Fertilizer Friday: December 9

Oh, boy, Fertilizer Friday again over at Tootsie's and nothing is blooming.  Or growing-- except for my anxiety.  And my ulcer. I have to get at Christmas preparations around here.  There's no putting this off any longer. I refuse to let the GADS get the upper hand.

I told Pudding we could no longer stare back wistfully at last summer.  (Yes, that's right, I talk to my dogs.  A lot.  And you only thought I was long-winded in writing?  Ah, no, you would be wrong.) 

She didn't want to hear such sad news. 

I said, "Pudding, I have to stop wandering around in the Back Eight with you and Teddy when I need to be baking, cleaning and sewing." 

No more peering around in the White Forest, examining next year's mulch supply.

"I know, you love this time together and so do I, and we are very lucky there's no snow yet."

"But, now, are you listening?  Pudding, do you realize Christmas is less than two weeks away?  Do you know how much work I have to do yet?  I'm not sure if we'll find the time to fit in our Walkies every day if I don't get some more work done around here.  And since both of us are losing our girlish figures, you won't be able to have as many treats as usual."

 "Ah, NOW I have your attention!"

"Your brother isn't as worried about all the fuss and frenzy as us girls are.  Teddy's sure it will all come together like it always does with no effort on his part.  But his coat is getting a little tight, too..."

What will happen if we run out of time for Walkies?  Hmmmmm.......maybe even Teddy will have to cut down on his treat consumption."

"Aha!  Now I have your attention, too, Teddy?  I know, I don't want to give up treats either, so we'll have to all work harder to get the Christmas preparations done."

"Let's head to the house and I'll finish up the silly tomato cage tree I was working on, ok?"

"Pudding, no lollygagging around, c'mon now, we have to hurry."

"Treat consumption is at stake. Let's run!"

"We can make up for lost time if we try!"

"Ok, guys, help me with this last tomato cage/tree, would you?"

"Is that the best tomato cage you could find?  Ok, it will have to do.  It would work better if it weren't so crooked, but if I had the time I could straighten it out.  I don't, so I won't."

 "Now, go find me some garland....oh, is this all we have left?  Ok, it's green, but it falls apart really easy.  Oh, well, let's start wrapping it around the cage:"

"Just tie an end to the cage and start walking in circles.  I'm really good at it."  (Walking in circles, that is.) 

"Ok, Teddy, so I ran out of one type of garland and had to switch to another type up near the top, but you get the general idea, right?  It's pathetic, I know, but it's supposed to look like those 'skinny trees' they sell at the big box stores, and if you squint your eyes and turn your head just the right way, you can kinda see it.  If you try REALLY hard.  Pudding, can you see the look I'm going for here?" 

"All the inventive people out there in Blogland could find fantastic things to make this look more appealing, of that I'm sure.  But this is me, and you dogs know how it goes around here.  Make do with whatcha got.  And what I got is a lot of Autumn Joy sedum flowers that tipped over in that first snowfall.  So I got out the red spray paint and changed them from brown to crimson a few days ago while you dogs were napping."

  

"Pudding, you may notice I left the stems of the sedums real long so I can just poke them through the garland and they'll be hidden inside the tomato cage."

'Just stick them here and there, all over the tree."

"And if you two can find any red bows lying around, we can use them, too.  Another thing I found out is the red spray paint works wonders for faded silk flowers and red bows, too.  I took the washed out-looking, tired flowers and bows and gave 'em a new coat of red.  So far, they're holding up really well."

 "Feel free to spray paint some dried hydrangeas, too.  We'll see how long they last in the weather."

"It's ok to leave some of the sedums their natural color and some of them red.  Just trying to mix it up a little.  What's that, Teddy, you wanna go in?  I know, it's getting really cold out.  Ok, let's take off your coat."

"Teddy!  Will you stop tearing your coat apart?  I know you think you look like a sissy in it, but sheesh.....

"You're gonna need it tomorrow."

"Pudding, what do you think?  Maybe if we hurry we can get it all done?"

"That's my Girl!"

"If we run as fast as we can,  maybe we'll both get our girlish figures back too."

Hey, us girls can dream.