Gift of RA

One thing I didn’t inherit from Mom was her green thumb; I have to improvise for a garden now.  I also don’t want to have to weed and have a lot of maintenance, so I have been looking around to see what I can do that can be low maintenance while being a bit different.  I have had the three beds rather bare for quite a long time and I am beginning to see  what will work.  I bought some flower seed strips (when will they finally arrive?) and I will use those for my color and then decide how I want to place them.  I’ve been looking at tiles and things as design elements that will mix with the flowers while being able to take them up when I actually have a true garden design with Nancy.  That’s a long way off, so this will have to do until then.

I decided I want a stream bed with rocks in the bed by the garage, plus use the pieces of tree as a design instead of lining the outside of the bed.  I have another idea for the design of the wood circles for the back porch bed, I can do that by using the rake to move them from the border – bending over is not easy on the back.  I have the foot path in the dogwood tree bed (cat garden) that works well there.  I am going to put in a little pond, but not with water, with tile type pieces.  Lots of plans but not a lot of execution yet.

However, last Sunday I went to a cake tasting in the morning and on my way home stopped to buy three bags of river rocks.  Each are 40 pounds and cost $3.99 – not bad since most other places charge a lot more.  Unfortunately I came home just before Eddie did and he decided the bags had to be on the ground.  Not my plan at all.  I had moved some of the heavier rocks from the back porch bed because I wanted something to that would keep the rocks from rolling on to the new drive – plus the downspout keeps sending water into the garage.  I wanted to fix that and this was a great idea.

Also have the right date on my photo.

They may not look like very big rocks, but those puppies were heavy.  Wow, I was winded very quickly.  I may buy some smaller rocks to put between the drive and the bigger rocks to give it a more finished look.  I saw some tiles that were made up of rocks and maybe that would be better because they would be less likely to slide.

This is my log slice design and I liked the idea of having the stream go through it.  I have mostly used the bags of rocks to do the stream, but I haven’t quite decided how wide it will be.

As you see, I put a brick under the downspout to keep the water from messing up the bark and sending it on to the drive and into the garage.  (The thumb isn’t visible as you actually see the rocks)  I need to see what happens when it rains to know if my idea works.  The three bags I bought took me up to the design – man was I tired.  I was wondering about how my body would be, even though I released the belief of payback pain.  I took Aleve and actually did quite well the next day.  I also saw my chiropractor and she helped with adjustments.  I also made an appointment to see her Wednesday morning as well.  Tuesday (the 2nd day) I woke up around 3 or so and felt still around the edges.  It wasn’t any place specific, but a little Aleve and some rest and I was doing okay.

This was far as  I went on Sunday.  I spent Monday afternoon having a nap.

During the week I kept think about my stream and I wanted to buy two more bags – that’s my limit at the moment – to be able to lay out the rest of the stream.  Wednesday didn’t turn out to be good and I spent Thursday morning at my rheumatologist and then my infusion, so I rested in the afternoon.  By Friday I was itching to get back to the stream, but first I went to visit mom.  The last 3 or 4 times she has been more alert when I saw her.  She always enjoys the cookies and chocolate and says she likes me reading to her.  I find myself getting caught up in the story myself.  She also enjoys a back rub, so I do some when I am there.  I notice that suddenly there is a change, but I haven’t noticed it although it has been gradually happening.  She is a little less easy to understand, yet she carries on a conversation as if I know exactly what she is saying.

After I left her Friday, I stopped to buy two more bags of rocks and headed home.  This time I did it the way I planned it last Sunday, I left the bags in the truck, took a small plastic carton and my pail, then my wheelie walker to the back of the car.  I could sit down and put rocks into the pail, then spread them from the pail.  It was a lot easier on my back than bending down to the bag on the sidewalk.

The rest of the stream was laid out, which gave me an idea.  I will put some bit larger rocks at the end of this side and themI may have to move it a little closer to the garage to get the effect I have in mind.

And now I have the design of my stream.

It’s now Sunday and the 2nd day after my “gardening”.  So far I was a little stiff in my neck and upper back, but I am doing quite well.  It is also chiropractor morning tomorrow and that is an excellent thing.  Next thing to do is  make the log design in the other bed and see what inspires me for that one.  I have a couple of easy ideas and I am interested to see how they work out – will it be as easy as I picture it?

Tags: back pain, back porch bed, cat garden, chiropractor, garage bed, garden, logs, payback pain, rocks, stream

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