SOME HO~HUM & SOME DRAMA

It was too hot to go out and play today, so I stayed inside and played house.  The Midwest is having a heatwave which is supposed to end tomorrow.  We just had a wonderful downpour which we needed and even with the a/c on, I have the windows cracked just a little so I can smell that fresh rain scent.

I brought this basket home from the lake last time I was there.  I had moved it around and couldn't find the right place for it so here it is.  I think it is the coolest thing!  I laid some different placemats in blue and brown (no fall colors yet)...

And added some white flowers with a few little red ones to keep it from looking like spring.  I love a good slow day of tweaking.

You know, the rosemary and I are getting a bad rap around here.  In order to keep this topiary looking good, I'm trimming it quite often and I've made the rosemary salt and olive oil too many times to count.  So I started adding it more and more to our food and I think it's been overkill.  The other night I made Greek Hamburgers.  I thought this was genius.  I made my burger mixture (ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, S & P), and then crumbled in some feta cheese, rosemary and green onion.  Ooh la la!  Well, my little family of 3 didn't "ooh" or "la la" too much.  The Husband has been on a "no spice" kick for several months, I don't get it.  After 28 years of my cooking, he suddenly declares he doesn't want me to season his food.  Okay.  One night I was making spaghetti sauce and he happened to walk by just as I had added my palmfuls of oregano, basil and thyme, yet unstirred.  "Oh My Gawd!!  What Is That???"  I really thought he had finally come unhinged.  So, as he works his way to the Funny Farm, I just keep doing my thing.  And then we had the Greek Hamburgers!!  Abby sat picking out the rosemary, muttering, "It tastes like a Christmas tree." and The Husband speared his salad pointedly while looking over at me from under his brows, saying, "I'm not eating the burger."  So now the motley crew comes to the table every night, looking around cautiously and sniffing the air for that piney scent, ready to protest, I'm sure.  By the way, you have to try these hamburgers, they were delicious!!

Well, the drama escalates as the week goes on.  I had the big backyard reveal scheduled for Tuesday evening (last night).  I had just donned the safari gear and was going to trim the hedges, spread a little more mulch, put some grass seed on some spots and plant one last rosebush, when I heard the sound of trucks...big trucks.  Here's one in my next door neighbors driveway.  Now, The Husband and I had been talking about having our trees trimmed but I had no idea he had scheduled it, much less for this day.  

As I watched this little guy, who reminded me of Indiana Jones, strap on his equipment and slither up one of my huge trees, my mind raced.  Okay, I'm definitely not going out in the backyard and nonchalantly go about my business with a crew of ten roping and tying limbs and dragging them out to the old chipper.  Okay, and what about my reveal?  All my work over the previous week?  The five bags of weeds and bark and dead squi...okay, I'll leave that out.  The 27 bags of shredded bark, peat moss and cow manure I hauled in?  No, The Husband would walk back there and see our beautiful walnut trees trimmed up so they will never drop 1500 pound branches on our neighbor's roof. My beautiful landscaping job would pale in comparison to what man can do with a chainsaw.  And every guy wants to survey where his hard earned money has gone, and let me tell you, we could put another child through college for what this cost.  

So The Husband came home and the first thing I asked was, "Are you going to go out and look at those trees when they're finished??"  He gave me a sideways glance.  I sulked for awhile and became even more quiet as Indiana started packing up the trucks with his guys.  Finally I broke down, even with a few  crocodile tears as I confessed all that I had been doing and how I wasn't finished and how I wanted it to be the perfect time to show him.  He just chuckled and hugged me and I knew I was making huge deal out of this.  So we walked out to the backyard together and stopped in our tracks when we saw this...

Yes, my beautiful wooded forest of a backyard now has walnut trees disguised as telephone poles.  They go around the whole yard like this, I'll spare you.  Not much was said between me and The Husband.  We walked over to one of my new garden beds.  With the temps in the mid 90's and the wind blowing the heat around like a hot furnace, he surveyed my work.  It wasn't the casual little morning stroll I had planned with our coffee.  Or a pre~sunset evening, nope, just here and now, the hot sun beating down on us.  

Along the back fence:  sedum, hydrangeas, phlox and blanket flower (and 15 bags of cypress mulch).

My herb garden, out with the old, ready for the new.  Ivy trimmed, 1 bag of cow manure and 2 bags of hardwood mulch.

The bed along the house: day lilies (finished blooming), allysum, ajuga, rosebush (ready to be planted), 6 bags of cow manure, 6 bags of peat moss and 5 bags of cypress mulch.

And The Husband saying, "C'mon in, Blondie, you did good!"  Priceless!