Apparently the House Was Just Waiting for Me to Get Back on My Feet
The post is a little late this week. But there has been so much going on.
First things first: the scooter is officially retired. 🎉 Done. Finished. Going back to the rental facility next week. Physical therapy has started, I am WALKING, and we are officially on the mend. Hallelujah. And now, before we get into the tomatoes, plants, dirt and whatever project we're apparently starting next, I want to talk about something that stopped me in my tracks yesterday.
Dolly.
Yesterday, the world lost Dolly Parton. She will certainly be remembered for her extraordinary talent, but I think she'll be remembered for something much bigger than the songs. Her kindness. Her generosity. Her humor. Her faith. And the way she used what she'd been given to lift up other people. Through her Imagination Library, millions and millions of books found their way into the hands of children. She helped communities and people in need, often without making a giant production out of it. She was a beautiful reminder that some of life's greatest riches have very little to do with money. And goodness, she was funny. She could make fun of herself, hold you accountable and somehow make you smile while she was doing it. I obviously didn't know Dolly personally, but I can almost imagine what she'd say to someone who wasn't giving something their all. Or worse, someone who mistook kindness for weakness. Because yes, she was kind. But she was also DOLLY. She built an empire. She knew exactly who she was. She liked glitter, rhinestones, big hair, big dreams and big ideas, and she certainly didn't seem particularly concerned with whether everyone approved. I loved that about her. Maybe that's one of the things worth remembering. Use what you've been given. Work hard. Help people. Laugh at yourself. Dream big.
And for heaven's sake, wear the rhinestones if you want to.
Meanwhile, Back at Pound Home & Gardens…
Things are considerably less glamorous over here. Unless you consider approximately 47 million tomatoes glamorous. The tomatoes have officially overtaken the south garden. And the alyssum seeds I threw out LAST YEAR have returned in force like some sort of floral zombie apocalypse. Seriously. Have you seen alyssum seeds? They're smaller than fleas, yet apparently capable of world domination. They're currently attempting to take over the tomatoes. The tomatoes, however, are holding strong and producing at least a gallon-size bag a day. At this point we have tomatoes with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and one of my most frequent Google/AI searches has become: "What can I make with all these tomatoes?" I may need to give away a few plants next year. Or twenty.
And Then We Went Shopping for Plants… Today we went to see Allie at Allie's Gift & Gardens in Sullivan, Illinois.
We LOVE her. Perhaps we even stalk her on occasion. And today I WALKED through the garden center, yes, walked!, and essentially said: "We have this much money. What should we do?" This is always how reasonable home-improvement projects begin. Allie immediately got the wheels turning. The Party Patio. A privacy screen with hydrangeas. Right?! Dirt. Plants. The front entrance. And approximately seventeen other ideas that were definitely not on the list when we arrived. Naturally, I told her we're going to have to make some Facebook and TikTok content out of all this, so get ready, world. Here we come. Of course, the timing couldn't be more perfect. She's having a sale. I have absolutely zero chance of being allowed to use a shovel. The floral apocalypse continues in the south garden. And temperatures are headed toward 100 degrees. Perfect! Poor Clark. Because while my brain is currently yelling PLANTS! HYDRANGEAS! PATIO! DIRT!, he's trying to remember that in about four weeks he has a little something called an Ironman 70.3.
Speaking of Clark… The man is a machine.
Monday? "Oh, I need to run 14 miles." Then he'll drive me to work, do something at the church, chase down whatever random thing I've asked about, come back and get me and somehow still find time to work on the house. Tuesday and Thursday are bike days. Wednesday and Friday are swim-and-run days. Saturday? Oh, that's just a casual two-to-four-hour bike ride. Are you exhausted yet? Because I am, and I'm mostly just watching. Somewhere in all of that, he's still driving me around until I'm cleared to drive, monitoring whether I'm overdoing things….Who, me?… worrying about the kids, his dad, me, the house, church and approximately twelve other things. And then he gets up and does it again. He truly is an amazing soul.
So What's Next?
Plants. Lots and lots of plants. There are also fall decorations that I need to locate. Apparently my brilliant organizational system of telling Clark: "They're upstairs in a box marked FALL." That is kind of ironic considering how I got into this foot mess. I crack myself up sometimes… has not produced the desired results. Perhaps I imagined labeling the box? Normally I'm more organized than this. This year has just been… whoa. I'm also working on this website. I need to meet with the CPA. I'm starting to look into whether there might be Grants that could help with some of the things we're dreaming about here. And I'm doing some serious thinking about what comes next for me, too. I'm no longer consulting the way I once was, and I'm realizing it may be time to take some of these ideas constantly flying down the superhighway that is my brain and actually decide where I want them to go. Because there is a lot I still want to build. Here. With Pound Home & Gardens. And beyond it. Clark says my brain is a superhighway. He's not wrong. So maybe this season is about figuring out which exit I'm finally going to take. In the meantime, we'll keep restoring this old house, growing entirely too many tomatoes, buying plants we probably don't need, training for an Ironman, hunting for the missing fall decorations and dreaming up what's next. And you know what?
This is fun!
I hope y'all are enjoying coming along for it as much as we enjoy sharing it with you. And speaking of what's next… I think this old house needs an Open House. Maybe a few other fun events, too. But that's another blog.
See you soon,
Kat & Clark
Pound Home & Gardens