Three very tired and sore women

Laura and Annie came in from central PA yesterday to help weed the gardens before the Longwood Garrdens crew comes in 2 weeks. We worked for about 6 hours, with a half-hour lunch break.

This morning I can barely bend over, my butt hurts, and doing the steps is a chore. I suspect Laura and Annie feel the same way because none of us had been gardening yet this spring, and 6 hours is a very long time for bending over. My additional problem is the neuropathy in my feet. I hadn't stood for that long, and now the balls of my feet are back to dead. Hopefully temporary, but I was certainly walking gingerly so as not to stumble.

We even got the herb bed cleaned out. Except for thyme, chives, and sage, I could not remember what was what (I didn't garden in that bed all last year) or what was periennial. So if it was unknown, it went. That bed also holds strawberries, lillies, and asiatic lillies that seem to be doing well. Could not find the California Poppy. Must not have survived. The broom bush I put in there last year is doing gloriously!!

Hostas coming up everywhere. Got the hydrangia, Ms. Kim Lilac, spirea, and red twig dogwood shrubs all trimmed up. Didn't get to the boxwood, and they are putting on growth like crazy. Last year's clematic came down. The astilbe and bleeding hearts are coming along, and the mums are coming up through the daffodils. The forsythia are blooming.

It was a beautiful day for it. Blue skies, fairly warm, and the earth in the gardens was moist but not soggy.

Thank you Laura and Annie for all your help.

We did not get to the garage.

Annie brought along dinner. A stuffed turkey breast, potatoes to bake (white and sweet), whole cranberry sauce, and 3 bunches of asparagus. We passed on the hollandaise sauce because of the sodium. And there were brownies, and salted (not for Jim) nuts, and oranges.

The stuffed turkey breasts are made by a specialty butcher in a farmer's market near where Annie lives. She ordered one with bread stuffing with cranberries. What we found when I sliced it open was sausage and red peppers. UGH. We all ate around the stuffing. Annie's going to talk to the folks at the market about the screwup; I hope she can get her money back.

So today is tax work day. There is no way I will be able to get them done, but I need to get enough done to file extensions.

Tomorrow, I have a counseling session and Janet and Kathy are coming in to do spring cleaning. They think it might take 2 days. I am starting to wash all the throw rugs today. That will likely be about 5 loads.

So off to the taxes. UGH!!