I moaned, good and loud. Over and over again. No one could hear me -- Millie was at doggie daycare, the windows were closed. I could have screamed and no one would have come running.
Some may regard that as a real disadvantage for a senior (I am a senior!). You fall down, can't move and then what? Fine, there is that downside. But sometimes, it just feels so good to moan and groan and not explain yourself to anyone. My own very vocal sighs and exhales came after a four hour planting stint. The rocks were heavy, the soil -- saturated with last night's rains. I thought I had dug out sufficiently large holes, but today they seemed barely big enough to fit a rose. That's not the way to plant roses!
(a wet rose on a wet day)
All that lifting and twisting and digging and heaving finally got to me. I had put in four roses. I have one more that came yesterday, but I was plum tuckered out. I stepped into a hot shower and I thought -- this is almost as good as a massage! Moans and groans were emitted. It was a heavenly ten minutes.
Unfortunately, life has a way of knocking that calm and serenity right out of your system rapidly enough. Before I could even sit down for my afternoon coffee, I looked out and saw that bags of soil and mulch had been delivered and left outside on the front steps (and not in the back driveway). Once again I had to lift and carry, though I made sure I kept my hands clean -- I had massaged them with blueberry balm which put me one foot in the Finnish forest of this summer's hike. I didn't want to have to wash it off. (The blueberry balm is actually Swedish, but I learned about blueberry potions and lotions from our guide in Finland, though I have to think that the forests of Sweden resemble the forests of Finland.)
All this happened after breakfast of course. Millie, who looks sweet as can be after yesterday's bath and grooming session...
.... had no problem being loud as people and dogs and babes passed by the house.
But her vocal noises are such a mark of excitement and exuberance that I really do not mind her very melodic (i.e. high pitched) barks, especially since she is for most of her waking hours a quiet dog. Including during breakfast itself.
(Millie, did you bring your two pup friends to our morning meal? So that I'm having breakfast with three dogs?)
In the late afternoon, showered and refreshed, I pick up Millie and spend some time with her at home, but at 6, I put her in her crate (sorry, pup!) because I decided to finally attend the book club meeting that the more active neighborhood women have organized. I read the book, I need to not spend every evening on the couch.
(Tempting: to stay home and fill in the rose information into my new Rose Notebook which came today. You see it against the backdrop of roses snipped by me because of the heavy rain that balled just a few of the blooms. The Notebook is large. The little note pad I started with could not fit in a good plan of the rose garden.)
Six women showed up at the bar that is actually on the premises of the new development. Six very lively and interesting women. I waved off my non-alcoholic status and ordered a small glass of white wine, because that's what you do at book clubs -- you sip white wine. (Unfortunately, the quantity was too low to offer a nice buzz, so it was a waste.) I was the oldest and that was nice too (for me), because most (but not all) of my friends are actually older than me. I like a range!
The new development (where I live) sees itself as a rather unique place. It is a model of environmental planning and much testing had been done for many years to understand what systems worked best to keep the environmental toxins out of the nearby wetlands. (According to the Department of Natural Resources, we do better in that regard than the farmers who came before us.) Additionally, there appears to be a real drive to create a community of people rather than just a place to park your car and go inside and close your door to others. The Edge, where I lived for five months, also tried to do that. And they succeeded. I thought it was a fantastic apartment complex. And Terra Vessa (the name of this new development)? Honestly, I think they're doing a really good job of it too. I lucked out here. Three months, and I already know and like at least half a dozen people who live within a block or two or three of me.
As for poor Millie -- she is, of course, overjoyed to see me return (after 90 minutes).
I assure her that the book club meets only once a month. She seemed okay with that.
with so much love...
