So many things going on .... updates
Apr. 12th, 2006 06:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
primsongThe past couple weeks have been such a whirl - thought I'd drop a couple updates here if only for myself...
The little garden in Beaverton is beautiful once again, though it could use more color in the spring so we're going to have a bulb-planting party in the fall. The lambs-ear, grass and clover was especially invasive this time, and I think all of us (we had 15 turn up) were sick to death of yanking and digging it out by the end of the day. The weeding took longer, so it was almost dark before we were done with the planting and flinging humus over it all. The humus people said if they get 15 people over the next year who mention finding out about them from One Small Garden's site, they'll give us the next load free - right now that seems like an awful lot of people, but who knows... support is support. Thanks to three people who gave moderate monetary donations this is the first year we came out of it without debt - they covered the $280 we needed for the plants and mulch!
My house survived having so many people staying there (felt like a bed and breakfast!)
One huge downpour hit us - thank goodness for the new canopy on the deck, my old one had a hole in it - and the mad scramble to save cameras (or in my case, to grab the precious brownies pan and mop the rain out of it with napkins lest our chocolate be lost) was fun - the weather mostly behaved itself otherwise.
We planted alyssum, irises, pansies, sweetpeas, lavender, columbine, sunflowers and any number of other plants I no longer recall the names of, trimmed the butterfly bushes and large lavenders and worked on the stepping-stone path.
My older stone has "Ship my ship, I seek the West, and Fields and Mountains ever blest." on it - the new one this time has "I feel as if I was inside a Song, if you take my meaning." Sean sent us his regards and said his shooting schedule would not allow him to visit now, but that he still wanted to come back and work in the dirt with us one spring.
The soap-opera of our school is hopefully near to being over with, how we hope. The former leadership we had to dismiss for "unstated reasons" wentwhining off to try to start up their own school on exactly the same pattern (even the same uniforms) at the other end of town.
They had an emotive rally for the parents of our school and said lots of fluffy, pleasing, non-informative things (like always) with lots of reassurances that they were sure the unspecified 'business community' would step up and provide them with the money they would need to start up - and a portion of the parents swallowed the honey-bait happily signing up. *rolls eyes* All I can do is remind myself that this is a *good* thing, that we are in fact getting our school cleaned of all the families who were doing the gossiping and undermining in their misguided loyalty to those persons and I honestly do wish them well in their endeavor, for the sake of the children who won't know what is going on. Be careful where you place your trust...
Wish the grapevine didn't work so well - I can't say how many people we've had to correct on the lie that *our* school is "closing next year because all the staff and parents are leaving" Sheesh! Yes, the 'old guard' are taking as many of the staff with them as they can, but it is old sowing of division that is only now bearing fruit... We are the better and cleaner for it.
I am filling in and helping anywhere I can - lots of extra hours being jill-of-all-trades. Thankfully there is still a couple months of school left, so people can think on their decisions.
I am still thinking of and praying for dear Loth, and halavana too. Do send something if you can - let's fill her room with flowers and cards!
The little garden in Beaverton is beautiful once again, though it could use more color in the spring so we're going to have a bulb-planting party in the fall. The lambs-ear, grass and clover was especially invasive this time, and I think all of us (we had 15 turn up) were sick to death of yanking and digging it out by the end of the day. The weeding took longer, so it was almost dark before we were done with the planting and flinging humus over it all. The humus people said if they get 15 people over the next year who mention finding out about them from One Small Garden's site, they'll give us the next load free - right now that seems like an awful lot of people, but who knows... support is support. Thanks to three people who gave moderate monetary donations this is the first year we came out of it without debt - they covered the $280 we needed for the plants and mulch!
My house survived having so many people staying there (felt like a bed and breakfast!)
One huge downpour hit us - thank goodness for the new canopy on the deck, my old one had a hole in it - and the mad scramble to save cameras (or in my case, to grab the precious brownies pan and mop the rain out of it with napkins lest our chocolate be lost) was fun - the weather mostly behaved itself otherwise.
We planted alyssum, irises, pansies, sweetpeas, lavender, columbine, sunflowers and any number of other plants I no longer recall the names of, trimmed the butterfly bushes and large lavenders and worked on the stepping-stone path.
My older stone has "Ship my ship, I seek the West, and Fields and Mountains ever blest." on it - the new one this time has "I feel as if I was inside a Song, if you take my meaning." Sean sent us his regards and said his shooting schedule would not allow him to visit now, but that he still wanted to come back and work in the dirt with us one spring.
The soap-opera of our school is hopefully near to being over with, how we hope. The former leadership we had to dismiss for "unstated reasons" went
They had an emotive rally for the parents of our school and said lots of fluffy, pleasing, non-informative things (like always) with lots of reassurances that they were sure the unspecified 'business community' would step up and provide them with the money they would need to start up - and a portion of the parents swallowed the honey-bait happily signing up. *rolls eyes* All I can do is remind myself that this is a *good* thing, that we are in fact getting our school cleaned of all the families who were doing the gossiping and undermining in their misguided loyalty to those persons and I honestly do wish them well in their endeavor, for the sake of the children who won't know what is going on. Be careful where you place your trust...
Wish the grapevine didn't work so well - I can't say how many people we've had to correct on the lie that *our* school is "closing next year because all the staff and parents are leaving" Sheesh! Yes, the 'old guard' are taking as many of the staff with them as they can, but it is old sowing of division that is only now bearing fruit... We are the better and cleaner for it.
I am filling in and helping anywhere I can - lots of extra hours being jill-of-all-trades. Thankfully there is still a couple months of school left, so people can think on their decisions.
I am still thinking of and praying for dear Loth, and halavana too. Do send something if you can - let's fill her room with flowers and cards!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 06:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 01:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 07:27 am (UTC)I was wondering if you got a drenching at the garden last weekend! I am glad it wasn't too wet most of the day. I am happy things went well and you had a good sized team of volunteers and some generous donations to get the job done!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 01:41 pm (UTC)And yup, we were pretty wet in the morning and that little camp stove with the hot water for cocoa was a real blessing, but by late morning it was warming up enough to be comfortable. Boy did we have a lot of mud, though! Hey, makes the weeding easier, right?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 02:01 pm (UTC)hmmm, considering how long it took you to weed, I am pleased to know the mud made the job easier! If it had been any harder you wouldn't have finished in a day! The camp stove set up for hot chocolate sounds wonderful. Everything tastes better outdoors. I'm not sure why, lol.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-12 11:26 am (UTC)I had wanted to talk to you more about the school situation but it sounds like its finally settling down and people are moving on (either emotionally or physically :o!)...