Week 17 - Spring Affair Fun

Spring Affair was this weekend. There is nothing more satisfying in my life (I hope that isn’t sad!) than the hours I spend at Spring Affair sharing my perennials knowledge with people. I used to volunteer in the bedlam that is Saturday morning, when the sale opens to the public, but this would be my second year working the preview party. My shift was Friday night from 5:30-10:00 so I went to bed early Thursday so I’d be fully rested for Friday, which would be a long day. You have to know that that didn’t work out!

I was sound asleep when the phone rang at 10:10. Nancy needed help with her daughter on the weekend and clearly didn’t know the no phone calls after 9:00 rule. I was only on the phone 3 minutes but the adrenaline rush of being woken by the phone kept me tossing and turning until after 2:00, when I turned my alarm off and left a voice mail that I’d be late. But I woke up just after 6:00 so headed to work, exhausted, nauseous and pissed off. I sent Nancy a scathing email, which I immediately regretted. When I called her to ask if she’d seen it, she said she’d started reading it but her hair caught on fire so she stopped to put it out. We burst out laughing, both apologized and called it good. It’s fabulous to have such forgiving friends.

With lots of coffee, I made it through the day. The volunteers’ pre-sale was from 3:00-4:30 so Nora and I were leaving work to get to the sale by 4:00 where we meet Lorri and then head for dinner before our shift started. Of course, Nora and I were running late so got there at more like 4:15 so rushed to grab a few plants before the sale ended. By the time we got back to start our shift, you’d never know I had barely slept. I worked steadily, enjoying every minute, and picked up a few more plants along the way.

The last hour of the sale was slow so we were able to leave at 9:00 instead of 10:00. By then it had been pouring rain and hailing on and off for a couple of hours. I had to drop Nora at home, which is only two miles from the event center but it hadn’t rained there. I headed home going 80 mph through a tunnel of lightening. It was as if Highway 77 were a neutral zone with thunder and lightening to either side and ahead of me. Each lightening strike (and there were lots) illuminated huge thunderheads. I made it home with just a bit of rain but the skies opened up right after I got in. I don’t know if it was the work or the weather, but as my mother would have said, I was “all keyed up” and had trouble falling asleep. Go figure.

I had no plans for the weekend beyond catching up on my sleep and doing chores. What a luxury! I did not sleep late on Saturday (I rarely sleep past 7:00, even on the weekends) and found myself outside planting the plants I’d bought. I only intended to plant a couple but before I knew it, I was sifting compost, digging a new bed, planting my new plants (along with a few others transplanted from around the yard) and mulching the bed with a couple of bags leftover from last year. Before I was done, all the plants I’d bought were in the ground, which is SO abnormal for me. Usually I over buy, leave the plants in their baby pots all summer and throw them out in the fall when they finally give up and die. I should travel in May more often because that’s what I think is motivating me to get stuff done.

Once the bed was done, so was I. I showered and then sat like a zombie in a chair waiting for bedtime. I slept like a log and woke up Sunday to a dreary, cold day. I spent the day inside, cooking, baking and doing chores. What a nice weekend and only two weeks until I’m UK bound. Yee ha!