Dirt, Flowers and a few Craft Beers

Gardens half-planted, mulched with the premium mix that is used at Meijer Gardens - the usual geraniums, petunias, alyssum, pansies, lantana, and a new color of lupine, in view around the blooming Dwarf Kim Lilac.

Last week I messaged the daughter who now resides in a UES Manhattan apartment with, maybe, one herb plant on her window sill, that my life (for now) is nothing but dirt and flowers. The flowers are the fun part, but preparing the good earth can be back-breaking!

Without going into each and every dirty detail, it has been a long and difficult week. A bit over half of the plantings are in place in the church garden. I am keeping the remaining flats well-watered. I have had some help, but not nearly enough, and this kind of work is getting more difficult every year for this aging senior! I had to meet the flower truck guy, the mulch guy and finally locate a bulk bag of time-released fertilizer at Lowe's. I put Bayer fertilizer on the Knockout roses before mulching. When I called it rose control (has insect control in it) the pastor joked that the husband must buy a lot of that--and I didn't even get his joke. My brain was a little scattered all week.

So late Thursday night, after planting flowers since 9 AM, J. and I rewarded ourselves with a Smashburger, fries and a bottle of Fat Tire Amber Ale from the Smashburger cooler.

And Saturday noon, after finishing the mulch piles, I took J. and O. for pizza and a few cold ones on the patio (we were grubby) of Uccelo's--pictured below. I ordered a draft Founder's nitro oatmeal stout (a favorite but never the nitro), only to discover that it was rotten (or what is the best word for beer gone bad?) and sent it back for a (safer, go-to) Perrin Black Ale.

Then I came home, mowed the lawn, checked out the weeds at the uncle's place, watered his pots, blew the driveway clean at the rental, met the new neighbors there ... and they sent me home with a Shipyard milk stout! I ate a piece of  E.'s leftover DQ ice cream oreo (dirt) cake for a late dinner (cut and served to me by the husband!), washed it down with that milk stout, collapsed on the sofa with still-dirty fingers and toes ... and was barely able to move a muscle in the morning.

Took my friends out for beer and pizza at Uccelo's!

It is Sunday night and I feel some better now. All I did today was rest, eat spaghetti, and water for an hour. The 90% chance of rain never materialized. Tomorrow is a holiday and I don't plan on spending it in the garden! The husband is probably golfing, since we don't have our usual family picnic in the park with fried chicken and watermelon, so I am trying to think of something else fun to do...

P.S. I have been running low on funds of late and my kind brother suggested I might have enough money if I just cut out a craft beer or two. I haven't taken his suggestion to heart yet!!