliance store! Except the stock was looking pretty haggard. 

We tried out the washer/dryer right away. After a few loads of laundry, mostly rags and other cruddy stuff from our epic post closing deep clean, it was clear that the dryer just wasn't cutting the mustard. It would turn on and get hot, but the clothes would never fully dry, so it took me a while to finally diagnose the problem. First I cleared out the exhaust tube which was well packed with lint, but it still didn't dry a load of sheets. Then it seemed like it was a sensor problem, but that wasn't it, the timed dry was just as bad. 

So I went to the books. My dad gave me this copy of the RD Fix-it-yourself manual when I got my first off campus apartment in college. It's come in handy over the years, but now more than ever!

After doing some research and detective work, the problem was clear. The dryer door was slightly bent, it still latched shut, but enough hot air was escaping that the dryer was useless. Obviously anything running inefficiently is no good for the environment OR the wallet, and by now the tenants had moved in and we were all anxious to use the laundry. We looked at the row of dryers and decided to try the one we had taken out of storage from the previous apartment. It seemed to be the most likely to work out of the two extras. The gas hookup would probably be tricky, but I figured we could handle it if we just went through step by step. Now, neither of us are plumbers, but I thought it was worth a try! Hooking up a gas line is like Legos for grown ups! Well, sorta. 

On a Monday night, I came home on a mission and Bill and I went to work. We turned off the gas supply to the dryer, an important first safety step when dealing with gas. Then we unplugged and unscrewed it from the power sources. The whole time we worked we had our noses on alert, checking for that unmistakable gas smell. At one point Bill had to spin the dryer on its belly to coax the pipes to let go. I ended up taking three separate trips to Ace, in rush hour! To get the parts we needed. Bill coated all the joints with plumbers goop and finally we were ready to fire her up. 

Woohoo!! She worked! I put in a load of wet towels and they were dry in no time. We were thrilled!! But when I opened the door there was that unmistakable odor. There was a tiny gas leak coming from inside the dryer. This has nothing to do with our install job, just the second dryer to prove to be trashed. We took a look at dryer #3 and decided to throw up the white flag and call a professional. As the tenant Matt put it, "it's not defeat, it's just a different solution." I like that. 

Then Craig's List saved the day again! I searched for Gas Dryer and happened upon an add for GAS Dryer Free Delivery, Installed. Yes, please. It wasn't long before I was in contact with Derron Darcy of Big D's and Little C's Appliances. He agreed to bring us a used/repaired Whirlpool Dryer, have it installed by a licensed plumber, and cart away the three junk machines for a great price. We made a date. 

The guys showed up a few minutes ahead of schedule so Bill was here to greet them. By the time I showed up 20 mins later the job was done and Bill and the guys were chumming around and bonding over their similar work vans. I missed this part but Bill said "he picked up those dryers like they were toothpicks!" Oh, and he was wearing flip flops. Before they left we had them give us a quote for installing a second laundry set up for the tenants, a job we will need in a few weeks. We will definitely have them back!

So, now we are back in business. We REALLY wanted to fix that dryer ourselves. But we gave it a good try, and there are just too many things to get done to tinker around for fun. It wasn't defeat, it was just a different solution. 

 

"Renovationasana"

Boy did this body need yoga. Even though I was up late hanging a hammock in the backyard (I ran out of daylight before I ran out of to-do list), I managed to make it to Karen's 6am class at Black Crow Yoga. The class she teaches is my class' twin in a way, since I teach the 6am on Tuesday mornings, so many of the students who attend are part of my regular yoga family. And as I always say when people groan when I tell them what time my class starts, it's a really wonderful time to practice. What a lovely way to start the day. 

I have been teaching weekly classes plus some extras. Like for example, I taught Black Crow Yoga's Island Flow  at Spectacle Island last weekend.

I love leading yogis through practice when I teach, but it's been a while since I really spent time on my own asana practice. That made today's class especially delicious. 

In every day life I am often in my head. Especially in my work which is very much brain focused. And so I practice yoga asana to bring my awareness in my consciousness into my body.

There is lots of yoga in house remodeling though. It's just a different kind. I've certainly had to use my breath a lot, from carrying things intelligently to stress relief. And I have noticed with all this physical work I feel very much "in my body". I've been more aware of how I am moving, aware of my physical strength and also my limitations, and so very aware of when my body needs rest. If you've ever felt your feet first hit the floor the morning after a weekend of landscaping, you probably know what I mean! It smarts!

I thoroughly enjoyed Karen's class today and felt energized and strong afterward. We did some fun and fancy poses, but my favorite parts of class today were when I chose to take child's pose and rest my forehead on the floor instead of following the flow. What I needed most was just some body TLC. 

This morning was just what I needed to remember the importance of slowing down and self care. It's been easy to fill all my time with important and relatively urgent jobs, like prepping the rental unit for the tenants and addressing gas leaks and so on. And slowing down has always been a growing edge for me. Especially now, it's hard to give myself permission to stop when every little job seems so crucial. But I know how important it is that I make time for rest this weekend. No matter how important "it" seems, it's not as important as getting enough rest, healthy food, water, and connection with people I love. 

Namaste.