That's Gneiss! #90 ~ Lopped off, but still alive!
It was not a pleasant week.
You may recall at the end of last week’s newsletter I mentioned I was waiting for a plumber to call. Our toilets and tubs backed up, and long story short they found a break in the sewage pipe under our back patio. Digging for repairs will commence tomorrow.
The rental agency has been very responsive and the contractors are great. We are thankful to be renters and not dealing with something like this as homeowners.
You will also recall that I mentioned a big disruption at work. I still don’t know what my job will be, and we’ve been provided with minimal information about how and why decisions have been made. A meeting is planned for tomorrow, where we are supposed to learn more. This has been incredibly stressful and as someone who’s work revolves around information, not having much is torture.
I’m not feeling particularly clever or witty today, so I’m going to talk about my garden…
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There was one good thing that happened this week - I got my yard waste bin!
Isn’t that exciting? I almost filled it immediately with some apple tree bits and old dead fern leaves that needed cleaning up. There are a number of plants in our garden that need some proper care, and now I can give it to them.
One sad little shrub needed to go. It was in a bad location, and really just unattractive. Rowland will have to find a different place to pee.
There - much better! It will be easier to get the hose in and out for my daily watering needs. This side of the house has some beds with potential once they’re cleaned up. It’s shady here, so I’m thinking Hostas - such possibilities!
The other issue is the horrible pruning job that was done by the previous renters (I assume). Rather than trim with care to keep the various plants looking good and shapely, they just lopped them off at the top. We thought the camellia by the front porch was a goner - here’s what it looked like shortly after we moved in:
Have you ever seen anything so sad? We were just about to ask to have it removed, when I noticed leaves sprouting on a lot of those dead-looking branches. I trimmed the truly dead branches out of it (great kindling for campfires). It’s still a bit wonky, but it looks much better now and I think I can work on shaping it nicely. Needs a little work on the lower left.
Then there’s the snowball bush. Here is is, earlier this year. You can see where the larger trunk-like branches were lopped off. It looks a bit silly with blooms only down there near the bottom.
Instead of nearly dying, this plant is vigorously growing new shoots. This cut branch is almost two inches across, and some of the shoots are nearly six feet long.
Egads! It looks like this one will need some taming - but not too much! It will look spectacular when it’s covered with blooms. The birds really like hanging out in it too. There are bird feeders just on the other side of the fence. We’re bird friendly here!
I am looking forward to playing around with this garden. A few weeks ago I planted a rosemary bush, thyme bushes, and sage (seeds), as well as a lot of flower seeds. Just to the left of the bonkers snowball bush up there you can see the sunflowers I planted. They’re about to bloom, and they’ll be great for the birds (and squirrels) when they go to seed.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Hopefully the repairs will go smoothly with minimal disruption, and hopefully I’ll know what my job will be soon so I can start looking forward again. It’s time to go back to my reading and art for the rest of the day.
I hope you all have a good week!
~Anne
Tidbits
What falls into Amsterdam’s Amstel River? Take a look at the objects that were dug up when the river was drained for construction.
Feeling a bit warm for you? Enjoy it before it gets worse.
This is some harsh inflexibility on the part of Etsy - please support Cognitive Surplus through their website shop if you can. Coincidentally, I just bought a couple of items the other day, including this notebook - grids AND lines!
Making: the best of it. I’m going to do some artsy things today. Update: I did. Next I’ll add some ink to them.
Recently eaten: we went to Mahal Indian Cuisine again, and they seemed to be having an off night with their service. They gave us free mango pudding with our meal. Don’t worry guys, we’ll be back! The food is too good not to go often. Michael made poutine last night, which was a perfect comfort food.
Reading: still working on The Pugilist at Rest, The Traitor Baru Cormorant, and Coffin Corner. Look at me go!
Videos of the Week
I saw this posted on FB the other day, and loved everything about it. The old film quality, and the music, which had a familiar sound to it. Turns out to be an earlier band from members of U.S. Maple, one of Michael’s favorites.
Question of the Week
Answer if you wish, and I’ll share next week - anonymously of course. Just hit reply…
It’s hot everywhere… what’s your favorite beverage for cooling down?
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Last week I asked about how you cope with times of abrupt change and stress.
I’m a bit of a wallower and worrier, but there are a few things that work well for lifting my spirits. Music is my ultimate mood elevator. I can’t think of anything else while I listen, so it’s really good for getting me out of my own head. Plus, MUSIC! Getting outside is wonderful, too. A walk in the woods, on the beach, or even along a (clean) sidewalk makes me feel better.
head out to Goat Rock Beach. It's an hour and 20 minutes from my home but worth the effort as the drive is a beautiful decompression too. I'll go to the parking lot by the river and start my walk along the river until I get to where the river and the ocean meet then I'll walk along the ocean side. I typically hit it when it's near sunset so I can get the sunset bonus. I've walked along the beach side and climbed up to the other parking lot then along the southern beach. What I absolutely love about this beach is that it's always different when I come out. Sometimes, the river and ocean are not connected and you can walk along to the northernmost point. There is a lot to look at and the ocean air is sublime. I'll do the walk any time of year and mostly barefoot. I come away reset and ready to take on anything.
Daily stress maintenance: running, swimming, and currently weekly or biweekly spin classes. My job can get intense so I need to off load regularly which is hard during the school year. Being outside with my runs or the meditative process of counting laps, helps keep my mind clear.
I just saw this tweet from author Alexander Chee, and it really hit home. So many different ways (in the comments) of coping and mourning the loss of something you’ve worked hard for.
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