School's Out

I am taking the summer off from teaching for the first time in TWELVE YEARS.

I've had one week off and I got a massage and a new hairdo!

(And I did a bunch of manual labor and went to work for a meeting...but we're easing into things here.)

On Memorial Day we went kayaking. It was lovely and this is the only evidence I have to show for it. We snuck up on a heron and got about 5 feet away from it before it gracefully bid us adieu.  

We also went on a nice, slow hike on the Eno that was just what the Doctor ordered. Many times when we hike we speed through the trails. This time we gave ourselves permission to dawdle. I watched a crawfish stalk a minnow and listened to the water burble. It was great!

We ate dinner with friends at Ixtapa, had a cook out with my parents, went to a friend's party and attended the last 4 minutes of a Pig Pickin' before bailing at going to Cracker Barrel.

We also hit up a SUPER AMAZING yard sale where I bought $400 of gorgeous fabric for $50 before deciding I needed to just walk away....and then I saw the curated collection of vintage sheets. Holy cow. 

This should keep me off the streets this summer. DO YOU SEE THESE CHICKADEES??

We were lucky to have a cool spell, what with the AC still being kaput, so I spent more time outdoors than indoors. I did some gardening and some basic word working projects. I'm more of a measure five times, mess up six times kind of a gal so woodworking might be too expensive for me. Luckily, we have a lot of "Free" wood in the yard.

I made these rinky dink raised beds on my own and spent a few disgusting hours shoveling compost into them. G was gracious enough to lend a hand for part of it. Now I'm slowly filling it with Scratch-and-dent plants.

Do you know about Scratch-and-dent plants? Voldemart and Lowe Depot both have sections in the back of the gardening departments where they put the stuff that has seen better days. Sometimes the things are clearly not long for this world but sometimes it's a mystery why they are back there. Like this Carolina Jasmine and these petunias.

These two purple baskets on my vintage Sears exercise bike-turned garden feature were both lush but bloomless when I got them. Now they are vivacious and colorful! Those pink petunias were also on clearance. I really recommend checking out what they have. It helps to go on week days.