I need a manicure

We had an extremely productive Memorial Day this year: hostas were divided, flowers were purchased and potted, areas in need of mulch were mulched and (in case you're thinking all we did was garden) Patricks were defeated in Wii Tennis. (It is a real shame that Team Tiny Kathleen didn't bring its A-game to the tournament on Saturday - Tiny Kathleen has many lessons to learn about not choking in critical games.)

Choke artist.

The day did involve a fair amount of time in the garden and, as the title suggests my nails are destroyed. It was worth it. See how much prettier our front steps look?

Before and After

We were so fortunate to have Alex's mom here for our gardening extravaganza. We're still novices, to a certain extent, and Maggie is a pro who has seen her skills go unused while (whilst?) living in London. She was happy to join us on our trip to Gethsemane Garden Center - another one of my favorite things about Chicago - to shop for plants.

Gethsemane Garden Center is a much more cheerful place than the name would suggest. It's a massive complex of everything a landscaping enthusiast could want: thousands of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, pots, and fountains along with everything else you could think of for your garden. I would find it a bit overwhelming if the people weren't so nice.

So we picked out all kinds of flowers for the front and the back, including some of these lovely gerbera daisies:


Once home, Maggie and I grabbed our trowels and claw-thingies (I'm, like, totally a gardening expert - can you tell?), and set to work making the empty pots on the front steps all pretty like.

Then Patrick and his Tiny Patricks challenged me and the Tiny Kathleens to a Wii Tennis duel. I conclude this post with one word, at the risk of sounding redundant and being viewed as a sore winner, Victoryyyyyyyy!!!