🌻 AAAAND WE’RE BACK

Happy fall, y’all.

Well, hello there! Did you miss me? Just kidding, I know you did because you TOLD me so (thanks to those of you who told me so). I do apologize for my *checks notes* 73-day absence.

Here’s what happened: First it got real hot and humid and I couldn’t stand to be outside, so I let the garden go and then felt excessively guilty about letting the garden go after all the hype. Meanwhile I got really busy with work (which is great for a freelancer! make that money!) but then it was too much work and I got overwhelmed and tired and didn’t want to write a single extra word. At some point I rage-cut-down some honeysuckle bushes, but for a while that was about it for the Funkyard.

Then it got better!

So here we are. Here’s what you missed:

• Surprised my Aunt in Salt Lake City with a retirement party,

• went to church in the church where my parents met and got married,

• had a playdate with Samson’s (actual) brother,

• learned I can’t get Lasik eye surgery because my retinas are too thin (rude),

• graduated puppy school,

• got kicked in the back of the leg — twice in the same spot by two unrelated buffoons — during soccer and now Andy’s having surgery to repair his torn achilles,

• bought an epic new vintage 1962 bedroom set,

• celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary,

• joined a choir,

• watched my wonderful brother marry his wonderful girlfriend,

• celebrated my childhood best friend’s impending bundle of joy at her baby shower,

• and visited my other wonderful brother and his family in Boulder.

We even threw our first 2021 party somewhere in there. Things are definitely, on the average, great!

Enough about me, I know what you’re really here for:

Oh that puppy.

We love that puppy.

Samson’s first mountains.

Enough already!

OK OK that’s enough, let’s talk Funkyard.

So like I said, the heat of summer was not kind to my gardening ambitions. I will need to make a new plan of attack for next year that accounts for a miserable two+ month stretch.

I’ll tear off the Band-Aid and show you the worst first: Our side yard, aka our sunflower and cucumber patch (that had a cantaloupe, pumpkin, and some eggplant thrown in for fun)…

Ouch.

Samson cleaned that right up for me.

Thanks, buddy. (Note also the off-leash, outside the fence doggo! We are practicing in tiny bouts.)

Harvest? Zero.

Then there’s our corn patch, which we didn’t water for a bit or, um, harvest at the appropriate time:

Why are they so short? Why are they all fallen over? Why didn’t we harvest the few ears we got when they were ready? These are questions that have no answers.

It hasn’t been all bad, though. Our marigolds and hot peppers stayed strong in the face of neglect.

Decent!

And the prairie plants hung on well enough to not be totally embarrassing.

A respectable gathering place!

We’re just hoping our deck makes it through next year. Andy put his foot through one spot, don’t tell our house guests.

It’s not on the verge of total collapse. Yet.

Despite my complaining, I really have no complaints. Yes, I wish I could work just 10 hours a week and work on home and garden repairs the rest of the time, but so far I’m just not willing to take the pay cut. Whatever, money. Perhaps someday!

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Next up we’re hoping to paint a bunch and get the garden in some semblance of order before the holidays. But if we’re being honest, my mind is on 1. Andy’s surgery (Friday) and 2. Halloween (my favorite holiday) (also this weekend)!

Funkyard species count: 180. New arrivals: Three different types of stink bugs. Oy.

These were new for me. Nymph (so, teenager) green stink bugs. Very colorful and cool!

(Click here to peruse all the Funkyard’s species on iNaturalist!)

I’m reading Leviathan by James Byron Huggins. Pulled this one at random off the shelf. Andy told me it’s “Christian sci-fi… which is like normal sci-fi but the characters pray sometimes.” LOL. I’m 95 pages in and so far, no Jesus, though one character did rant for a while about hope and faith in general terms.

(By the way, I did finally finish The Power of One. It was great writing and great characters, but not always a page-turner which made the 500+ pages kind of a struggle for me. I’m happy to have read it once, but not surprised it took me six months.)

We’re watching MOVIES. We decided to quit browsing our streaming services and start checking movies off our list that we’ve been meaning to watch, like old classics, favorites, and cultural phenomena. Like, if either of us hasn’t actually seen Jurassic Park, we should prioritize that over whatever’s trending on Netflix, no? (Bad example. Of course we’ve seen Jurassic Park. Real examples on my list include: Gremlins, Little Shop of Horrors, Captain Marvel, Dances with Wolves… etc.) Send me your recommendations for beloved movies you’d assume I’d seen but then again, what if I haven’t?

We’re playing Star Wars RPG and D&D as usual. Andy’s been getting back into XCOM, a great (well, so he says) alien-fighting computer game. 😊 Not much else for me.

We’re listening to much more music than usual, which has been nice. Thanks, road trips. Also the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill — about this crazy Seattle megachurch with a celebrity pastor that has this insane origin story and crash and burn story. It’s sooo interesting. And enlightening if you’ve ever wondered how good people can follow someone who seems so obviously like a bad guy.

We’re eating too much, apparently. Y’all ever like, count your calories? Whoops.

Lately I’ve been writing pretty much only marketing copy. It’s been fun writing for clients who are looking for well-written, well-researched content, so it feels pretty much the same as “journalism” even though it’s not. For instance, for Vital Choice, a sustainable seafood company, I wrote about one of my favorite topics: The health effects of ultra-processed foods. For adyn, whose mission is to improve reproductive health care (starting with matching people to better birth control) I’ve been doing more editing and reviewing posts. Stuff like that. I like it! I’m happy to have a journalism break and feel like I can jump back in any time.

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OK team, that’s all for today. Have a great week!
Take care please,
XOXO,
A

P.S.

Samson missed you, too. And since you asked: He’s over 70 lbs. 8 months tomorrow.

✌ 💖🌻

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