20 August 2017

Project Backyard

For some strange reason I chose today, of all hot-as-hell days, to start Project Backyard Cleanup 2017. Maybe something broke and I couldn't stand looking at it anymore.

Let's take a quick trip down memory lane and check out the progress we've made since purchasing the house.

Exhibit A: Unkept jungle. Rat habitat. Messy flowerbeds. Call it what you will. The back corner was a hodgepodge of old tree stumps, vines, and trash. We had to take a chainsaw to a tree that had fallen and had been dragged to rot in the corner. We screamed at bugs when we moved it all out. (The first "we" with the chainsaw was obviously Chris. The second "we" screaming at bugs was all me.)

 

Over the course of several weeks, we managed to clean things up and make them look tidy. Much sweat, a little blood, and a burst of tears (when I once fell over on a rake and hurt myself.)

Exhibit B: Taken maybe 2 years ago? Managed and tidy, if still ugly. Notice how the corner behind the (leaky) birdbath is nice and clean.


This is how that corner looks today*. The jungle had taken over again. In an act of desperation, Chris bought some industrial strength vegetation killer and nuked the whole thing, with the exception of that corner, because I forbade him to kill my gardenia and rosemary.  He even sprayed a little onto the back neighbor's jungle, because it started to climb over the fence and invade our side.

*This is how it looks after hours of tearing out grass, weeds, vines, and discovering a new sinkhole. The rosemary is scraggly and the gardenia didn't even flower this year, because it's so choked.
I didn't take a before picture out of sheer embarrassment. You couldn't even see the fence. I'm afraid to go deep into the actual corner because I'm not sure what's living in it.

Here are the project plans:

I decided to make the flowerbed a lot smaller, and turn the rest of it into grass. It's so big that it can't be kept up and the jungle keeps taking over and it's ugly and probably harboring critters. So the new edge of the flowerbed is to the left of the tree, where I moved the bricks.


Here's where the new flowerbed starts. I chose that spot mostly because there's a raised sprinkler head that would be really weird and annoying in the middle of the yard, but makes sense if it were watering a flowerbed.


My to-do list involves removing all the old bushes and weeds. I've also got to fill the surprise sinkhole*. I'll need to clean out the rest of that scary corner and trim the bay trees and oleander. Next I'll trim and transplant the rosemary and gardenia, which has to wait until winter or I'll likely kill them both. Then next spring I'll need to sod the areas that will turn into grass.

It's a lot of work but here's hoping that this will make things prettier and easier to maintain in the long run.

*When researching how to fill sinkholes, I came across a cute idea to put a time capsule into the sinkhole before filling it. Totally going to do that!

17 August 2017

today

Today I got blessings from the appropriate folks and am officially checked off on the software system we're updating at a bunch of sites in the area. What does that mean? Freedom and usefulness at work! Yay! Which means even though I had not scheduled to visit any customers today, my 'office day' was actually busy. I love it.

Speaking of, I need to do a quick office tour because it's been completely re-done but is still in progress. I dig it in many ways. But it's still in progress. So.

Today I also went to Walmart. I swore off Walmart years ago because I hate it. I literally haven't been in a Walmart in years. The crowds, the long checkout lines... I'm over it. However I needed to pick up some folding stools for my colleague and myself, and no other place had any like it and I wasn't about to pay 6 bucks for shipping. (They're handy when going into customer sites that don't have precious extra chairs or chair real estate.)

Of course, when I was in Walmart with my stools in hand, something caught my eye. I've been looking for a smaller roller bag to fit all my supplies in, because the one I have is too large and bulky to be rolling through labs and it's a pain in the ass. This one, however, is perfect. Small and tidy and fits everything I need. My label maker even fits in the side pocket. I must have looked at a dozen online that I didn't like before I saw this one today. It was fate.

Today I also renewed my library card. Random, but necessary. While I was there I noticed a flyer that says they do 3D printing. Say what? Cool. Now I need to figure out what I need 3D printed. A custom cookie cutter, perhaps?

15 August 2017

tuesday musings

I'm tired. So tired that I wonder if I'm coming down with something. Or maybe just a lot's been going on.

I got pretty travel weary, then I thought I'd have a travel break for a while. Then grandma passed away and it was back to Wisconsin, again. It was a good trip, full of cheese curds and too much drinking with family, listening to records and sharing memories of grandma. I'll miss her. Such a huge amount of genuine loveliness was packed into that tiny woman.

Today marks the first day that I was at a customer site without a chaperone. FINALLY. I'm still not officially signed off because the one who must bless my checkoff is out on PTO but I'm happy to be helping out and I know what I'm doing. I actually did some troubleshooting and fixed a few things in the software and overall it was a success. Baller.

Digging the stitch fix stuff I've been getting. I feel so much more confident when I have to dress professionally now.

My sweet neighbor who watches Pumpkin when I travel just brought over flowers and a card with grandma condolences and visited for a bit and now I'm ready for a shower and bed.