Work Party at Rachel's

I'm going to jump in and take the plunge. Did our tax return yesterday, I love Turbo Tax! Wahoo, I can buy more dirt! I'm going to have 15-20 yards of topsoil delivered and will need help spreading/moving it. I'm thinking Saturday, March 8th. Is that to close to Pixy's party? Thoughts? I am attaching a picture of the area that I wan't to add the dirt too. I will cover the area in cardboard so that it will be ready to cover with the topsoil. I want to spread the topsoil in the area behind the green line. I just want to leave a small edge of grass next to the driveway. Rachel

Rachel ~ Gotta check my calendar against DH's, but we have no dog training that weekend and I should be back up and running, so I think I'm good for your party. Are DH's invited? Mine considers himself "just one of the girls..."

Absolutely DH's are welcome! Is he into hunting and fishing, if so the new Cabela's is less than 10 minutes from our house, if the "boys" get to bored they can always take a fieldtrip!

Almost forgot, we have plenty of room if anyone would like to stay. I would even cook breakfast! Rach

Hey Rach
If all works the way I want it to, do you need some cardboard? can haul it from the store. and stock pile it till then, I need to bring some home anyway.

If you have extra I would love some! I'm always scrounging it from Costco!

No problem I can bring home tons, so to speak, I only have a Subaru wagon, wish I had a Mantruck.

The seats fold down, right? I can just see Tills, zipping down I-5 in her green Subaru wagon stuffed to the gills with cardboard!

And I got 4 wheel drive too, Have cardboard will carry thru rain, sleet and snow

Tills...and everyone else for that matter. I am collecting cardboard, too. Lots of it. As much as you want to give. I've been supervising, cracking the whip so to speak, and DH has been clearing the QAW before things start REALLY blooming. Would like to do the whole area in cardboard this year (thank you, Laurie. Our entire property is going to look like a tornado blew through a cardboard trailer park!) in order to stave off future unwanted green babies. Now that the area is clearing, it looks much larger than originally believed...probably 80-90' by 50-60'. DH REFUSES to paint his face black, dress in ninja clothing, and skulk over in the wee hours of the night to pilfer cardboard from the recycle bins (killjoy!).

Oh, Rachel. Never thought of Costco! I guess the whole cardboard ninja idea just conjured up so many much more fun visions in my brain.

Anytime, Outta, I'm sure I can come up with a lot more ideas to enhance the ranch - Husband is being a party pooper if he is refusing to dress up as a ninja - well, maybe he would prefer bumble bee panties - since he is one of the girls, but ninja sounds pretty cool to me. 'Specially if he has slippery ol' butter in tow.

And need to make a correction to DH itinerary - he was in Slovenia on Friday, Poland is next week. Hey, I'm not his secretary (how embarassing: 'Welcome home, kisskiss, So, how was Poland?' 'I was in Slovenia'. OOps. Honestly I do pay attention - sort of).

I'm sure that as long as the kisskiss part is there when he comes home the rest doesn't matter!

Another source for cardboard would be any business/store that receives shipped goods - they have to break it down & dispose/recycle it, anyway. Check out stores (target/HDepot/FMeyer...)
And don't forget the industrial parks - usually lots of businesses that are manufacturing items to ship are also receiving parts necessary for manufacturing. They typically have an account with FedEx/UPS who supply shipping boxes for free. They don't normally reuse the packaging that items were sent to them in - and this is usually already broken down for you. Just a thought.

Thanks Katye ~ Although we don't have any industrial parks there, there are two Walmarts, a Staple, and Office Depot, Home Depot, Petco, and Costco. If DH won't go ninja with me, I guess I'll have to do it myself! Maybe he'll be more receptive to the idea if we're not taking them out of the recycle at the dump (I think that's what really got his goose ~ not a dumpster diver, he...)

March 8 will probably work for me, but I'm not sure of the time. My son leaves for Washington DC for a week on that day so I'll have to see him off first. Still don't' know if we are making plans to be gone that week ourselves or not. Guess we better get that idea in gear if it's going to happen. but I do not want to miss your work party!

Most big retailers like where I work have balers or cardboard compactors which crushes the cardboard into to bales which are picked up and are weigh then they are picked up, and the stores get a kick back from it. thats why its so hard to find.
But if you find out what day there shipment is and ask them if they would save you some they might do it for you, as long as you pick it up when you said you will. We did this all the time in the Sequim store (miss it)
But if I start hauling cardboard home and stock piling it, we need to come up with a plan on picking it up, or I'll start looking like cardboard town. my DH thinks I'm nuts "again"
O' well whats new

You're not nuts, just a PNWDGer.

