Katdish.net

There’s something cathartic about getting dirty.
Something uniquely satisfying about tackling a project you’ve never done before.

Last week, I shared some pictures of my newly improved front porch.

I’ve spent every morning since enjoying the new space. Some evenings, too. In the above picture, you can see part of the sidewalk leading to our front porch from the driveway. What you can’t see is its length.

You may have noticed all that beautiful, black mulch in the flower beds on either side of the sidewalk. You may have also noticed that the sidewalk is black. That’s because every time it rains or the sprinklers come on, that black mulch washes onto the sidewalk. Since I’ve been spending time on the front porch, I’ve grown tired of looking at the black sidewalk. Which is why I decided it was high time I installed some edging to keep the mulch where it’s supposed to be.

The installation instructions weren’t complicated: Dig a 4″ trench the length of the area you wish to install the edging (which was two 60 foot trenches), cut the edging to length using a hacksaw, place the edging into the trench, drive metal edging spikes in every 4 feet plus at the beginning and end of the flower bed, then compact the dirt around the edging.

You wanna know what’s more cathartic than getting dirty?

Driving 9″ metal spikes into the ground with a sledgehammer.

Actually, hitting pretty much anything with a sledgehammer is extremely gratifying.

Next on the agenda is firing up the pressure washer and cleaning up that nasty sidewalk. That should be awesome.

And here’s a picture of one of my new Gerber daisies:

Just like me: A delicate flower…

What’d y’all do this weekend? Do you like digging in the dirt?

It’s been too long since I met with you last. At that place where the world fades away and I feel closest to you.

Today was that day. As the morning began to slip away, I waited. But my original plans were put off and then changed.

Still, a promise is a promise. To myself, but more importantly, to my little girl. So what started out as a party of four became a party of two. Well, three…but you know what I mean.

Getting there proved a bit more stressful and time consuming than anticipated, but eventually the crowded streets of downtown Houston…

Gave way to the crowded streets of Galveston.

Until at long last, I stood at that place where I feel closest to you.

Funny how crowds seem to distract me everywhere else but here. Here I can always find solitude as the waves drown out everything else.

You show me that holding things in will only last so long. That my walls may appear strong, but you are stronger.

You wash away my walls and remind me that you are my fortress.

So once again I run to you, like I’ve done so many times before when I’ve gotten too far from you.

And you give me back my joy.

Thanks for meeting me here.

Again.