a busy bee...........
Here I sit at the cusp of Sunday night and reflect the weekend that sped by. It is a time to cross off the chores from the honey-do list, as well as contemplate the accomplishments. The list was very long this time, but somehow still manageable enough to draw a black line through everything, and close the file on the first weekend of June as "mission accomplished"!
For a year I've promised my neighbor that I would stain her deck, but had to keep putting it off due to the demands of my business, that always has to come first. Feeling very guilty that I had let a few weekends slip by that I could have finished this job, I finally marked the calendar as "Meg- day", and pulled all my tools together so that there was no backing out.... mostly due to laziness and a want of curling up in front of a good movie on TV. I ventured over to her house on Saturday, went to work scrubbing her deck from the icky green that had grown in the shady spots, and allowed it to dry enough so that the new stain had a chance of setting properly. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and I was able to get a nice sunburn on my shoulders and face. Thank goodness hubby isn't afraid of heights, as he had ladder patrol ( her deck is pretty high up), and it cut the time in half for me. Talking about it later, we both agreed that we did feel better for doing something for somebody else, because it made her so happy. That in turn made us feel great. We also went back today and power-washed the front of her house and garage doors, making her house look brand new. She was thrilled and wanted to pay us, but I turned her down flat. She has always been a great neighbor, and always available in any emergencies... how could I possibly take money from her? I am happy knowing that she is pleased with everything.
Doing good deeds in turn brings great tidings, the Karma Gods take great notice of that and reward well. Not wanting to make dinner, we decided to make a run to the local Firehouse Subs, with a little stop at Lowes on the way. I was able to find some abandoned impatiens in the back of the nursery for 50 cents a 6-pack, and rescued them for my gardens. With plenty of water (as they are thirsty buggers for sure) I can bring them right back to life, and the gardens will be full of color in just a few short weeks. I should know better than to walk into any nursery as I want to rescue everything.... but my yard is only so big, and I tend to forget that when lost amongst the rows of flowers and bushes. I'm like Ulysses to the sirens songs when there....so very difficult to resist the lyrical pull......
Still having enough time in the weekend, I was able to plant everything, go grocery shopping, clean my house from top to bottom, laundry, and catch up catering write-ups I've put to the side. Now all I have left to do is catch up in blog-world..... but I'll need more hours for that. In the meantime, I need a good hot shower, some necessary zzzzz's, time to think of responses to the blogs I've read, and a cup of hot tea. I think I'll save that all for Monday. Right now, I need to be the little bee in the picture above........
I hope everyone had as wonderful weekend as I did!
posted by Ellen at 10:20 PM
20 Comments:
Awwwwwwwwww...such a cute pic, love it and yes I had a great and productive weekend. I was able to do some work on my writing so that's always a plus. Glad I stopped by. Later.
Sounds like you did a lot this weekend, much more than I did. I spend the weekend catching up on my sleep and doing little things that needed to be done since I got back from my trip. When you leave town for a month, you wouldn't believe the stuff that just piles up for you to do. :)
Hope your week goes as well as your weekend did. :)
Nice Blog Ellen;
By the way, what did you do in your free time? I must agree with you on good Karma. It always comes around with good offerings when you least expect it. Now if I can only get you up here to tend to the little rose bush I planted for Mom. I will admit, I am not very good in that department. Even the Blue Spruce I planted in fresh topsoil is dying off. How do you kill and Evergreen? Maybe I was meant to be on the water.
Anyway I am glad to see you did something for someone out of the kindness of your heart. But then again, that is who you are.
Have a nice day.
Love Karl
You sound alot like me sometimes. I love doing good things for people. It makes me feel so wonderful!! I'm sure that your neighbor was more grateful than you know.
I'm glad you accomplished everything on your list!!!
