Back breaking work

Here are the fruits of my labor!  We drove all over town yesterday, getting the good pots, plants, soil and all the fixings for a nice garden.  My friend luckily knows more about gardening than I do, so we went to her apartment and she helped me get all of this planted, fertilizer and slug repellent included.  She also showed me how to make an easy Japanese dinner before we raced off to tea ceremony.  Hopefully I can recreate it on my own soon.  It was a really fun day!  When all was said and done, the plants weren't looking too genki, but I'm hoping that with a few days of watering and sunshine they will perk up and start to bloom. 

I also picked up this super cute cactus while we were at the nursery.  How could I resist!?  I'm happy to have a little life inside my apartment that doesn't seem like it will attract any bugs.  I didn't do the BEST job planting it, so it's a bit crooked for now.  But hopefully it will grow straight anyways. 

I don't know if it was the gardening, the tennis last week or just a bad night's sleep, but I somehow managed to strain my back so I spent most of the day scuffing around my apartment.  Not too exciting, but definitely good rest before this big 4-day week. 

That's right, 4 DAY WEEK!  Friday is the start of Golden week, which I think is called that just because there are so many national holidays.  There's one three day weekend, then next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are holidays too.  A lot of people (well, ALTs) take advantage of this week to take a few vacation days and do some major travel, but I didn't feel like I really needed to get out of Japan, so I decided to stay put.  I am planning to do some traveling around the area where I live, and maybe making a trip to Osaka to maybe find some clothes that fit.  Just four more days of "work" (I only have two classes this week)!

Comments

[Amy]

I envy your balcony. Wish that we had more of them here. Your cactus is very cute! I don't have a green thumb at all. The only plant I have is some sort of little palm that doesn't die no matter how many times I forget to water it.

Your golden week plans sound nice. My boyfriend is in Kyoto right now and will have to travel to Nagoya on green day (I think that's what it's called) and he's sort of stressed out about the crowds.

[Mom]

What a big improvement the plants are out on your little porch! They look so pretty...bet doing the wash will be more enjoyable now. ;-)

[frecklegirl]

There is something so cheerful about a little cactus in a cheerful pot. :)

Hope your back is feeling better!