Tills ~ I don't live that far away, it's only about 45 minutes to the bridge for me and I recall you saying you live fairly close to it, assuming you mean Hood Canal and not Agate Passage. I would be happy to come collect cardboard which you stockpile, and would do it regularly ~ not a problem for me at all.

And I believe there's something to be said for being "nuts." At least life with us is never boring and always unpredictable!

No I'm not nuts just love to do crazy things and have fun with it, as I told my DH, LOL

I'm 5 miles from the Hood, Where the chevron station is turn left I,m 2.5 miles down.
I'll start hauling it home let you know when I have enought to pick up, we get are trucks on Fri. I will save all the big sterlite boxes, they work the best.

Tills ~ thank you. Just let me know and I'll be there. Just picked up a small load from a coworker today. I had some set aside at work...housekeeping NEVER cleans my office but for some reason they have decided that it's time and took my precious boxes away from me! How DARE they!

Now thats just not right, I hate it when they mess with my stuff at work too.
No problem and I will save some for Rach plan on going to her work party, are you going? if so maybe we can double up. Would be real nice to meet you.

Yes...I am going and hauling DH along, unless he changes his mind between now and then. No problem, I'd be happy to bring you along as well and we'd still be able to fit a significant amount of cardboard in Bertha (my Expedition).

Brought home the first kinda load not that much but the large boxes, broke down of course. Told DH I need a pallet and a tarp so I can store this, until I transport or its picked up, he's says 'What' I explained again what I was doing ( get your mined out of the TV and pay attention to me once in a while) He says O I forgot.>>>>
So he comes back later with a good plan to store it. (go figure) I have a old canopy from a truck that was totaled in 94, (have canopy no truck) D###.
His plan is to put a pallet under the canopy and put the cardboard in it till needed,
Good plan. ( to much work on his part) LOL
Tills

Great idea Tills! Thanks for getting it for us!

Mary, you are so thoughtful. And I think your DH is pretty sweet for coming up with a storage solution.

Rach, I think I can be at your work party. Just still planning all the things I need to do in March. Will let you know.

Kathy

Kathy- Hope you can make it! When are you going to have one?

Oh, it's so hard for me to ask for help. And I'm one of those people who needs to have everything perfect before anyone comes. So, when I'm "finished" with the garden, then I'll have the work party. Wait . . . that doesn't make sense. LOLOL.

What I really need is a mantruck to pull out those rhodies. Maybe if I can get my act together we can do something like that in the fall?

Sure! And to he#@ with perfect!

Well I can SAY it, but aren't we always harder on ourselves than on others? Working on this . . . but I think it's a lifetime effort.

Yes, we are always harder on ourselves, keep working on it girl, we are all glad to come over and help you make it "perfect!"

Katie,

Rachel's now seen MY decidedly less than perfect yard and didn't run away screaming, and even managed to say some nice things, so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about!

You guys are too sweet!!

I gotta get rid of the rest of the junk cars out here before I'm ready for a work party, I can't believe we got rid of 10 cars and it still looks like a car lot, I guess the blackberries are good for something besides pies, covers cars real good to. you would never know they where here. But would love to have a weeding party.

Sounds like you got them to make progress last summer, though, Mary, so that's good. I'm up for weeding!!

Right now I'm still a mud hole, most likely wont dry out till May or June it seams like, hoping for April. we'll see
Going to go see Heidi on Thur. DH is going with, for Valentines Day, O Boy, What can I talk him into to buy me. MMMMMMM This is going to be fun. I have my list.

I did almost run away with a few of Susy's heucheras though! I have made mental notes of "future divisions" I might have to suggest to Sue! While I was at Sue's we went to Al's Nursery which is huge, oh darn heuchera's where 20% off and it was in Portland so no sales tax! Then we went to Portland Nursery where I got some great organic veggie seeds and we slobbered over thier hellebore display, there was a black one (claiming to be from Heronswood) it was gorgeous and very spendy! Also went to a horticultural supply store in Portland and bought a 48 x 20 seed mat so I will be sowing seeds this week!

Oooh you lucky girl Tils! Dragonfly on Valentine's Day what more could a girl want?

Sounds like you had fun? A black Hellborne !!!! Laurie help!!!! How spending?

About $30 bucks spendy. Susy and I discussed it and decided that Heidi probably carries it and that we would much rather buy it from her.

Sue, do you remember the name of it?

No kidding Tils, you're very lucky!

Rach, my Heuchera grow pretty fast once they're in the ground. I was looking them over more closely today and several look about due. I'm sure we can work something out when it's a little bit warmer.

We crossed, so editing to add

I think it was Heronswood single purple, or dark purple, or Heronswood Dark single-purple. Not a fancy name.



This message was edited Feb 11, 2008 11:13 PM

Yes want to know going on Thur. What a gift for me if she has it. DH won't know what hit him LOL