April 2008 Archives

Well, today I finally worked up the moxie to rent a pickup and get a couple "scoops" of decomposed granite. Just for kicks. I'm redoing the front patio I put in a few years ago. When we moved in, there was a sort of garden/jungle in this 10'x7' space with a ghastly little tree/palm thing, tons of calla lilies, and weeds. I replanted the callas in a brick planter that is built onto the front of the house (which previously contained icky jade plants). I added a little ivy there, and it looks pretty good as a backdrop for the patio.

Then, I dug up the tree and everything else in that spot, and put flagstones, with some cutesy plants in between, and a "screen" of plants on standards between a couple large pots of pretty things that it turns out I was planning on treating to a slow, painful death. It goes that way sometimes. The patio has been a really nice place to escape to when the back of the house gets too hot in the afternoon, but the pool is too cold to hang out in. (I know, the choices I must make. Its hellish.)

The patio has been such a delight, in fact, that the local skunks have dug up all the flagstones at least once, looking for tasty grubs that feed on the roots of the creeping thyme and baby's tears I had planted between the stones. I think the patio looked fabulous and all grown in for about a week before the total skunk invasion. I have come out to find a 50# flagstone at a 45 degree angle after one night, because of their incessant digging! (again, with the hellish)

So, I took up the stones this week, dug out a bunch of the old dirt and roots. Asked Sysguy to remove the sprinkler I had him install several years ago (he was every bit as thrilled as you imagine), and commenced to be all DIY about the thing. Because I had procured four bags of sand!! Surely, that would be enough to raise the ground level to the walkway, and pack down hard enough to discourage the skunks. It turns out, 50# bags of sand really don't go very far. Not even four of them. Feh. Outdoors is bigger than it looks.

I rented a pickup, and bought one whole frontloader scoop (apparently one can purchase half a scoop), which was dumped into the truck bed with alacrity. I pootled home, and moved the granite bits to the patio, it took the better part of an hour. Then I realized one scoop was not going to cut it. I have no idea how many bags of sand are in a scoop, but I bet its more than 10. So I went back and got another scoop. Note to self: in future, measure more accurately to cut down on mileage charges.

The Things had the thrill of getting picked up after school in a Pick Up Truck!!! Then they rinsed out the bed liner for me and we returned the thing. Here are the photos from my phone, since my camera is MIA.

After a long hiatus, I came across this article and I just had to throw in my two cents. WE NEED TO SEND THIS WOMAN A GIFT. She is brilliant, and I totally agree with her.

As someone who has been on the receiving end of incredulous looks when local parents find out that "those two boys" walking to school in the morning (dios mio!) are mine. Um, yeah. Their school isn't any farther than mine was, lo these 40 years ago, and I walked. In the midwest. In a short skirt and frilly socks with mary janes. In the winter. (Backwards and uphill each way, naturally. That's how we did it back then, and we liked it that way.)

I'm really tired of kids not being allowed to test their independence, its making them indecisive lumps with no trust in their own ability to take care of themselves. Kudos to the moms that allow their kids to roam the neighborhood. The ones that make them take the city bus to Jr. High, and ride the subway. Well done, ladies!! The scariest thing my kids are likely run into is ME (after I caught them jaywalking).

An embarrassing illustration of how the constant media churn of the same damn scary stories have scared us into limiting our kids over the generations: Looks like great-grandpa had fun and the rest of us have been progressively more screwed.