Walking the Dog

It is a gorgeous spring day out. Sunny, warm but not too warm with a light breeze. The laundry, specifically all my bedding, is out on the line taking advantage of both that sun and breeze and I can’t wait to climb between the sheets tonight sniffing in the smell of it as I drift off. Yum…sweet dreams tonight.

I was outside a bit ago because my golden wanted a visit to the backyard as dogs are inclined to want to do. I was annoyed at first that I had to take her out running through my mind why it is dogs can’t be litter trained when it was that I stepped out there and changed my thought pattern to why the heck haven’t I been out here more this morning? (That sentence passed spell and grammar check…can you believe it? And I kept it only because it tickles me that it did) We walked about the yard a bit, again..as dogs are inclined towards, and I started paying attention to all the work that needs to be done around here. Our yard is a nightmare. What we have managed to get to grow in this clay and rock pit is looking rather pitiful and needs to be cleaned up. The azalea bushes next to the shed are in full bloom. There is one on either side of the door. The one on the right is about twice the size as the one on the left. Every year I trim to try to get them the same size and without fail by the following year the other one has shot past the other in size. It is as if that is the one spot in the whole entire half acre that is fertile and it wants to show off. I have a hydrangea in the raised bed that used to share its area with my lily of the valley and a blue hosta but now the hydrangea is attempting to evict the other tenants or kill them trying. There is this out of place little birch that was planted at the end of the clothesline, which by the way is tilting badly and needs new posts, just to amuse the girls about 7 years ago who found this itty-bitty sprout in the raised bed that they wanted to plant so it could grow. We planted it there assuming it would die before summers end. The rascal didn’t. It is now about 10 feet tall and should never have been planted where it is because it is too close to other trees not to mention the afore mentioned clothesline. Birds and clean laundry….ya get the picture? I’m not looking forward to this eventuality. But as the tree grew it was a victory for the girls I didn’t have the heart to squash and even now that they are adults….well….it earned it and I’m not going to uproot the darn thing.

Then there is the monster that we lovingly refer to as the “boat deck”. About 6 years ago we rebuilt our deck. What my hubby did with the old wood from the previous deck was to give it a new life as a…..boat deck. He needed somewhere to put his boat. It worked real dandy as a boat deck. Then about 4-5 years ago….he sold the boat. Sigh. So now this monster has been a collecting ground for all sorts of items. Bikes, grills, smokers, truck caps…..it is now a redneck sculpture of items. All that is missing is a cooler of beer and an old sofa. All of those items need to find a home and then we need to tear out the boat deck. The chipmunks that have used this as a haven will not be happy.

There are shrubs that need pruning, sad looking flower beds that need weeding. I’ve never understood how it is I can’t get want I want to grow in the yard to grow but I have the hardiest, nastiest most prolific weeds you’ll ever want to see taking up every available space. I’ve had to take a hand axe to get some of them out. We are within 30 minutes of a nuclear power plant…..connection???

I’ve mentioned on my facebook that my deck furniture is worn out. A friend got me to look at that different and label it shabby sheek instead. It is sitting on a deck with the stain peeling off of it so it is a completely tied in look at least. Ha!
Hold on….I think I was attempting to write and say how gorgeous it was outside and how I’m glad my dog had me go out so I could enjoy it……But suddenly I’m realizing I should be annoyed with the little mutt for making me take inventory so that my to-do list just got like a million miles longer.

Ok, so our yard is a mess. Hopefully the neighbors will forgive us. Hmmm….maybe that is why so many have moved recently?? Luckily many of them haven’t been on the inside……zoicks….again…it is all a tied in look. I'd post a picture of it but why ruin whatever good images some of you may have of me. LOL

Vacations

Have you ever noticed it takes time to recover from a vacation? Bob and I had just five, wonderful days away, but they were full days and I have been plain exhausted since our return. Too exhausted to even formulate a thought it seems.

Savannah is hands down my favorite place to go. Well, at least so far. It isn’t like I’ve been to hundreds of places for comparison. But to date…it is Savannah. One of the appeals, and it isn’t limited to just Savannah but to most of the south, is the friendliness of the people. No one seems to be in a rush or closed off. Everyone is taking their time and glad to meet you and sit a spell to talk. How can one not love that?

Then there is the food. I think we spent the majority of our time there eating. To their famous candy shops on River Street to the fabulous seafood on Tybee Island of course to the BBQ joints to be found everywhere…there is food. We had toyed with the idea of eating lunch at The Lady and Sons one afternoon but opted against it because they do not take reservations for a party under 10 and we were not about to waste a couple of hours of our valuable time waiting in line for a table. We walked by there and there were dozens of people willing to do just that. One thing Bob and I are not is celebrity chasers. We figured we could get a good fried chicken just about anywhere without the hassle. I’m sure Paula Deen is a lovely lady…we just didn’t want to use up precious time in a line.

I had not realized how desperately I needed a vacation until we got there. We arrived and stress seemed to just slip off of me like a glove. The whole trip went about without a hitch. Oh, and our car rental was a Chrysler 300. Now…I drive a Chrysler Pacifica which for me is doing it up. But the 300 was COMFY. Leather interior and Sirius stereo and all the other little extras. For the first day we were feeling like little snots driving that car around. By day two we were saying how the car wasn’t a bit practical. We are tightwads to the end. LOL

There were so many stories that happened along the way with this trip. People stories. Mostly good… some with sadness. The sad is regardless of the city you will find homelessness. When I see it my heart aches and remembers. My own homelessness was so luxurious compared to so many others. But that is for another day to tell.

This trip was such a blessing and I thank God for the abundance of those blessings. From the weather being perfect right down to the small things like finding parking spots close to where we were going in every situation. I will try to remember to tell more in days ahead but for now I am still fighting fatigue and the windchimes are calling to me on the deck beckoning me to pull up a chair and be lulled into sleep.
A picture of the fountain at Forsyth Park.