Week 21 - Playing with Connie

I can honestly say I was never happier to leave my office than I was on Tuesday afternoon. Connie had arrived Monday night and was picking me up Tuesday ~2:00 to head to Kansas City. Not only did I have the anticipation of fun but the noise was so horrible that I couldn't stand to be in my office another minute! They were doing the final demolition on the first floor directly below my office and that involved dueling jack hammers punctuated by occasional sledge hammer slams. I couldn't hear myself think and was getting crankier by the minute so was thrilled when 2:00 came on Tuesday and I was out the door. It was going to be a fun week.

Connie was giving the keynote at an IT conference and they'd paid for 2 nights in the hotel so I was going along for some KC fun. With us catching up on the drive down, it went quickly and after checking in at the hotel we headed to her friends' for KC barbeque. I didn't know these people but they were perfectly pleasant and welcoming so it was a lovely time. Since Connie had to be bright eyed and bushy tailed first thing, we left relatively early to hit the hay.

I went down with Connie to the ballroom and grabbed a lovely breakfast at the conference's buffet and ate while Connie presented. She did a great job and with her obligations done, we headed off for the day. We were in the Country Club Plaza area and our first stop was Starbuck's so Connie could get some breakfast. We shopped around there for a bit and then walked to the Nelson Adkins Museum. Aside from the lovely art work, we had a delicious lunch in their courtyard cafeteria, complete with a dessert so pretty that we took a picture of it. Earl Gray Cake. Yum! We finished the museum after lunch then headed towards the hotel. The Kemper Museum was next door to the hotel and we went in but were over arted so didn't stay long. We checked the conference out and found a lovely afternoon snack that we grabbed and then sat in a lounge for a bit to recharge before our evening.

The conference organizers had asked Connie to join them for dinner and said I could go too. We weren't sure if it was conference event or just for a chosen few. It was the latter. We walked with a dozen people to a fun restaurant in the plaza and enjoyed free dinner and drinks. I had the gnocchi because I cannot resist it when I find it on a menu. After walking back, we weren't ready for bed so had a drink in the bar. $30 for 2 drinks – big city prices! When we got back to the room, we checked our steps and had walked more than 8 miles that day. No wonder we were tired! It was a fun day though so worth it all.

We didn’t have a firm plan for Thursday but wanted to hit Penzey’s before heading home via the scenic route to avoid I-29. We had a lovely breakfast courtesy of the conference then checked out and headed to Overland Park. Penzey’s wasn’t open yet so we dinked around the cute downtown area until it opened at 10:00, bought our spices and started north, stopping in St. Joe for Starbuck’s, of course. Our route took us through Auburn, where Connie used to live, so we stopped at a cute store we used to shop at and I scored a few stocking stuffers. By the time we were approaching Lincoln, we were starving, having eaten nothing but car snacks since breakfast. We were sitting at Copal (a locally owned progressive Mexican restaurant) when I mentioned that Anne lived just down the street. OMG! Until I said that I’d completely forgotten that I’d left my car there. I called Anne to invite her to join us but she declined. We had a lovely dinner, picked up my car and were back in Wahoo before dark – tired but satisfied with our KC adventure.

I had taken Friday off but wasn’t joining Connie in Lincoln for lunch with her daughter. She left late morning and I went right outside to start gardening. First up was planting my containers. I had bought some annuals but most of my plants were things I’d wintered over. I sifted compost to mix with the soil from last year’s pots and got busy. I had one snafu when the coconut liner for one of my planters disintegrated when I dumped it. Since I was too dirty to go shopping, I decided to find something I could use instead. I immediately thought of felted wool and grabbed a brown sweater from the basement and cut out a circle. I had to do some adjusting but it worked great and I was pretty proud of my ingenuity. Check it out. Connie was back for supper and a movie and helped me place the new raised bed edges roughly where they’d end up. I was happy with my progress and ready to do more on Saturday.

Connie was up and out first thing, facing all day in the car to get home. After I’d finished my coffee, I got dressed and went outside for phase 1 of the veg beds projects. My plan was to put the first one down but then move the other 3 so they’d be far enough apart for a mower to go between them. This meant I was digging into hard packed soil and also moving the fluffy amended soil into the new bed locations. It was hard work! The new beds were also taller than the old ones so I was scrambling to find more to fill them. The first bed was OK as is (probably because I didn’t move it so the soil was still nice and fluffy) but the others needed more. The 2^nd was OK with just added compost but the 3^rd and 4^th were short. I was able to fill the third with the old soil some extra pots from last year and some compost. I had nothing left for the 4^th so thought of the ancient compost under my cherry tree.

Years ago, I had started throwing yard debris under the cherry tree behind the garage. When I’d had real compost bins put up next to the tree, I started using those but the pile under the tree stayed. Over the years, it had become a dumping ground for old pots, bent tomato cages and the like so was an absolute mess. I got busy Sunday morning cleaning out that whole area and once it was down to bare soil, I dug up the top 6 inches and added that to the last bed. It was gorgeous soil/compost and perfectly filled the last bin. I also edged under the tree so there was a clear line for where John could now mow that entire area. Nice.

With all the beds prepped, my last goal for the day was to actually plant some veggies. There was a storm coming Sunday night that would perfectly water them in so I went out, exhausted, and planted them all. When I went inside to shower and sit for the evening, I felt great. Sore but not too sore and SO satisfied with all I’d gotten done. I am reveling in my abilities and stamina now that my knee is 100%. If the heat holds off a bit, I hope to get even more done in my garden reclamation project. Wish me luck!

