Yard Work Continues

I shouldn't have waited until now to write my blog. I'm nearly falling asleep. It was a busy day here chez nous. For some reason I woke up around 6:00, which is very unusual for me, and lay awake until about 7, then got up with Jim. He made coffee and breakfast for us today - soft boiled eggs and toast and juice. Pretty darned good!

It was slow to warm up outside, but we both went out and worked in the yard, raking, pruning, clipping and pulling up 2 azalea bushes that had seen better days and were in the wrong place. Now we can put in some low flowers that will brighten up the front of the house. It also gives growing room to a Japanese Maple tree that's been pretty much covered up until now. I'm glad to be finished with those areas. The ground is really dry - we need rain! After hauling out the push broom for cleanup, I had the idea to use the leaf blower to clean off the sidewalk, and that worked really well. Doesn't take any time at all and does a good job. I think there were 3 or 4 full barrels of clippings and leaves that Jim hauled off into the woods. I had a chance to use my yard sale pruners I got yesterday for $0.25 that Jim sharpened. They work very well - better than the other ones I already had. After clipping a bouquet of daffodils and hyacinths, we both called it a day.

The other project I did was to cook a turkey for dinner. We already had meat stuffing in the freezer from the last time we made turkey, so that worked out super. This turkey was a natural, free-range, hormone free, hand fed, or whatever bird that turned out to be delicious. Good tasting and tender. The house smelled wonderful. I cooked it in a plastic cooking bag, so it was done in 3 hours. It was less than 13 pounds. Made some butternut squash, Brussel sprouts, salad, cranberry sauce, and with the turkey and dressing, it was a feast. Tomorrow I will de-bone the rest and make some pies and soup. Turkey is one of Jim's favorite foods - mine too, and once you cook it you can come up with lots of other meals.

I've been pouring through my collection of watercolor books and magazines tonight. My next classes start in a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping to get some preliminary reading done. I'm signed up for the next Watercolor class, as well as another class in Drawing and Painting. That one will get into acrylics, from what the synopsis says. I'm looking forward to it.

Poor Pong. Whenever he lies down, he is surrounded in no time with the rest of the cats, and it gets pretty crowded. He grumbles and growls until everybody settles in, using each other for pillows. All 4 of them are curled up on the couch right now, nesting in a soft throw.

Well, back to radiation tomorrow morning. I'm pretty sore and tender from the burning. I've been counting down the remaining sessions - 7 more to go. Can't be over too quickly as far as I'm concerned.

PHOTO: One of my African Violets in its healthier days.