Saturday Morning Chores

Garden Journal: Jan. 15, 2012

Today, I planted pansies in the hanging pots which sat derelict. Three pansy plants are in each pot, various shades of purple and one white with a purple center in each pot. Then I hung them from the wrought-iron work on the front porch. I felt a bit British taking so much care to have a front garden in winter when all the lawns and trees are bare and color is so out-of-place.

I also sowed an oat/pea cover-crop in one of the square garden plots. It should be a mild enough winter that the crop grows fast. 56 days to mature, then we’ll till it under in time to transplant our seed starters for spring. It should help improve the soil without wasting the winter months on an empty garden plot. There are advantages to gardening in Texas! We (Matt & I) also planted about 30 slip onions in one of our gardens. Hopefully they have enough of a head start to give us at least baby onions (for stew!) before we have to put in a spring crop. Matthew also added a purple cabbage (to serve in his ritual morning vegetable and fruit smoothie).

I know it’s the Lord’s day, but Sunday is the only day Matt and I have off of work together and its surprising how restful working in the garden can be. It took us about an hour to do all the work mentioned above.

2012

I don’t make resolutions because I know I won’t keep them. And it seems silly to set myself up for sure disappointment. Maybe I got caught up in the spirit this year, maybe I just got tired of my own lazy tendencies, or maybe (and most likely) as my life gathers more permanence, I needed a whiff of change. I made four resolutions this year. I also outlined specific actions steps to take at the onset. Feel free to pester me about them in the next twelve months :)

1. Play more piano. I yearned desperately for my piano all those years in Mississippi and now that I have it, I barely touch it. In fairness, I also have a husband now and the priority is obvious. So how do I intend to change this trend? Buy more cello/piano duets (I’ve got a book on the way from Amazon); buy more candles and light them (mood lighting helps!); refrain from watching the Bachelor (it’s pathetic that this is an action step, but it is. Seriously. I wasted my time on that! The sooner I face it, the sooner I conquer it.)
2. Improve my posture. I’ve always wished I was a bit taller. I’d rather not have neck/back problems or become a hunchback or help my rear seem any larger than it already is. So I’m squaring my shoulders and not looking back!
3. Go on more dates. If it means planning it myself (our work schedules are ridiculously un-synched) or getting every living-social-groupon-yollar e-mail flooding my inbox, so be it. I’m not a couch potato and I never will be (*fist pump*) Plus I like romance and I like fun and I love Matt – so there!!! First on the calendar is the Rodeo, then the drive-in theatre, then the canoe tour under the moon, then the vintage train ride, then rock climbing, then New Zealand! Maybe.
4. Train on my bike: In light of resolution #3, it may not be possible to ride my bike on the continental divide or follow the Lewis & Clark trail, but just in case it is, I want to be ready! And in shape. And spend more time outdoors. Nothing bad can come from trying (I hope).

distance

I haven’t written much because I’ve been busy dealing with life. I enjoyed my family over Christmas and I enjoyed a week spent in the comfort of my own home instead of the demands of my office. But life also includes sorrow and, unfortunately, we had that also. Our beloved canine friend Skyler (whom Matt has had as a companion for 13 years), had a sudden stroke. On Tuesday, he was happy, bounding, charming as always. On Wednesday, he was paralyzed. Holding each other with tears streaming down our faces, we said goodbye to him that day. Unexpectedly. Horribly. Somehow you don’t expect it to hurt as much as it does. But Skyler was our friend, truly. He welcomed us home every day with joy; he went hiking, camping, and backpacking with us, he hovered while we gardened and smiled while I hung up laundry. The untethered joy he infused in our lives is now noticeably gone. We loved him for it.

Our new year has started off with some hardness, our truck broke, and a friend we love is struggling. But God is here with us and its almost ironic that this truth was lost in the previous weeks of celebration but found at the start of a new year already filled with heart aches. God is with us: in celebration and in heartache, in the past year and the coming year. Amen.