While rummaging around in the woods behind one of our property's outbuildings, I discovered an authentically rustic ladder surrounded by discarded hanging basket flower pots... instant inspiration (or perhaps a back log of mentally stored Pinterest images) hit, and I knew that my summer angst over watering those beautiful baskets of the past would not be repeated again this year! I dragged the ladder out from the bushes, piled the plastic pots into my wheelbarrow and the kids and I went in to call their dad and ask him to bring home flat of flowers.
Well, almost a week of waiting went by and still no flowers arrived, so on my way out to work at Michael's I inquired what the flower budget ought to be. Three hanging baskets per year at roughly $20 a piece computed to a $60 allowance... hmfp! I can honestly only recall feeling compelled to purchase flowers that need to be planted at one other time in my life, so I had no idea if this was a good, reasonable budget or not, but a trip to Home Depot would surely get me some knowledge on the subject. Except, I never made it the Home Depot.
See, I work with incredibly creative people over there at the Uptown Michael's in Gig Harbor, and when you are walking around putting things away, or assisting customers, you can't hardly help but peruse the items in other departments! So after the fourth or fifth trip past the floral department and chatting with customers about how we are now offering floral arrangement classes, it suddenly dawned on me that I'd be able to get a lot more bang for my buck if the bang didn't have to be biodegradable material!
 |
| Pinterest Worthy Projects! |
Yep, we've had a couple weeks now of out of town visitors staying in the travel trailer we keep for guests, and for the fifth spring since I've lived here I've found myself remembering the bonfire nights of my youth; how fun it is to just throw a couple logs on the fire, drink a few beers and relax in front of "Flame-TV." This activity doesn't have to be reserved for the weekend solo cuppers, either! Some of the best stories are shared around those spur of the moment, I've-got-a-lot-more-paper-garbage-here-to-burn-up-might-as-well-throw-on-these-branches-I-cut-the-otherday fires!
 |
| Who says Trailers are Trashy?!? |
While my family toured the surrounding area, I pretended to dig a fire pit. Wait a minute, what I meant was, I pretended I was on Survivor, making a fire pit. Or just a pit. Well, I was digging! Hmmm, is that a flag/bag of puzzle pieces/ immunity idol? No, just another rock! Lol, each time I took a break from the blazing afternoon sun, I realized how poorly I'd really do on a show like that :-) I had the enthusiasm, but not a lot else haha. But I couldn't wait for everyone to get back so I could show off what my efforts had created.
I had a lot of solitary time out there, not having the forethought (or during thought or even considering) that I could have had some tunes blasting. Instead, I reflected on some of my favorite fire pits, some that I've seen built and some just seen burning. Thought about camping trips and either being cuddled as a kid or cuddling my own kids while entranced by the flickering orange and reds. How waiting for the coals to die down for s'mores always seemed to take until after bed time...
And, I thought a lot about my friend Jon and all the pallets we must have burned, hanging out with our buddies and drinking a whole lot of Busch Light. It seemed like every weekend he'd have a lot of his friends over, or somehow or another a crowd would appear around late afternoon and who knew when the night would end once the big propane torch came out. I remembered the long, early morning talks held on the front steps of the single wide trailer he lived during the time that we were really close.
Unfortunately, I'm not able to call him up on the phone to let him know I've got a pit to break in; while enough time has passed that our soured friendship could be overlooked in favor of a rager, Jon lost his life in a car accident almost ten years ago.
I'll have to be content with the pleasure I had building this addition to my little side yard trailer park. I look forward to all of those things I reminisced about becoming memories of my own daughters'. Ended up making the front yard a little prettier for our family that comes all the way out to the Key Peninsula to visit us. Spent time with a friend I haven't seen in a long time, even if it was only spiritual. And he won't even make fun of the fact that my little hand dug fire pit is slightly heart shaped in his honor.
Thanks for all the awesome memories, dude. And thanks for allowing me to share a few of them with you, dear reader.
No comments:
Post a Comment