And then I did spend some money...
Green Legs
OK. I confess. I spent over forty dollars this morning on various little kitten treats - broths, pates, things in jus or gravy, flakes, morsels in delicate florentine sauces... Also I bought some two dollar green jeans from the Charity Shop. Same price as - ahem - one little tin of cat food. Oops.
Extremely green...
My new jeans are extremely green. Bright emerald green - not your subtle 'blend into a forest' green. They would be hopeless for camouflage in the bush. They are for apres-gardening. And they have magical powers (no, am not of Irish decent). I can sense it. I have never had unsubtle green legs before.
Today has been really, really lovely. I spent four hours in the garden, most of it sploshing up and down the water race weeding and trimming the Lupins and flaxes. Found a sunny wee nest in the greenery where Tiger the cat must spend part of her her day relaxing - there she was, well camouflaged. Chatted away to her as I passed by with armfuls of muddy weeds.
Then I had a shower and put on my bright green jeans. Instant invigoration! Went to the piano, sorted my Albeniz double flat problem. The notes were just F# minor harmonies and melodies in disguise. I even practised hands separately, very virtuously.
Rough and Tough Weeds in The Hump
Sunday 30th December
And what to do first in the garden today? Memo to self regarding aged hips grumbling in the middle of the night : Absolutely no straight-leg bending (that which I call 'duck-diving'). Bend the knees, sit down, anything but duck-diving. Aha! Use the kneeler! Kinder for the knees and the hips...
One Session Later...
I cleaned up the long grass around the dog kennels. And got a bit grumpy. Then I looked at my neighbour's weedy mess. What to do? OK, they are not my weeds, but they are seeding happily and leaning over my Allotment Garden. Got a bit more grumpy.
Mid-Afternoon...
Am sorry to report that I haven't been enjoying myself at all. This afternoon the weeds I met were rough and tough, and I wasn't in a bossy enough mood. Grr... Got really, really grumpy. So I had a shower, and changed into my new green jeans and a flowing white top. My new jeans had their first big test. Yeay! It worked! Having bright green legs definitely cheered me up.
Hello Escher!
Then things got even nicer - big brown Escher arrived to stay for a few days. I loooooove Escher! As I'm writing, he's squeaking at the kittens in their baskets on the table. They must be wondering what on earth this noisy big brown nose is connected to. He is a lovely dog, but he is sooooo big!
Good news regarding next-door's weed mess. Non-Gardening Partner is going to try out his new 'strimmer' on them tomorrow. He'll just knock the tops (the seed-heads) off. And good news regarding my green legs. They do make me feel much, much better. I can shake off my weeding blues. Easy as!
How simple life in the garden can be sometimes. All that's needed is a kneeler, time and patience, a big brown dog visitor, and green apres-gardening legs.