a rainy day for reading

Today is a Fall day, pouring rain.... dark.... and dreary... a good day to stay inside and putter or read. But my body is too tired to actually do any work today, so I guess it's a reading day since my reading material has been piling up for months now to the point that it's getting out of hand. I've tried to toss catalogs as they've come in but have a new stack of them as well to browse through, attach post-it-notes to "must have's," and then toss knowing I'll never buy it. I've also bought a couple books that are sitting on the coffee table waiting for a day just like today.

I tend to buy too many magazines.... but always with the good intention of actually reading them. But it seems as far as I get is thumbing through them, looking at pictures, tearing out favorite pictures, and then recycling. And because I have some favorite magazines..... like Mary Englebreit, Cottage Living, Sunset, and a few others, I decided to subscribe to them this year for a cheaper habit. But as it turns out, the magazines show up in the stores earlier than I get them in the mail.... and.... yes, I BUY THEM!!! Knowing full well that my copy most likely WILL arrive in the mail shortly thereafter.... and now two of the same magazine sit on my coffee table....

I found a new magazine at the store last week--Flea Market Style. I've not actually thumbed through it yet, but I loved the cover and it looks promising!

Another one of my favorite magazines is Paula Deen. Don't you just love her? I usually try many of the recipes in each magazine and haven't been disappointed yet. They're simple and easy. Everyday cooking. I'm hoping to have a Garden Party some time this summer.... when the garden is in bloom.... all my projects are done.... when the sun is shining..... and all the stars in alignment! I might be asking for a little much to have all at the same time, but we'll see. But we've done so much in our yard the last couple years and I'm just dying to show it off. Most people don't go to this extent with their landscaping here in Juneau and I do love sharing my love for gardening with others who only wished they could. I've already got my menu picked out--right out of Paula Deen's magazine--so we're part way there.

Since I started working for Landscape Alaska, my love for gardening books has kicked back in full gear.... Here's some of the new gardening books I've bought recently. I'd love to have a secret room like the setting shown on the cover of Weekend Homes.... but it won't happen in Juneau. We simply don't have the climate or environment for it to be feasible.... Darn....

This is why I'm doing nothing today.... we finished hauling gravel and spreading the walkway yesterday and this is how big the gravel pile still is.... You don't know how badly I want this pile gone! I even woke up this morning and looked out the window in the hopes that someone came during the night and hauled it all off!!!! I'm not certain where I'm going to put the rest of this.... I'm hoping the kids need some.... or the neighbor.... I'm just thankful to get as much done as we did. I can't take all the credit though. Bucky, my son, and his fiancee Michelle stopped by and in about an hour's time hauled and spread more gravel than I would have been able to in three hours time.... I am so grateful for them. It felt like the Calvary had come in to save me! And all I wanted to do was cry, I was so thankful and so tired.... I don't know why I do this.... start such big projects that I know are over my head and more than my body can handle.... guess I'm just not ready to concede.... that I'm not so young anymore.... Too, any woman who loves to garden knows how strong the desire (?), need (?), and/or will (?) is to continue making little rooms, beautiful settings, and an enjoyable place to just escape and think how lucky and blessed you are to be able to still do this type of hard work. I am truly blessed and simply am not ready to give up!