Thats a cute little bee and you are definitely as busy as one! My weekend wasn't as great as yours but it was better than working!!! :)
You're a great neighbor. This makes me want to drive my neighbors out, so I could entice you down here. How are you with cleaning gutters?
dela~
Anne Geddes has the most wonderful pictures of babies... I never tire of seeing them.
I popped over to your blog to read, but had problems with commenting (blogger was having it's little issues)... and saw that you did a wonderful piece on Haitian art. I love the choices you had picked! You did have a productive weekend!
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wes~
Coming back from vacation almost makes you want a few more days off to deal with the stuff that you left behind, doesn't it? All that mail to go through, voice messages, and generally opening up the rooms to fresh air again...
It is amazing how much gets piled up when you take a "few days" off!
Hope your week goes well too! I stopped by your blog, left a message that blogger ate...???? I'll try again!
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karl~
Spare time, you ask? What's that? Only kidding of course. In my spare time, I'm in front of the computer. I did take some time Sunday afternoon to enjoy the good weather without sticking the air on. We had a small cold front come through (which we needed) and it was breezy and comfortable while I sipped ice tea on the "veranda".
Ah, the rose bush.... finicky little buggers they are! They demand lots of water, sun, attention, rose food, and TLC. I'll try to get some info out to you.... and already know what you need for a Christmas present!
Did you ever get that book I mailed last week?
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jen~
My knees ached by the end of Sunday night, but it was a good ache just knowing I made someone else happy. She can now cross a few things off her list, and it didn't cost her a cent, which was my goal for her. Since she is an elderly person, I hated the fact that she would have had to pay to have these jobs done for her, and I felt I needed to do something for all the wonderful things she's done for me.
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barbara~
I loved the little baby bee picture when I first saw it myself... what a cutie!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and actually had a chance to enjoy your beautiful backyard!
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saur~
Cleaning gutters, huh? Well, I finally bought those screens that snap on over the tops of the gutters so that all you have to do is sweep them off. The gutters stay clean, even if the top of them piles with leaves. Then I get hubby to climb the ladder with the broom. He sweeps them off and I clean the ground where everything fell. We do work well as a team!
One of these days, I will make it down to Tampa... and I will let you know when. We still need to go out for margaritas, remember?
Sounds like a busy and productive weekend. That is very satisfying for sure.
Have a great week Ellen.
Thank you for that incredible comment you left me!!!!
Ellen;
Thank you for your comments. first off , how cold I not mention nd thank you at the same time for the book. It arrived last Thurs and it was great reading. As in any journalistic portrayal of a public figure, Christopher Anderson managed to identify the side of the "Diva' we all refuse to look at and he set her center stage in full costume. I enjoyed seeing her as what we should all see her as. Of course I have my own issues with her counterpart/business partner/spouse...but that is a conversation for another day. (Jeez...and I was a Democrat from Massachusetts? Another alcohol related accident.)
In any event, keep up the good work.
Love Karl
You have found some absolutely adorable baby pics lately!
Soundz like a great helping hand you lent to a good cause.
May karma kiss you with blessings!
Ellen - You know it's funny that you posted a bee picture. I have one of them stuck in between my bedroom windows. I'm not opening the window from my side and getting stung! There is an opening that the little bugger got in from that he should be able to get back out from; I hope.
At any rate, good for you for helping out your neighbor. Usually lunch cover that sort of thing. You're just too good to people. :)
Peace & Hugs,
- Neo
lee ann~
I hope your week goes well also, sweetie! Aren't they going by so fast lately? June is already here... what happened to May?
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barbara~
You're welcome... and I hope it helps!
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karl~
Glad to hear you got the book! Very interesting to say the least, and just another reason why I'd never vote for Hillary if she ever ran. She is dangerous due to her poor habit of "open-mouth-insert-footitis". Let's hope the Democrats can put somebody up there worth voting for this next time around.
By the way... I saw a grassroots campaign on the internet for nominating Al Gore again. Since he has been vocal about global warming, he's become a man people are listening to once more. I'd still vote for him, and thought we were robbed in 2000. I don't see too many others on the platform I can agree with right now.
