random thoughts – Day 1,888 – (Sunday) – workin' it

It was a full day. Before heading off to dance practice, I laid down a coat of paint on the threshold between the enclosed porch and open deck. I swept the driveway, which was full of sand left from the winter storms, thousands of dried twirly helicopter things from the neighbor's tree, and an unacceptable amount of large metallic confetti that mysteriously landed in my driveway and yard last Sunday while I was gone and did not magically blow away, despite my wishes.  

Future irises of The BungaLowell.

After dance, there was a weather-dependent plan to take the exterior photos of The BungaLowell. It had been tentatively scheduled based on an earlier in the week forecast for sun today. Instead, it was cloudy and sprinkling as I drove back. The photos were pushed out a couple days. By the time I got back home, more helicopter thingies had landed in the driveway.

There was time spent going through the clothes in the cedar chest to consolidate the vintage items and hopefully soon find a someone who buys vintage so I can sell it. I never wear it anymore, and unless I choose to resume my college-era starvation diet, it likely won’t ever fit me again. As part of the clothing review, a bag of tee shirts, skirts, jackets, and sweaters was filled to be donated to a charity, and then I drove the bag, plus a box of books and home décor items to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop. I popped into the store for a quick visit and the place had more merchandise than I have ever seen there. Miraculously, I managed to buy nothing. I came close to buying a camo pattern hoodie for a costume component for an October performance, but the zipper was problematic and I passed.

Rhododendron.

From St. Vincent, I headed to Lowe’s for some bark mulch that is on sale at five bags for $10. There was a large number of bags that were ripped, spilling mulch all over the place and it was like a treasure hunt finding intact bags. 

Waze took me to and from Lowe's through neighborhoods I had never explored, which was interesting and also depressing. For as long as I have lived in Lowell (nearly nine years), I have spent a shamefully small amount of time exploring anywhere outside downtown. 

At Lowe’s, while being mindful of my still quirky wrist, I managed to wrangle two unbreached bags of mulch into a cart, then into the car. The bags were heavy and my wrist reminded me it is still tender. I kept waiting for it to snap all over again. With any exertion, the scar turns bright red, which is also unnerving.

Weeds were pulled and the mulch was wrangled out of the car and then spread in the front yard flower beds. The bleeding hearts are fading a bit, the irises are sending up buds, the rosebush has tiny buds forming, and the rhododendron is beginning to flower. The weather delay may result in better photos with flowering plants.

Possibly more mulch
than grass out front.

The front and back yards were mowed. It’s only Mid-May, and the back yard is thick and has been cut twice already. When it comes to mowing, I  think I like a drought better than a rainy season. Last week, the back yard was so dense and overgrown that it took about 40 minutes, but today, I was able to get the front and back yards mowed in less time. 

The front yard is pretty scrappy, so there isn’t much to mow. There is almost more mulch than grass out front because it's still the early, crappy lawn season. Usually, some form of greenery creeps into the yard in early summer, so in a few weeks it should be filled in. Or maybe I'll just get some spray paint.

As if all that wasn’t enough activity for one day, the litter box needed to be cleaned out, which Kiki supervised from her perch on the staircase. The week’s trash was bagged for pickup and the bin was rolled to the curb, and I could finally think about supper. The house is full of ingredients, but not any prepared food, so it was cereal with orange juice because I already had pizza for lunch and the rice I wanted would take too long to make. The various types of rice in the cabinet take from 15 to 40 minutes to make, and even 15 minutes was too long.