Adventures in Gardening, Part One

I am the only one in my family who did not inherit the gardening gene. My mom has beautiful gardens; my dad and his wife have beautiful gardens and even grow their own vegetables (I can’t leave their house without a trunk full of lettuce). My brother is also an excellent gardener and my sister is a MASTER Gardener. She and her husband run their own nursery, for crying out loud. But me? I am the family member who has beauty bark in her yard…and shrubs you can’t kill (well, except for the one…but a shrub can only handle so much dog pee). To be fair, the husband takes great pride in his lawn…but that’s a guy thing and kind of expected.

We bought our current house just over four years ago and the couple who owned it before us must have spent thousands to landscape the backyard. It has a pond, fountain, beautiful stone benches, a path, etc. But when we moved in, we just didn’t have the time to maintain it. For awhile, we paid a landscaping company to keep it decent, then decided to have a go at it ourselves.

I have decided that THIS IS THE SUMMER I WILL BECOME A GARDENER. Really. Honestly. Why? My four-year-old son has inherited the family gardening gene (sigh). I can’t deny him, so I must set a good example. Well, after spending three weekends weeding, here’s how our first flower planting session went.

Me: “Let’s dig holes, mix planting soil in them, and plant the flowers we just bought.”
Son: “Okay!” Grabs ball and proceeds to play fetch with dogs.
Me: Digs hole, turns to grab potting soil.
Dog: drops ball in newly dug hole.
Me: Throws ball across yard and dumps potting soil in hole.
Son: “Oooh a worm, can I touch it?”
Me: Tries not to look horrified at worm in son’s hand, explains why worms are good for the garden.
Dog: Drops ball in hole.
Me: Yells at dog, grabs ball and throws it across yard.
Son: Runs across yard with plant in hand.
Plant: "I is wilting now."
Me: Retrieves plant.
Dog: Drops ball in hole.
Me: Yells at dog, grabs ball, throws it across yard and quickly plants flower.
Son: “It needs water.”
Me: Grabs hose.
Dog: Drops ball on flower.
Me: Sighs.

What Up, Map My Run?

For the second Saturday in a row, http://www.mapmyrun.com/ has failed me...cruely forced me to run further than my schedule says I have to run. How? By INVENTING roads. Every Saturday, I diligently map my long run, ensuring that when I finish my mileage, I am right back where I started, at the front door of my house. But last Saturday, Map My Run invented an access road. Sure, I figured it'd be a dirt or gravel road awaiting pavement, but it was only two blocks long and connected me to a road that would take me home. But when I reached said road, it was a wall of blackberry bushes, trees and nettles. Forced to improvise, my nine miler turned into a 10.5 miler.

Today, same thing, different route. No road, not even close. Where did the road go? So...my 10 miler turned into 12.5. Needless to say, I was a bit wasted the rest of the day.

Oh, and to the creepy neanderthal dude in the pickup truck? In case you were too dense to figure it out (and I'm guessing you were), that WASN'T my index finger I used to wipe the sweat off my forehead after you shouted your juvenile opinion of my running out your window as you passed me. Just FYI.

Here's a big shout out to my brother Eric on his birthday today. Happy Birthday Bro! I hope you are having a fabulous time!

Weekly mileage: 24.5/25 (does that mean I have to run a half mile tomorrow?)
Most inspirational artist on the iPod during today's run: Dixie Chicks
Writing update: Ask me tomorrow

I’m Just Sayin…

Is it hard to replace the toilet paper in the bathroom? Seriously, I’m asking…is it a difficult chore? I’m not going to point the finger at any one individual, but a certain someone in our household with a cold (other than me) likes to carry the roll around in case he/she needs to blow his/her nose. For the past two weeks, I’ve had to hunt for a new roll about every other day. So really…is it hard to replace a roll? Is the inability to place a toilet paper roll on the spindle in the bathroom a genetic fault assigned to a specific gender?

I’m just sayin....

Where is Spring?

Okay, I know this is Seattle but seriously...we've had like, TWO nice days since the start of Spring. Right now I am sitting inside with a monster sore throat, watching the rain and trying to convince myself that yes, a run WOULD make me feel better.

Of course, I could be working on Take One (novel #2), but the sore throat is ruining my concentration. So instead, I'll snuggle up with my kitty Tino and watch the season finale of Ugly Betty that I tevo'd last week.

I think I'll start posting my word count for Take One, to make sure I stay accountable for its progress.

Also, check out this running shirt https://www.onemoremilerunning.com/short-sleeve/does-this-shirt-make-my-butt-look-fast-short-sleeve/prod_510.html. I'm thinking of wearing it in the half marathon.

Take One: 10,000/65,000
Mileage goal for today: 5
Song that will inspire my writing today: "End of the Road" by Eddie Vetter (Into the Wild soundtrack) followed by "Where Does the Good Go" by Tegan and Sarah.