I can honestly say I was never happier to leave my office than I was on Tuesday afternoon. Connie had arrived Monday night and was picking me up Tuesday ~2:00 to head to Kansas City. Not only did I have the anticipation of fun but the noise was so horrible that I couldn't stand to be in my office another minute! They were doing the final demolition on the first floor directly below my office and that involved dueling jack hammers punctuated by occasional sledge hammer slams. I couldn't hear myself think and was getting crankier by the minute so was thrilled when 2:00 came on Tuesday and I was out the door. It was going to be a fun week.

Connie was giving the keynote at an IT conference and they'd paid for 2 nights in the hotel so I was going along for some KC fun. With us catching up on the drive down, it went quickly and after checking in at the hotel we headed to her friends' for KC barbeque. I didn't know these people but they were perfectly pleasant and welcoming so it was a lovely time. Since Connie had to be bright eyed and bushy tailed first thing, we left relatively early to hit the hay.

I went down with Connie to the ballroom and grabbed a lovely breakfast at the conference's buffet and ate while Connie presented. She did a great job and with her obligations done, we headed off for the day. We were in the Country Club Plaza area and our first stop was Starbuck's so Connie could get some breakfast. We shopped around there for a bit and then walked to the Nelson Adkins Museum. Aside from the lovely art work, we had a delicious lunch in their courtyard cafeteria, complete with a dessert so pretty that we took a picture of it. Earl Gray Cake. Yum! We finished the museum after lunch then headed towards the hotel. The Kemper Museum was next door to the hotel and we went in but were over arted so didn't stay long. We checked the conference out and found a lovely afternoon snack that we grabbed and then sat in a lounge for a bit to recharge before our evening.

The conference organizers had asked Connie to join them for dinner and said I could go too. We weren't sure if it was conference event or just for a chosen few. It was the latter. We walked with a dozen people to a fun restaurant in the plaza and enjoyed free dinner and drinks. I had the gnocchi because I cannot resist it when I find it on a menu. After walking back, we weren't ready for bed so had a drink in the bar. $30 for 2 drinks – big city prices! When we got back to the room, we checked our steps and had walked more than 8 miles that day. No wonder we were tired! It was a fun day though so worth it all.

We didn’t have a firm plan for Thursday but wanted to hit Penzey’s before heading home via the scenic route to avoid I-29. We had a lovely breakfast courtesy of the conference then checked out and headed to Overland Park. Penzey’s wasn’t open yet so we dinked around the cute downtown area until it opened at 10:00, bought our spices and started north, stopping in St. Joe for Starbuck’s, of course. Our route took us through Auburn, where Connie used to live, so we stopped at a cute store we used to shop at and I scored a few stocking stuffers. By the time we were approaching Lincoln, we were starving, having eaten nothing but car snacks since breakfast. We were sitting at Copal (a locally owned progressive Mexican restaurant) when I mentioned that Anne lived just down the street. OMG! Until I said that I’d completely forgotten that I’d left my car there. I called Anne to invite her to join us but she declined. We had a lovely dinner, picked up my car and were back in Wahoo before dark – tired but satisfied with our KC adventure.

I had taken Friday off but wasn’t joining Connie in Lincoln for lunch with her daughter. She left late morning and I went right outside to start gardening. First up was planting my containers. I had bought some annuals but most of my plants were things I’d wintered over. I sifted compost to mix with the soil from last year’s pots and got busy. I had one snafu when the coconut liner for one of my planters disintegrated when I dumped it. Since I was too dirty to go shopping, I decided to find something I could use instead. I immediately thought of felted wool and grabbed a brown sweater from the basement and cut out a circle. I had to do some adjusting but it worked great and I was pretty proud of my ingenuity. Check it out. Connie was back for supper and a movie and helped me place the new raised bed edges roughly where they’d end up. I was happy with my progress and ready to do more on Saturday.

Connie was up and out first thing, facing all day in the car to get home. After I’d finished my coffee, I got dressed and went outside for phase 1 of the veg beds projects. My plan was to put the first one down but then move the other 3 so they’d be far enough apart for a mower to go between them. This meant I was digging into hard packed soil and also moving the fluffy amended soil into the new bed locations. It was hard work! The new beds were also taller than the old ones so I was scrambling to find more to fill them. The first bed was OK as is (probably because I didn’t move it so the soil was still nice and fluffy) but the others needed more. The 2^nd was OK with just added compost but the 3^rd and 4^th were short. I was able to fill the third with the old soil some extra pots from last year and some compost. I had nothing left for the 4^th so thought of the ancient compost under my cherry tree.

Years ago, I had started throwing yard debris under the cherry tree behind the garage. When I’d had real compost bins put up next to the tree, I started using those but the pile under the tree stayed. Over the years, it had become a dumping ground for old pots, bent tomato cages and the like so was an absolute mess. I got busy Sunday morning cleaning out that whole area and once it was down to bare soil, I dug up the top 6 inches and added that to the last bed. It was gorgeous soil/compost and perfectly filled the last bin. I also edged under the tree so there was a clear line for where John could now mow that entire area. Nice.

With all the beds prepped, my last goal for the day was to actually plant some veggies. There was a storm coming Sunday night that would perfectly water them in so I went out, exhausted, and planted them all. When I went inside to shower and sit for the evening, I felt great. Sore but not too sore and SO satisfied with all I’d gotten done. I am reveling in my abilities and stamina now that my knee is 100%. If the heat holds off a bit, I hope to get even more done in my garden reclamation project. Wish me luck!