Welcome to Interesting Times

(Ta-da!)

I have a sign on my front porch that says "Welcome to Interesting Times" which is kind of a personal joke because I always used to say I wanted to live in a house called Interesting Times. This is because there is a curse that says "May you live in interesting times" on the basis that interesting is often filled with upheaval. Well, here we are and now we do and so it is. The university I worked for is effectively closed, only teaching online from this past Thursday through (now) the 27th of March, with the possibility of extending from there. The current heavy betting is that they will, and despite teaching at least one course that is very hands-on in nature, and having people signed up to create costumes for a show, I am having to find ways to do this virtually.

On the bright side there is a fair amount of telecommuting going on, and, while we are being encouraged to continue going to work, everyone keeps their own schedule. It also means many more opportunities for getting projects done around the house, which in the recent gorgeous weather has been a surprising treat. See the completed path.

After gathering all of the appropriate stones from various parts of the property, I laid them all out like a giant jigsaw puzzle from the deck to the greenhouse. Initially I had just come across a few under the deck and thought they'd be nice in front of the door, but the area of the yard in this little almost courtyard space is rather damp. The soil on the property is chiefly red clay, not great for drainage, so I have a ton of moss and not much happy grass. The stone path certainly is fun, but much more practically it will keep me from walking around and churning up mud. I lived with the layout for more than a few days, moving and reconsidering things, before deciding it was right enough. The slight curve is more than just aesthetic too, as the door to the greenhouse is not a straight shot from the deck steps; but then a curving line is generally more pleasing to the eye anyhow. I did a ton of research on putting in paths and on stone stepping paths specifically and discovered that I would need a) sand b) better soil and c) potentially some nice spreading plants if I wanted something growing between the stones. At this point the local hardware store/garden center has become used to seeing me almost daily.

On a brisk but clear weekend day, before we were all quarantined, I put on some rousing Irish tunes, stripped down to a cami and exercise leggings and wellies, and got stuck in. I first used a sharp edging spade to cut several inches into the soil on either side to create an outline for the path. I could have marked it out with spray paint, but I didn't want to paint the stones and I'd have to do the cutting step anyhow to dig out the clay. I spent most of the day digging out section by section of soil and sod, which I carried by the bucket-load down to the low end of the garden. There's a space that slopes down considerably towards the treeline where a run-off creek forms when we have significant rainfall. I've designated this space as my dumping zone for earthworks. It was great exercise forcing the spade into the ground, then sliding under the sod, lifting up great chunks, flinging them into a rubber tub, and hauling it across the yard. I gave myself pizza for dinner that night. I earned it.

(She had to inspect the plants)

Before the pizza though was filling in the now empty space with a mix of 2/3 garden topsoil and 1/3 sand. This provided the right kind of soil and good drainage for the plants I intended to put between the stones, and would be loose enough to spread easily under and around the stones. There was a lot of shifting, shoveling, leveling, and smoothing things into place, stone by stone. It'll never be 100% level, but it doesn't need to be. It took a few days of visiting the nursery for advice, reading up online, and shopping around to find the right plants for the job. The nursery suggested Pennyroyal, which sounded perfect- until I read about how toxic it is, to dogs included; and mine will eat anything and everything (even dirt as the shoveling day revealed). In the end I picked up some Creeping Thyme from the garden center at about $4 per pot. I cut myself off at eight for financial reasons, plus it'll spread, that's what it does. The great thing about the plant is that, not only is it safe for the dog, but it smells like lemon when you bruise it. Say, when you walk on it. I dug these into the soil around the stones after placing them where I thought they'd be appropriately spread out to grow into the crevices, watered them in well, and voila!

After this it was time for another delicious treat, but this one I made myself. Steamed asparagus baked in egg, sprinkled with ham, tomatoe, black pepper, cheese, and diced shallots. A squeeze of lemon before eating was the perfect touch and it was magnifique! I'll be making this again.

Here's to hoping everyone stays safe, healthy, and that the current closure and cancellation of so many things has the smallest negative impact possible. My colleagues in the field of theatre, from venues to tours, are already feeling the pinch as gigs are canceled, overtime is cut, and tickets have to be refunded. This will hurt the entertainment and audience services industry for a long time to come.