WHEW!! The last few days have been EXHAUSTING ...and that is putting it mildly!Right smack dab in the middle of our next doll Richard and I both got the hair brained idea to start a project we have been thinking about for the last 7 years with our house... it was literally like the Big Light Bulb appeared above both of our heads at the exact same time... so we 'temporarily' set aside our project and ran out to the front yard to start our 'project'...of course thinking it would only take us a few short hours as it really was not a Big Project...more like one of those small silly tasks that bother you until done... LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL... boy were we wrong!!!!!!What started out as a 'small, silly few hours project' ...ended as the Project from HELL!!!!! You know the kind I am talking about...the ones that appear easy on the surface and as soon as you started digging into it 'Literally' you find all kinds of surprises waiting for you just under the surface. Project was...to remove a flower bed (sans flowers) from beside the front door...and replace with something more tidy and organized. I think this was actually the Devils Flower bed at one time cause it gave us such grief at each turn of the shovel!!! We first needed to remove at least 8 inches of hardened top soil...corralled by 20 extremely ugly brick like pavers that were apparently 'glued' by time to the soil itself... then remove 2 struggling bushes that between them had 8 1/2 leaves...but roots that headed for middle earth...and attached!! In removing all of this we discover half of our water system pipes have been pushed upward close to the surface by a root system that closely resembles the L.A. Freeway system from our nearby Oleanders. As a matter of fact we believe the root system from our entire neighborhood seemed to converge on our little 10 ft x 4 ft innocent looking flowerbed. So brandishing every kind of cutting device this side of a machete we hacked and whacked till mid afternoon (oh did I mention we started this at around 5:30 am)... it actually became a process of dig a little find a new Root source...hack hack hack...then dig some more....WHERE WERE THEY COMING FROM!! We called it quits for the day and passed out somewhere in the hallway...they were truly the 'roots of all evil'..New Day....new outlook... and sore and bent over to the point of resembling 2 giant pretzels...Richard and I set to task of finishing our little garden plot from hell!! We dug dirt , wheelbarrowed it to other parts of the yard...moved gravel (from parts of the yard) ...replaced water piping and painted the whole outer wall...then filled it all in nicely with gravel and flagstone , potted a couple of palms ...OooOoO it all looked so nice...from our bent over view! And there it was sticking out of the ground of our finished area...one nasty little 'root' ...almost as if it were waving at us...and yelling "YA MISSED ME" hee hee hee..... then Richard ...with a look I have never seen on his face in all our 34 years together walked slowly up to that root, stood over it gritting his teeth and said "Ya Feeling Lucky...punk"...and gave it a sharp tug that is still being felt in ripples throughout the neighborhood. But it got done...2 very hard days of work in not very cool weather... and as the crowing glory to back breaking work and 'root madness' ...I broke a crown in my mouth....I swear...this has been a most interesting weekend ... but I now look forward to some normalcy and working on our doll...Did anyone see the movie Carrie? I am not quite ready to stand over our new front area...for fear a root will reach out and grab my ankle and pull me under... until then...I will enjoy from afar...Have a Great Week Everyone...Jodi P.S. A few wanted to see the finished shots of the cleaned up area out front... the scene of the crime as it were.... so I popped a couple of shots this morning to give you an idea.... looks like a simple task...don't let the 'hidden roots fool you....they are there, lurking in the dark....WAITING....WAITING....
This Tuesday Morning here in the desert it is rather gloomy, the sky is heavy with clouds, the air is damp and a light misty rain is beginning to fall and the coolness chills my bones a bit ...now normally in our dry hot desert...this would be reason to rejoice ...but it only added to the Mood I woke up with... kind of sad, lots of memories flooding my caffeine free brain ... today is my Dad's Birthday...and I no longer have him to share this day with. I have been talking to him all morning...saying things like 'Give me a Sign' Papa Joe if you are near ... would love to know you are watching. 
