Friday, May 02, 2008

I'm a week behind


Last Friday at about 8 a.m., the USPS central distribution center in Jackson called and said they had a box of chicks for me. I don't live in Jackson. In fact, I live an hour and 15 minutes from Jackson. I asked why my chickens were there. She said they had come in on Fed Ex and someone had forgotten to put them on the truck to my town. The next truck would be tomorrow or I could pick them up in Meridian which is 45 minutes from here.

I knew that those chicks had been shipped the same day as the turkeys which arrived the previous day, and that if I didn't get them home and heated, fed, and watered quickly that there would be 25 chicks dead - a few months too early. So, another trip to Jackson seemed imminent.

Have I mentioned that I have a truly wonderful little sister who lives in Jackson. O.K., she's not little anymore, not that she's fat or anything (she's actually very thin even though she has two children under 4), but she did get older. No matter, adult or not, I will always think of her as my little sister(She's 10 years younger). I wonder if that offends her?

Anyway, I called and she offered to collect the chicks and bring them out to the farm. She did. After we got the chicks situated, she began beautifying my front yard. She cleaned the front beds, pruned branches from my Natchez White Crepe Myrtles, mulched, planted two gardenias, and made two beautiful flowering pots. She was a maniac.

All I had to do was feed her family and pay for the plants. I won't mention how far over budget she went.

I was glad to have a beautiful view from the front porch since my Master Gardener MIL would be arriving the next day, but I was more excited to have unscheduled time without a holiday event to just be with my little sister. We had fun.

9 comments:

Angeline Rose Larimer said...

I'd love it if your little sister came to my house!

I'd also love it if my MIL was a master gardener, but on the other hand, I guess it takes the pressure off to have a spectacular yard.

Wisteria said...

My sister is truly a wonder. Though my yard is not spectacular, my MIL never seemed to notice. Or at least she didn't make negative comments. She never does.

Sorry about that misuse of the English language. I repaired the damage.

Wisteria said...

Or at least some of it.

Jennifer said...

Little sisters are godsends. Mine is two years younger. At 44 she's still not only my little sister, she still works harder and plays harder than I do.

The only problem is, if I sent her out to the nursery to procure flowering shrubs and annuals for pots, she'd come back $100 under budget and talk about what great bargains she scored by straying from my list. The shrubs would turn out to be invasive species and the annuals would be one packet of marigold seeds -- last year's lot, at half price and 65% the germination rate.

She's really a better candidate for the beer run.

And she gives a perfect deep tissue massage!

If I sent her out to buy my Mother of the Bride dress, she'd find the perfect silk suit in the perfect shade of aubergine, and the bill would be under $75, including shoes.

It's true. Unfortunately, she's arriving only a day or so before the wedding so I'm going to have to shop for myself. (My dress will be a disaster.)

Natchez White Crepe Myrtle is spectacular in bloom! Are the gardenias white, as well?

I trust your chicks are doing well?

Wisteria said...

My older sister is the fashion guru in our family. She, too, can find fabulous clothes for a great price. Of course she can come back over budget, too. It's her thing.

If you trust yourself, you will choose the perfect suit or dress for you. You know your body and your demeanor better than anyone else so will ultimately choose something that you enjoy wearing. I, the person who has mostly horrible clothes because she doesn't purchase mindfully, know this to be true.

You never go wrong when you purchase timeless quality, even if it is a bit more expensive.

Anonymous said...

I just met your parents. They came to my house to discuss recovering the cushions on your grandmother's rattan furniture they are restoring. We had a wonderful time talking about homeschooling, 4H and your home in the country. We had a very nice visit - beautiful people!

Wisteria said...

I like my parents, too. Mom thought you were fantastic. She said you lived in Chicago for a while, or your brother did? My husband worked at the Merc in the Swiss Francs options pit. I hear things are much different since we left with all of the computers.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely day and great visit : )

And glad the chicks were okay.

We're getting some butterfly larvae in the mail this week and I think I'll have to drop off some cookies at the post office tomorrow to remind them to phone me as soon as the parcel arrives!

Garden State Kate said...

What a nice day..my little sister is not such a joy, although she does occasionally try to be useful. ;-)
My Mum-in-law is no master gardener,
but she has been doing it for a long time and loves to weed when she visits.lol