Labor Day Weekend – Day One

I woke up on Saturday to the alarm (groan). I had a 9:00 a.m. massage appointment.

Margaret’s new sidewalk looked great! She is upset that the grass has not grown in totally over the old sidewalk path, though. She said she bought good seed and waters it daily.

She bought the planer I wanted (dammit!) She got a lot of free old wood from a demoed house and used it to build an arbor. It’s not up yet as she is still staining the pieces.

Sidebar: She built a table for the Dewalt planner and said that, if I get a ramp for the truck, I can borrow it whenever I want. So, I’m jealous, but not that jealous.

From there, I went to Home Depot and bought more dirt. I saw some bulbs for sale so I bought a bag of Hyacinths.

Next I went to Kroger’s and got everything on my list. I am planning a Labor Day grilling event! Almost everything I bought was on sale (I planned it that way) so, even though I spent a whopping $131.00, I saved $31.00! I was pleased.

BTW, I got a rack of baby back ribs, two thick bone-in pork chops, a T-Bone steak and some brats to grill.

From there I went to Westborn and got some sweet corn, some grape tomatoes (I can never find those “cherry tomatoes” most recipes call for), shredded Parmesan cheese, four Granny Smith apples for work next week and some green onions.

I got home at 11:30 a.m. and started to unload the truck. When I had everything put away, I used the kitchen shears to trim the tassels and the stem off the six ears of corn (they were 12 for $3.00, but now way could I eat 12 ears of corn these days). I put them in my old, cheapo stockpot, put a plate and a bowl on top of them for weight and filled it with water.

Then I drove down Plymouth Road to the old KFC. It’s been turned into a Vietnamese restaurant, and I wanted to try it for lunch.

Sidebar: I told Fred about it on Friday and he went there for lunch (he loves Asian food). But he couldn’t find it.

But when I got there, I saw the sign in the window, “Coming Soon!” So, I guess I was glad Fred didn’t find it, LOL!

Back home, I changed clothes and made a cucumber sandwich for my lunch. I ate that with some Better Made Wavy chips and Kroger French onion chip dip.

Sidebar: I can’t find good French onion chip dip, anywhere. So, I buy what’s on sale.

I ate a piece of apple pie I got from the Kroger deli for dessert. Not the best apple pie I ever ate, but it was okay. I took a break and watched a DIY show.

Then I got to work. Today I wanted to transplant some hostas. I had already picked out the ones I wanted to divide and where I wanted to put them.

So, I got out the wheelbarrow, a leaf rake, the spade and a shovel from the shed. I took it out front and mixed up some of my magic dirt.

I raked the mulch off the first spot. Then I used a razor knife to cut a circle in the landscape fabric. I started to dig and immediately hit roots from the maple I had taken down a couple of years ago. I cut through the smaller ones with the shovel and muscles, but there was a big, two-inch one I couldn’t cut through.

So, I grabbed the bow-saw and got it cut out!

I put all the dirt I dug out on an old shower curtain and distributed it on the vacant lot next door.

I filled in most of the hole I dug with dirt and dumped two gallons of water in it. Then I cut out half of a big hostas up front. I filled in the hole that left with my dirt and raked the mulch over it.  Then I planted the hostas clump in the new hole and filled it in with my magic dirt. I raked the mulch back over that and watered it again.

I repeated that two times more. I got the green ones tipped in white from out back and the blue-green one from the garden up front (under the dying maple with the bird house – I am totally tearing that garden out).

Sidebar: You can’t really tell from the photos, but the blue-green one is really unique. I’m not sure where I got it, but I think it was from Lori Purtill.

I noticed in my many trips to and fro that the gnomes that climb a rope were laying on the ground! I'm guessing the old rope rotted out.

Gnomes Down!!!

I forgot to mention this: it was warm but there was a nice breeze. So, it wasn’t uncomfortable working outside. I also used a trick I learned from my neighbors across the road. I ran the windows down in the truck, turned on WDET and listened to music while I worked.

Sidebar: Sorry Carla, but your boom box that I enjoyed for years in the garage bit the dust!

I came in around 6:30 p.m. I was frankly surprised it took that long. I had another whole set of sh*t I wanted to get done today!

I warmed up the last of the cabbage and sausage for my dinner. Then I had another slice of apple pie (this time with a chunk of sharp cheddar cheese – my favorite way to eat apple pie). That proved to be a mistake.  The heat from the Rotel seemed to battle with the sweetness of the apple pie and my stomach was upset for the rest of the night.

Before I went to bed, I took the baby back ribs and peeled off the membrane from behind the bones.

Sidebar: I have used many techniques for this operation. My fingers (too slippery), a pair of pliers (doable, but then you have meat gunk on your pliers) but today I tried it with latex gloves – perfect! Gave me just enough grip!!!

I already had some Famous Dave’s Rib Rub, so I rubbed that all over my meat. (No comment) I covered it with cling wrap and stuck it in the fridge to marinade overnight.

Then I went to bed, watching Rocky (there’s a marathon this weekend). I fell asleep before it ended, but I already knew how it turned out…