I'm going to be so sad not to work at the garden center any more. My responsibilities this year have been opening in the morning (just two days a week) and watering everything, as well as helping customers and keeping things tidy. I haven't done a lot of potting, and that's fine with me. I like doing that, but I really like watering. I get to see every single plant in the nursery, what's new, what's doing well, what needs some attention … and especially what would look good in my own landscape!
XL T-shirts
I love how an XL tee covered a multitude of lumps and bumps when I was fat(ter), and now that I've dropped a few pounds makes me look kinda skinny. For instance: a collarbone peeking out of a too-big V-neck. Never thought I'd see that again!
Coffee
Especially hot coffee, ready and waiting in an insulated carafe, every morning. And the coffeemaker loaded and ready to go when I finish what's left in the carafe. Courtesy of my husband.
Pulling weedsI don't actually like the pulling of the weeds, but I LOVE the result. It's been too hot to work on the weed project this week, but temperatures will be going back down to reasonable after today, and I'm very motivated to finish the herb bed and begin working on the vegetable garden. I saw an almost-ripe tomato out there yesterday!
Running
Wow, do I love running. Although I'm really still at the jogging stage. Maybe I should just call it "picking up the pace." My husband loves my running WAY less than I do, and cautions me DAILY to 'take it easy,' 'be careful,' 'don't hurt yourself.' I am careful and I haven't hurt myself, but I have to admit I haven't really taken it easy. I try to challenge myself, especially on Cto5K training days. I've been inching up the hills at a slightly faster pace, running halfway up some that I could barely walk up six months ago. Progress!
This has been the best $7 I've spent in a long, long time. Those little guys are SO entertaining! I've seen as many as three at a time, and there are only four feeding stations. Why did it take me so long to jump on the hummingbird-watching bandwagon? Maybe I thought that was something old people did. Even if it is – and even if I am – SO WHAT? I'm delighted. A shout-out to my friend Lynne, whose hummingbirds charmed and inspired me to the point where I had to get my own feeder. (She probably didn't want me as a nightly dinner guest, either.)
Fresh flowers in vases
I love flowers more than I ever thought I would. When I began gardening in earnest, I was all about food. Heirloom tomatoes and several varieties of squash and unusual (at least for me) beans. The vegetable garden these days has been pared down to a minimum, and the flower beds have taken center stage. I love bringing an armful of black-eyed susans or hydrangea blooms inside to brighten up our dining-room table. Next year's vegetable plot will be cut in half, to make it more manageable. It's that getting-old thing.
Getting old …
and being healthy, pain-free and able to enjoy finding new and interesting ways to fill my days. I'm not really old, right? Sixty-two is the new 50. RIGHT? I'm sure not getting any younger chronologically, but I feel better than I did when I was 61, so there's that progress thing again. HOWEVER … my first Social Security check gets deposited in less than a week. That's the kind of old-person benchmark I'm happy to claim!
YOUR TURN
One thing … what do you love? Don't think hard about it, just leave a quick comment. What have I forgotten? What would you add? What's on your list?
2 comments:
Swimming, cool mornings, birdsong.
I was just saying to Mark at lunch today that the sound of a downpour on a metal roof is one of my top ten favorite things.
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