Tomatoes? Already?

Yes, I've planted my tomatoes already! A full 8 weeks before the normal planting date! The earliest I've ever put out my plants!

I told some friends at the Temple I was going to do this and one asked, "What if they freeze?" Well, then I'll jank them out and replant! Sounds pretty straight forward to me! But with our early spring I hate to see anymore of these warm days go by without at least trying!

Kaia, 11, Kevin's oldest daughter, is earning money so she can participate in a humanitarian effort with her church's youth group this summer in Guatemala. She posted on Kevin's Facebook page that she was looking for work.  Well, this Grammie just happened to be able to provide some of that!

So lasterday I texted Camille and asked if Kaia would like to help me with yard work. I'd just picked up a yard and a half of compost (aka centrifuged sewer sludge) which equals one heaping pickup load of compost! Fernando was really low on his poor old haunches! And speaking of haunches... this ol' Grammie can only make so many step-ups into the back of Fernando to scoop out said compost. (Looks like I might need to add some kind of stair-stepping exercise to my daily routine) I literally get to the point, after several dozen ups and downs with my short-Grammie-legs, that they will not lift me up. Last spring I almost feel over backwards on my last attempt. So I knew I would need some young legs to help me!

Camille came down with Kaia, Elise and the babies. Elise wanted to help too... she's quite the worker! They arrived just in time to finish the compost unload.

Miss Bitty thought she could help too. She had so much fun playing in the dirt. At first Camille was concerned that Miss Bitty was dumping it into undesignated locations... no worries! It made her very happy...

And very dirty! This is the cutest little dirty baby!

By the time they left we had the tomatoes planted, complete with water walls, and all but one wheelie-cartload of compost spread.

So here's looking forward to tomatoes; sweet, garden-fresh tomatoes in June!

Leprechaun Feet

Dieting finally caught up with me this last weekend. I'm normally a HORRIBLE dieter! I'm miserable and cranky. But, miraculously, I haven't experienced that until Saturday... I was cranky and irritable all weekend long! I mentioned this to Camille and she suggested that I probably needed to add some healthy fat to my diet-

Bring on the avocados!!

What the heck does this have to do with leprechaun feet, you ask? Did I eat so much green food that my feet turned green? No to both.

Rewind to Christmas (yes, I know... I'm moving in the wrong direction!) Stuart and Stephanie gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure at Stephanie's favorite place. I still hadn't redeemed it because my toenails needed time to breath after YEARS of non-stop polish.

In a non-fat way (remember the avocados and don't forget my new obsession with peanut butter and honey toast) to make an attitude adjustment I decided I needed to go to the Temple... so I did. (Sheesh, are you kidding me? Tell me about the stinkin' leprechaun feet already!!) I took my Christmas gift certificate with me so that AFTER the Temple I could finally go get my pedicure (see, I'm getting there at last!)

Before I got in my car at the Temple I looked at the address and saw that it was straight forward enough that I could just drive straight there- no Google maps needed. I found the shop with no problem and was immediately treated to the spa chair pedicure!

ANOTHER ASIDE-

Sunday, when everyone was here for 3rd Sunday Grammie dinner (this month was Leprechaun's feast!) I was holding a somewhat fussy Liam (not a usual condition for Mr Chill!) I laid him across my lap and was patting his back and remarked to Kevin, "Why do babies like this? Do you want someone pounding on your back?" We agreed, "NO!"

AU CONTRAIRE!!

I loved being pummeled by that massage chair! I even schooched WAY down in the chair so it would get right below my neck... Yup, and soaked my skirt!! Sweet little nail lady wrung it out for me!

And even though St Patrick's day is today I still got glittery, green toes. I LOVE GREEN!

I was the only patron in the shop most of the time and totally enjoyed being pampered. Finally I needed to take my still-somewhat-damp skirt and be on my way. I gave her the gift certificate and a tip folded together. She opened it up and looked at me kind of funny...

"This gift certificate is for the nail salon across street."

Maybe I still have some residual brain damage from dieting!

BUT win/win... I get another pedicure NEXT month!!

Instant Gratification

"Instant gratification!" that's what Jose said.

"Go!" I replied!

"Ack! Camera!!"

And in the time it took me to run in to fetch it this was as close to a *BEFORE* picture as I got!

This Jose wasn't kidding!

I've known that this tree HAD TO GO! Even though it gave some nice shade, that was the only positive thing I can say about it.

Cons-

• Super-hard wood that defied loppers
• Made my little electric chain saw strain
• Covered with ugly, stinky blossoms in the spring
• Dropped even uglier, messier, purple-er sticky berries all summer which then wanted to sprout into more ugly trees OR
• Birds ate said berries then dropped purple poop everywhere
• Stupid little leaves that turned ugly and were hard to rake up
• Was fast growing and in danger of lifting the fence and cement where Fernando lives

Here is the only photo I have of what it looked like as a good shade tree.

(Photo taken July 2013 and makes me long for beautiful flowers and lush grass)

I love to watch skilled workers do their job. You might not think someone who chops down trees qualifies, but he does. He told his helper, "I want to peel this limb." I knew just what he meant- cutting it partially and letting it peel down kept it from whacking the fence. Then the fellow on the ground could get control of it before he cut the last little part.

And you remember the super hard wood from the list above? These guys really had to put their shoulders in it to get this thing to grind! (I even saw them using their legs to give it a push and had to look away!! I don't want any photos of severed limbs!)

I was impressed that Jose and his team of workers had this bad boy cut, chipped, cleaned up and hauled away in just TWENTY MINUTES! Yes, that does qualify as instant gratification. All that is left is the stump, which has had it's brain killed!

Well, and two more stumps added to the collection on my porch. Silly girl! But there you are.

Yes, and all of this would have taken me TWENTY HOURS, minimum!