Went to Hand's Nursery about noon and bought four bags of mulch. When I got home, Alison was there, lying on the couch. Poor thing, she had a bad cold. I chided her for not calling to say she couldn't come, but she insisted she was okay. She told us about her seventy-five mile bike run on Saturday for MS. Yes, she finished the whole thing--from Cherry Hill to Ocean City--and raised several hundred dollars. Pat and I were concerned, though, when she told us she had fallen. A colleague of hers dropped a water bottle, braked to pick it up, and Alison had to jam on her brakes to avoid hitting him. This resulted in her flying over her handlebars and landing hard on the road. There were lots of ambulances and EMTs on the route and several rushed up to her. They asked her to come with them to be examined and/or go to an emergency room, but she refused, got back on her bike, and finished. Luckily, she seems to have sustained only a bruised shoulder--she landed on it--and we're sure has no lasting damage. Incidentally, there were 8,000 participants riding various distances. Some stayed over, then biked back to Cherry Hill yesterday, totalling 150 miles over two days. Hmm, maybe I'll do that next year...
Incidentally, Mike wasn't able to come, as he was occupied in removing the solar panels from their roof, which has a leak. Big Joel was helping him, so I assume they got it done reasonably quickly; they'll have to replace them after the roof is fixed.
My strong, healthy, darling daughter and I really got the place in shape! A. dug out the two ugly round bushes (builder-provided) on either side of the front path, then dragged them to the thick woods behind our house to help replenish the forest as they disintegrate. In their place, we put in the Montauk daisies, already beautifully blooming, adding some of the mums near them. I put the winter pansies all around the front tree and had enough for a hanging basket. We broke for lunch, then Alison dumped the mulch and I helped spread it. We had enough to go around two of the four trees in the backyard and I'll get another bag today. Want to get some pumpkins for decoration, too.
After we finished, Alison left to baby-sit for Tristan while Joel, Jen, and Joely went out. I made chicken for dinner, talked to other D.D., Ellen, showered, enjoyed my wine and popcorn, laid gratefully down in bed, and slept the sleep of the just.
Just a little philosophical note: There's something deeply satisfying about accomplishing projects through hard, physical labor. I've always been a cerebral type, putting things of the mind over those of the body, so as I matured, this came as a revelation to me. It felt so good to lift, bend, and stretch alongside my daughter, then see the results of our efforts in a lovely, flowering garden that will last for many years.