Monday, May 19, 2008

Having patience with myself

In my later adult life, I've been getting my ass kicked once a month by the ole hormonal enslavement. Probably a byproduct of the PCOS, which I have a mild case of, the upshot being strong cramps and a stripping of my energy from the waist down. Reminds me of when I was potassium-deficient...it's like somebody just squeezes the energy out of my legs, like when you're squeezing something out of a tube. Anyhoo, that hit Sunday, and all projects went on the back burner in favor of a little relax time. I'm irritated now, as I sit chained to my work computer, that I didn't get around to planting yesterday; but I also recognize that I needed the relaxation time yesterday after the work I put in Saturday.

Saturday was exhilarating! I woke up Sunday with sore legs and upper back and the greatest feeling of accomplishment. I can't believe the energy I'm drawing from working at Mom's. Husby wanted to come with me that day, so I waited til 12 noon before nudging him, but his head just wasn't cooperating, so I headed out solo. Mom was at a Women of Faith conference all day, so I had the house to myself and just tucked in. Emptied Meara's closet first, boxed almost everything and put it in the garage, and took down her awards shelves from her high-school accomplishments (which made me all kinds of proud all over again, remembering how strong a student and leader she was/is). This was heavy physical work, but I was buoyed by my recent weight loss and the prospect of continuing the trend. Got to Cyril's room in the later afternoon, and while I didn't get quite as much done in there, it does look worlds better and won't need much more attention beyond moving a couple more things out to the garage and taking down his workout scaffolding, as we call it. The garage is going to be our staging area, where we'll put boxes and things for now, so that we can make the house proper, presentable for people to view. I'll be spending my Saturdays there for the next 2 months or so, helping Mom. I always related to Dad just a bit more than Mom, so I think it's helping me as well, defining a shift in our relationship. Plus it's just necessary...Cyril just isn't capable of helping, emotionally or schedule-wise; his job has an unrealistic commute for these gas prices, but his money troubles keep him from looking for anything better (beyond a hopeful attempt to get back in the service, working in recruitment), plus he's got Hunter every weekend while his ex gets her excrement together. And Meara lives in Orlando, works in a job with significantly more responsibility than mine, and is coordinating a move of her own for the end of the month.

I did get some thinking done where planting is concerned. I could have sworn I bought 2 packs of veggie seeds and 2 packs of herbs, but I only found lettuce and spearmint when I went looking...so I'm definitely going back to evil big-box Target for some more herbs. I'd love at least lavender and basil, and I'll do some quick research on homeopathic herb uses, as I'd love to try my hand at making my own home remedies. I purchased 2 bags of organic topsoil. Decided against keeping the weeds that are running rampant in the outdoor aloe, so I'll break that up first, I think (hopefully tonight), get it out of the way so I can concentrate on the "real" plants. Of course, I say that and the truth is we really need to deal with the Big Boys soon; they're growing diagonally outward from the pot...I need to clear the babies between them into their own pots and then separate the Big Boys, and that's a project that'll easily eat a weekend morning.

I remembered that one of the most important things to consider when container planting is drainage, and on that score I kind of got lucky. I was planning to do my lettuce planting in one of the old litterboxes - I have a large plastic nondescript bin as well as a Tidy Cat litterbox (smaller with a lift-up hood). But of course since I'm going to be transporting these suckers back and forth from indoors to porch quite a bit, I want there to be minimal leakage. Sure enough, the Tidy Cat litterbox fits nicely inside the larger litterbox, so I'll punch a couple of holes in the bottom of the Tidy Cat and should be able to water the plants from the bottom up.

I'm going to try to tackle these projects after work in the evenings this week, just spread newspaper all over the bedroom floor and work while I watch TV. But tonight's all about Husby; he turns 37 today! I'll make him a nice dinner and slobber all over him with love :)

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