Still Not in Kansas...

I looked outside this morning and realized two things: 1) the sun was shining, and 2) the back yard had somehow become a jungle--too many days of wet, unmowable grass. So even though Derik almost always mows, it looked like it was going to rain and make it unmowable AGAIN so I decided to do it myself while it was still relatively dry. During the experience, I had one of those "wait a minute, this craziness has become almost common place" moments. It went like this...

...During a rare spot of sunshine and whilst munching a savory biscuit (saltine), I realized that the rear garden (back lawn) looked a bit dodgy (in this case, overgrown). So I headed out the patio (into the back yard) to the garden shed (garden shed, big grin) to get the push mower (lawn mower) and rotary extension lead (extension cord on a reel)...

That was the point at which my mind screamed "hey, you're not British, and that toy lawn mower you just got out of the shed will never cut this grass--just go back inside, put in a load of laundry, and let Derik do it when he gets home from school!"

Just kidding! The moment did cause me to stop and reflect on how strange and wonderful it still is to be here, though, toy mower and all. I'm extremely grateful, and I hope we get to stay a bit longer than a year; it would be nice for the kids to complete this entire school year before we yank them back across the big pond.

So just to share my British moment with you, here is a picture of our PLASTIC mower (yes, plastic, and it's not even stiff plastic--it even bends when you're pushing it through the grass). The pad next to it is just for size reference; it's one of those 1" thick kneeling pads for pulling weeds, and it's about 4" by 15", fitting just under your knees with not much to spare. I would have used my shoe, but it was on my foot and covered with wet grass. (The main part of the mower is one shoe and 3/4 long, by the way.)


Tee Hee...

I also learned that while cobble stone is beautiful to look at, it is NOT beautiful to pull weeds from...

And, oh yes, after an extremely soggy outdoor training session for the upcoming high school outdoor activity (during which my feet got soaked and I slipped in the mud about a hundred times), I finally broke down and ordered some wellies. Some things you just can't avoid, and I was pleased to be able to find them in a non-obnoxious color. Maybe I can wear them next time I garden!