Weekly Update

Now that summer is officially here I notice I'm posting less. I've finally decided to deal with the mess we developed over the winter. We've been reworking some of the rooms in this house, because they weren't working as is (they sound like something on sale at IKEA, don't they). And I've been trying to manage the mountains of paper I seem to accumulate. I can tell that I worry Richard in this regard: I can tell he thinks I have Old Woman Smothered by Piles of Paper in Her Own House headlines in me. But it's hard to chuck out all those drawings the kids make. I find old ones and they have enough nostalgia in them to sink a ship.

I've also been working on the garden. I had been collecting beach stones from up island in order to make a long and winding path from the concrete walk to the road (a steep slope) but in a fit of "I hate that spot under that stupid pine"- itis I used them to make a long and winding bed. I laid down newspaper (5 less piles to smother me with later!), sod and several bags of fill and then planted the butterfly plants Max and I had collected. There is the beautiful varigated 'Harlequin' Butterfly Bush, the 'Yellow Sovereign' Phygelius, a silver edge Lavender, and a 'Red Fox' Veronica. And since the adjacent bed was bursting slightly at the seams (who knew Jacob's Ladder could spread quite so fast?), I removed some plants from it and added them to the mix (geraniums, marigolds, evening primroses, and rock plants).
Then, seeing that the pansies were getting the Dreaded Mildew, I went and bought something to replace the ones in a wooden planter I bought last summer. Here it is with some new plants.

The top bit has a 'Shadowdancer Betty' fuchsia while the bottom part has Selaginella 'Aurea,' Corsican Mint, and Pratia 'Celestial Spice' in it. And some more rocks. I like rocks.









Here's a closeup of the bottom bit (you can click for Added Depth). I'm half in love with it, I think. I love the different shades of green.
I'll put up some pictures of the Family Room (where the school stuff is kept) when I've officially finished, providing I don't get smothered by papers first. Here is a picture of the room after I emptied the bookcase (which was driving me nuts and was the real reason I needed to redo this room:


Now, I feel compelled to point out that those piles aren't always there - they are from the bookshelves. Ahem. Just so we all know. I'm not really that messy.

Other amazing feats I've managed this week:

I have discovered that I like potatoes when I grow them myself.

That dust follows me where ever I go.

That my kids still expect me to do history and botany even though it's summer.

And, most amazing of all, I can now get Toffee to close his eyes, roll onto his back, and purr all without touching him. All I have to do is repeat "Toffee, Toffee, Toffee" over and over again, in a soft voice. Pretty amazing, eh? Ha. I can see you all seething with envy at this. Yes, some of us spend our summers beefing up our Latin skills, or taking up Greek, some of us learn to quilt, or go overseas and visit enlightening museums, but I, I have managed to get a cat to turn over and purr on my command. I consider that a well-spent first week of July.