Vacation redo, please!

I took last week off as vacation (the four days after the Victoria Day Monday). Ha! Mostly it was cold and rainy, and I heard on the news last Friday that we're having the coldest May in 10 years. I believe it!

 

Below: May 16 sunrise, a very brief burst of colour in the otherwise grey and gloom.

 

 

All was not lost for the time off, though, as I had a couple of appointments and spent every morning out anyway, in spite of the weather. I also had lots of cosy tea and reading time in the afternoons.

 

Below: I swung by campus on the holiday Monday (May 19), to get a few pics of the cherry blossoms before they were all gone. OMC, it was COLD! I didn't linger!

 

 

I also had taken Monday May 12th off, as friends had kindly come up to help me in the little garden. We dug up the invasive stuff, as well as the two hostas by the fence that got too much light and fried to a crisp by June/July every year. (I shouldn't have split the original ones and put them there in the first place. The hostas that flank the back step have remained; I love those. They're in the shade most of the time and are fine.)

 

They also helped me remove the irregular (heavy!) border stones. As much as I liked them, trying to trim around them always was difficult. They were so heavy that I had to haul them to the garage on a tarp, a few at a time. It was a lot of work, too much for me alone now, and I appreciated their help very much.

 

One the one decent day early last week, I pounded in the plastic stakes for the basic edging. Another friend had kindly played "uber driver" on Sunday the 18th and I went to Home Depot for various garden items including the edging and stakes. (It's "no dig" edging.) I went back on my own and got extra stakes, though; I'd thought 2 packages/48 count would be enough, but it wasn't.)

 

I'd still like to get mulch, if I can. That plain border edging is boring, but far easier to get rid of if I change my mind and take it out. (Also budget-friendly and easier to trim around!)

 

Anyway, it'll be a few years before the perennials (16 new ones) really set it and grow, if they do take. At this point, if they don't, I think I'll let the weeds take over. 

 

Below: My bleeding heart, which I kept, of course. Then random floral snapshots.

The other "project" I've done recently is more Ikea assembly. They recently had 15% off for "friends and family", and since I'm running out of bookshelf space again, I bought three inexpensive bookcases. Truck delivery charges are high and the 15% saved me almost half that cost. (I wouldn't have bought them otherwise.)

 

 

I cursed those things, trying to get the backs on properly and the shelf supports in. They look nice enough, but they're not the best product I've ever bought from Ikea. (I wanted something nicer looking than the basic Billy bookcases.) However, my struggles were mainly due to the fact that I didn't dig out my mallet until I was assembling the last one. The third one was a breeze to put together with the use of the mallet, of course. (Arrrgghhh, Kim!!!) However, my rating is still only "so-so" for quality.

 

I'm eyeing the ubiquitous Kallax shelving the next time there's an Ikea sale, the one with 8 cubes on the underframe. I could use more space for the storage boxes, and as I have a few dozen books in my "to be read" pile, I will need all the bookshelves.

 

So much for all my downsizing of recent years! Apparently the pendulum is swinging back the other way now. (I think part of my reasoning is to get what I might want for both current and future use while I'm still working and have the means to pay off the credit card.)

 

Below: Not a great pic, but I found these cute cat earrings in a local shop last week, couldn't let them go!

 

 

Anyway, I'd better call it quits on this post, it's long enough as it is. Thank you to anyone who actually made it through.