Well It's Three Steps Forward and Two Steps Back

This was supposed to be the weekend I tore up the backyard and Xeriscaped every last water-lovin root out of it.*
This was supposed to be the weekend we donated blood, because Florida Blood Services is critical mode and out of badly needed O+ and O- blood types, both of which Rick and I possess in our absolutely insane bodies.
This was supposed to be the weekend that I used my  meager $10. off card from Lowes to help fund the aforementioned Xeriscape project.
This was supposed to be the weekend we took some time off to meander down the Intracoastal Waterway, do a little fishing and lay in the sun on the outer islands round these parts.
To Barbecue and especially to give thanks and appreciation to Veterans past and current, for it is surely due. (which we did.)
And this was the weekend the temporary kitchen counter-tops were supposed to be installed.

HOWEVER.

Here's Rick's boat trailer.  Notice what is missing? (click any picture on the page to enlarge).

what's missing are these:

The rusty things are called "cross members" (I think) and they go in between the trailer frame and help support the bunks. The boat sits on the bunks...sort of.....I recommend you ask another boat person what all that means.  Anyway, since they were rusting away, Rick removed them on Friday and has to order new ones tomorrow.
So what's holding the boat up?   A contraption that he built to support the weight.

Lord, I'm begging here... please don't send us any storms until thy boat is safely back on thy trailer. Amen.

Meanwhile, in the back yard:

In the post below, I wrote that the county offers free mulch that I feel has composted enough to work into the top soil and help with water retention, among other things.  Our soil is so sandy and full of crushed shells that water drains right through it. So I add compost, perlite and other additives whenever I can.
So here's the remaining bags of mulch, I haven't spread them out yet because....

...of this hole:

Which held this tree.  (note the heavy chain, it's tied to the truck.)

.....Which Rick decided to dig up at the last minute...(why, I don't know)  but it took ALL morning. There is a story behind this.  Every married person will be able to identify with it.

It's called:  "It'll Be Fine."
So the story goes..... There once was a woman who noticed a small palm growing outside of her living room window.  (this story does not rhyme).  She knew that the tap root would grow slowly and deeply and that the palm itself would grow tall and wide (very wide) and that it was truly too big for the space.
"Let's take this out!"  Said she.
"No, I like it there."  Said he.
"It will hit the roof."  she reasoned.
"Nah" he said. "It'll be fine."
"But the ROOF!"  She said.
"It'll be fine."  He said.
And she should have gone with her gut.
And yanked it out by its butt.

But he said... "I like it there. It'll be fine."
HA!
Do you know how often I've heard the phrase "It'll be fine" in this marriage? So often that I have enough material to write a BOOK!
So much for working on the back yard. Rick towed the palm across the yard and then we rolled and pushed and heaved it into it's new home:

And then we had to fill the hole back up. That's me. Don't I look all sexy, huh.

And then we discovered why the palm got so big in such a short period of time. It was growing near a sprinkler line and the sprinkler's "T" connection had a leak, giving it a ready source of water day by day.

We're now left with this big mess to landscape in its place. 

The offending palm in question is a Cabbage Palm, our state tree.  The name “cabbage” palm came from the early pioneers, who harvested the bud, called the “heart”, for food that they cooked and ate like cabbage. This was often called “swamp cabbage.”  The Cabbage Palm is one of the “fan palms”, and one of the most durable of the 15 Sabal species that are native to the United States. Due to its elevated, deeply embedded bud and fire-resistant trunk, they are able to survive intense wildfires that often kill other forest species.

Where was I.

Oh,  I did go to Lowes, but was disappointed in their current selection of water-wise perennials. Perennials are the plants that return year after year. (I don't want to plant annuals again next season, save for a few pots here and there.)  I also don't want to have to go outside with a hose every day to water in this heat.  Especially if our population growth exceeds our water supply and we end up with dry wells.

Lowes didn't have a good selection, but a block away, Home Depot had a good one. I'll get to that in another post.

He Gives Blood and I Give Thanks:

Sunday evening we had an appointment to give blood at 7 p.m.  I found that even though I am able to give Buddy his insulin shot twice a day, I still can't stand to get a measly pin prick for blood.

If you have not given blood before,the pin prick is to test your iron count. Mine was too low (34.. the minimum should be 38). I'll try again in a week. Please don't send me advice on sources of Iron in the diet. I know these things. I just haven't been eating right. 

Rick's iron count was fine because he had absorbed all the rust from the aforementioned rusty boat trailer cross members. (OK, I'm just delirious and tired).  After an exhaustive questionnaire about his sexual habits, (of which I paid close attention and was satisfied that no, he had not been to the Ukraine, nor had he had sex with anyone from the Ukraine), he offered up a good bag of blood.

TampaBay residents: It's worth noting that you can register for your appointment online. Enter your zip code to find a bus or location near you. The link is here.

Now About the Kitchen:

I hate to say this, but I am wayyy too tired to blog any further. But I am happy to report that Rick installed the temporary counter tops and I now have more than 3 ft of available counter space!
The girls have 5 friends in the house as I type this, so I'll wait till tomorrow to take pictures of it. I think I'm going to go to bed now, and collapse.

Oh, remind me to tell you about the friggin bank! That's another story. Our lawnmower broke and our Iron broke as well. Thus, 2 steps back!    I hope you all had a great weekend.  Take care and be safe.

 

Comments

[Terri]

Things sure sound hectic at your house. Hope you get the boat situation sorted out and don't forget to tell us about the "friggin bank."
Oh....and don't forget to keep taking some very deep breaths!

[Pablo]

I was wondering about your three feet of counter space.

[Laura]

Pablo, the kitchen pictures will be up tomorrow and hopefully will show how I managed to cook on 3 ft of counter space for the past few months. LOL.

Thanks Terri, I was actually a little out of breath after I finished this post. I have got to stop writing so late at night because I don't edit well enough in those late, late hours....after 9p.m. LOL!

[Old Horsetail Snake]

Boy, Laura, this is newsy as all get-out. Lots of fun (and not fun) things happening in your life.

Eventually, it will all get sorted out -- so you can start over.

[kenju]

Whew! You really did it right this time. This is a blog and a half! Sorry about some things and glad about others; you decide which.....LOL

[Laura]

Kenju, probably the grammar, I'm most sorry about that. Nils is all upset about my blatant abuse of apostrophes. ;)

Hoss, thanks. this is why I don't always get a post a day up on the site! lol

[Nils]

I read as much as I could ... but it got too tiring and I had to take a nap halfway through. Hearing about all that work is exhausting.

I guess it was just lucky the rusted corssmembers didn't give way when you were driving to or from the boat launch. Wouldn't THAT be fun?

[Nils]

And it is true that I am a stickler when it comes to apostrophe abuse. I get much more corss about it than I should, given how I spell crossmember! LOL

[Laura]

LOL..
hope YOU had a nice nap!!! Or at least a great golf game today....

I had to ask Rick several times what the "rust things" were called.

[Nils]

Gosh, on further review, shouldn't this entry be entitled "Well, It's Three Step Forward and Two Steps Back" ...? (ducking)

[Laura]

sonuvabtch!!! Nils, i'm just going to send the blog to you to edit from now on.

[Nils]

No, no ... too many jerks out there nitpicking from the cheap seats. I'll stay safely here ... (g)

[Nils]

Oh, and I think "sonuvabtch" is spelled wrong. Or maybe all the people who call me that are mispronouncing it.