Hmmmm..... I'll have to get my thoughts and research together for a post about that!
Don't feel too bad about being a DEM from Massachusetts. We're three DEMS from GA here, and a minority for sure in such a Republican state.
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snaggle~
Karma kisses..... I love it! May they rain down upon you as well, because you are so deserving.
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neo~
Yikes! Bees can get really mad and attack with a vengence. I've had it happen to me several times, and have learned not to mess with them as much as possible. It's best that you don't open the window till it's safely out on it's own.
As for helping my neighbor... it was time for me to do something for her, as she (and her husband when he was alive) have always been great neighbors. He used to plant me a tomato garden in my yard every year (even though I am not partial to tomatoes... but hubby is),as well as look after my cat and gardens whenever I went on vacation. Many times Chris was stranded at school and I couldn't get there to pick him up, but Meg would come to the rescue and pick him up for me. Besides, she also lets him park his vehicle in her driveway, as mine is much too small. I just can't do enough things for her at this point.
xo~
TAG!
I love doing stuff for other people too! It's just really rewarding. And yeah, teh Karma is good too ;)
You guys should have rented one of those snazzy water pressure things that are advertised on TV. They clean decks and fences without having to scrub at all. If they do what the commercials say they do anyways ;)
Hope the deck looks fabulous! :)
sounds like you had a nice and busy weekend. catching up in the blog world...hmmm, something I've been thinking about...until I had a harrasser...now maybe I'll come back for a bit.
Well, and I thought I had a "busy" weekend. Perhaps just in a different way. I couldn't agree more about how helping someone else makes one feel. The reward for me is just knowing that I gave of myself, anything else from the karmic powers that be is gravy. Thanks for the positive perspective, for all that occured in my weekend was not in my post, nor was it all good. It's nice to be reminded of the big picture.
~Mike
lee ann~
Ok...my tag took me long enough, but I finally got it done in a post!
Thanks for saving my brain the power to think of something meaningful to say today!
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K.~
As a matter of fact we do have a pressure-washer, but I was too afraid to use it on her deck. It had never been stained before, and they have a way of ripping up the wood. I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed by hand using a scrubby pad. It took a little longer, but the effect was amazing, and the grain of the wood came out without splintering the deck. We did use the pressure-washer against the house as she has aluminum siding, and that's the only way you can do the job right. And yes, they do work well!
You should see how fast the mold melts off!
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citysoul~
I saw your harrasser, and am glad you deleted her. So bold for her to say the things she said! I'm glad you're back.... I've been checking everyday, and left a comment over at your blog today.
Hope you are doing well.... and can't wait to hear more details!
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mike~
Even catching up on ones life can take a weekend to do.... and you did a lot of that by connecting with family and friends. That in itself can be very time consuming, and very rewarding to people who haven't heard from you in awhile.
I still think your neighbors are very lucky to have you in their midst. You have taken on a personal interest to ensure their safety... and that's being a great neighbor! You already have embraced the big picture by signing up for neighborhood watch.
We should all be so lucky to have someone as yourself in our neighborhoods!
Ellen - Well.... Mr. Bee bought the farm. Found he did make it out to the ledge only to die there.
Neo shakes his head
It wasn't worth getting Cody stung to get it out from the inside.
That's great that you have a neighbor like that. My mom has people on her block that are just like that.
Peace & Hugs,
- Neo
neo~
So Mr. Bee bought the farm, eh? Well, I guess that takes care of the problem with no one being hurt except the bee. Oh well, such is life.
My son used to tell me that I needed to physically escort bugs outside and not kill them. I'm not much of a bug-liker to begin with, but parents do silly things in order not to upset their children, so it's a practice I still do to this day. Unless the bug poses a threat.... then it's every-being for himself!
Give Cody a big hug and kiss for me!
xo~
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