Dear Reader:

“In every job that must be done – there is an element of fun!” – Mary Poppins. Can’t you just see Julie Andrews belting out this song as she gets the children to clean up their rooms?

I discovered this same thing while working in the garden yesterday morning…using a little spade that I bought for Eva Cate to use while visiting. I was trying to achieve the effect you see in the title photo…but with little success. Creating a “line of demarcation” (if you will) …an outline of the garden path.

Then Ernie, my next-door-neighbor’s lawn maintenance landscaper started laughing at me across the fence….We have become good buddies ever since he came over one time after doing the other side of the fence and just (on his own initiative) started weed-eating my side.

“That could take a while…if you are trying to make a boundary line to profile the garden path” he said amiably.

“I know,” I said wiping my brow…this little spade works well but it takes a long time to work all the way down the path.”

“I’m almost through” he said…”I’ll be over in a jiffy and I just happen to have an edger…I have a sneaky suspicion it just might work a ‘tad’ better than that children’s toy spade you have there.”

“Stop, sit down, and drink some water....(Ernie is a fireman when he isn’t landscaping.)

So I left the little spade in the ground and plopped down on the deck with a big glass of water…I looked up and silently whispered, “I owe you one God!”

Ernie’s wife was off from work yesterday and had come with him since they were going to be gone this weekend to see their girls play softball…they are on a traveling team. They had several yards to cut and clean but here they were all smiles and laughter helping me.

Both of them came over and Ernie’s wife and I had the most fun talking about fairies…she loved all the fairy hideaways in the garden and decided to run by the tea room, herself, and pick her up a lamp/light like mine to shine on some fairies she has at home.

Ernie praised me for my efforts with the “little spade that could” (kinda)and then  went right behind me with the edger and weed eater…just going to town.

He then mentioned if “we” edged the front sidewalks and driveway it would give the yard a “polished look” that showed neighbors driving by…this was a house someone was proud to call home.

Don’t we learn some of out most important lessons from others?

The nicest thing about having a garden is that you always have fresh flowers. So while Ernie was finishing up edging….I picked some and made these three flower arrangements.

I had an appointment to get a bone density test later in the afternoon and when I walked in I was the only person in the waiting room…I filled out the paperwork and was called back immediately… I was in and out of there in twenty minutes.

It made me feel special…just like the flowers I chose to put in the vases around the house and B&B. If was like I had been chosen to get the VIP treatment.

Before I left for my appointment…

I told Ernie if he had time to weed-eat the sides by the fence I would give him a bonus… he went right to it. I showed him the morning glories growing up on the fence and warned him to be careful weed-eating there so as not to cut down the vines.

But I had no reason for concern…his wife held up all the morning glory vines and told him to leave the grass that was intertwined around some vines…rather than accidentally cut down the flowers. She told me it gave the grass and morning glories a “high-low mohawk hair-do.”

Around 4:30 I had a wonderful surprise…my friend, Roz Van Alstyne and her husband Ed (now living in Illinois/we taught together) were in town and wanted me to meet them at Oscars…also their friend and care-giver for the boys when they were little, Susie, was there and we had such a good time being together.

A lot of their family is coming to SC…and they are spending the week at Isle of Palms.

Linda Carson and Ann Graves came by bringing dessert for a garden party and tour. It was so beautiful last night and the garden put on a show with all the lights coming on. And look at that delicious dessert Linda brought…it was gigantic!

Remember when we decided that a hosta could be a “big ass” hosta…then certainly (we decided) we could eat this scrumptious “big ass” dessert. (We gave it the old college try!)

Isn’t life fun even while working? All it takes is a little camaraderie and lots of laughter!

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for laughter, friends, unexpected surprises, scrumptious food and dessert. Life is so good when we work together.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh