let’s work out: you bring the backhoe

i still can’t believe that it’s already july 29 and the summer is more than half over.  i keep trying to remind myself that i spent half of it wandering around the city with two broken elbows, looking like a freak in two medical slings, trying to smile instead of roll my eyes at people who felt the need to tell me about the time their husband’s second-niece-twice-removed broke her elbow when she fell from a tree and so on and so forth. i’m glad to be out of slings. i’m also glad to no longer have to have those conversations.

one of the hard parts of having a year of really annoying health problems and freak accidents is that i feel like i’ve gotten little-to-nothing done on my massive 2010 list of things-to-do. the list has been broken down into so many miniature lists of things-to-do that I now have small notebook half-filled with unfinished lists that i no longer look at because they depress me. so, monday i started over with some very realistic lists of things i can accomplish this week that don’t require me to lift too many heavy things and do more damage to my very weak arms.

first on the list was to continue lifting weights so that i can be stronger than a 4 year old. when my doctor told me i would need to start lifting weights mid-july to help build back all the strength i lost during the 6 weeks of sitting around and having my husband brush my teeth for me, i thought he’d recommend i start at the low end: you know, 5-6 pds. i laughed when he told me to start with 1-2 pd weights. when i went to buy weights at target, i decided i wasn’t going to waste money buying a 2 pound weight, so i went for the 3s. later that day, when i realized i could only do 2 reps of 10 with the 3 pounders without panting and holding my sore elbows mid-set, i decided this was going to take a lot more work than i originally thought.

instead of learning my lesson, i decided the best thing to do was tackle the landscaping in the front yard. if if i have to weight train, i might as well lift heavy potted plants, use a shovel, and awkwardly dump 20 pound bags of mulch, right?

i’ve spent a lot of time procrastinating on this project because i have no vision. i’m not good at organizing spaces if they are larger than say, a wrist or a torso, which is why i’m not an interior designer or landscaper. our house was built circa 1862 and is a brick italianate. most people would probably plan something pretty traditional for front yard landscaping, but i’m bored by shrubs and anything slightly high maintenance. i love tall grasses and i hate tiger lillies, which is what we had:

the reality is that things have been looking pretty rough out front since we moved in. last year we dumped top soil there and ignored it: to my annoyance tiger lilies popped up and decided to make themselves a home. the steps are crumbling, the weeds are ridiculous, we have a massive dent in the grass from all the trucks trying to back down our narrow driveway, and we’ve been asked on more than one occasion this year by a city cop “does anyone live here? i thought it was deserted.”

fabulous.

originally, we wanted to plant a tree in the corner next to the porch, but i couldn’t find a single one i wanted that was under $300 and i’d rather have the patio finished than a tree. so i bought a bunch of grasses and a few black lace shrubs because they are in the japanese maple family, only they are $30 each instead of $325 each. Since we had the equipment, C spared me hours of shoveling and dug up the small patch for me. i’m getting used to the odd looks we get from passers-by. their faces say “really? you need a backhoe to turn over that tiny mound of dirt?”

define “need”…?

then i planted and mulched and realized that the small plants in front are the same color of the mulch and are getting lost in there, but i’m calling this “phase 1″ and letting it go. next year we’ll keep planting until the entire front yard is covered and i no longer have to lug the mower out front for a 10 x 10 patch of grass.

i always hate how sparse things look at first, but i followed the spacing directions and planted accordingly. hopefully next year, everything will double in size.