dear mom:

So they say that becoming a parent makes you appreciate your own parents more, and I'm really hoping that that's the case! That's not to say that I don't appreciate you, because I do, immensely, but good lord you can be so annoying it makes me want to poke myself in the eye sometimes! I'm really hoping that becoming a mom is going to make me find all of your irritating habits endearing instead.

I've got my fingers crossed, for both of us.

love you mama, even when you make me nuts,
lulu

dear hubby:

Wow, I love you so much. I can honestly say that I've never had as much fun with anyone as I have with you. You're amazing. And thanks for letting me help with your fantastic Halloween costume, you look so handsome!

And I really love that you let me make devil horns out of your hair and then take your picture:

And I even love that you take pictures (five of them) of our dishes in the dish drainer, because you "thought it was interesting one night"...

Baby, you're the best husband I've ever had. Thank you for being fantastic.

love,
lulu

dear daddy:

I hate that I miss you so much, and that I think about you all the time. I hate that I haven't been able to get rid of your memory like I want to and that a part of me still wants to see you and get a bear hug from you and sit on your lap and be your little girl again. And I hate you, for what you did to my family, and for being such a selfish and manipulative asshole. I hate you for never saying you were sorry. I hate you for so many reasons, and yet I miss my daddy all the time. I resent the fact that I was allowed to know you, and wish that you would have been removed from my life before I was able to grow up and make memories of you. I wish that that the memories I did have were horrible memories so that it would be easier to hate you now. I wish you would have tried harder to explain yourself and change my mind, instead of letting me run away. I wish you wouldn't have been so forceful and confrontational when you did try to see me, because you just scared me away. Sometimes I wish that you would have died, so I could just mourn the loss and move on, because for some reason it's so much harder this way. I wish I didn't care that you weren't there to dance with me at my wedding, and that you'll never see my children. I wish you hadn't screwed mom up so badly. I'm tired of crying over you.

dear babies (again):

Good morning- it's me again. You're all doing such a great job, I just wanted to say thank you for everything. It makes me so happy to look outside and see green instead of brown, and life instead of emptiness. You're awesome.

And to prove that you really are working hard- I've taken some more photos of you to chart your growth. If you were standing against a door jamb you would have gotten a pencil mark a whole inch higher! Nice work.



This is almost the same angle as this shot before. You've been filled in with a few more friends, and you look beautiful. The purples and the pinks are really popping against all that brown bark.

And then there's you. Little patch of ground cover that I am so anxiously awaiting to fill in so I can plop myself down and read a book on you. Hurry up, already! You're definitely coming along, but I'm so ready for you to be full and fluffy. I'm seriously considering buying a few more and filling in your holes right now so I can enjoy that spot at least once before fall is in full swing.


For comparison, here's what you looked like in July. Like I said, good job.

And then there are my friends in the garden plots. The lettuce was abundant, but a person can only eat so much lettuce at a time. Too bad we weren't smart enough to plant you in waves. You did great though, and now we know for next year. I wish that your buddies the zucchini would take a cue and get to growing now. there are a couple of cucumbers that look amazing, but that zucchini won't push past the flower phase. Hopefully you're on the way! Here's your big brother the cuke for a little inspiration:


Can you ever live up to his greatness?

I hope you all make it through the winter and live to give me a beautiful yard next summer too. It's been a pleasure cultivating you and I appreciate you every day for making my world a little nicer to look at.

love,
lulu

dear lulu:

Good lord, woman. You are not allowed to watch Tori & Dean, Home Sweet Hollywood ever again. I know you're bored and sad because your love is out of town, but seriously! Get it together.

Watching any more of that show, and not finding it completely repulsive, will lead to nothing but self-loathing and regret. You don't need television to provide that.

I'm praying for you.

love,
lulu

dear ma nature:

Hey lady- great job on the Pacific Northwest. I don't think I say it often enough, so thanks! I just love waking up to a view like this:



And it just took one day of beautiful sun shining on my strawbabies to make them much happier. I appreciate it!



love,
lulu

dear babies:

Hi- it's me. You know, the lady who takes care of you and waters you every day and occasionally wanders around telling you how beautiful you are and asking you to hurry up and grow. I've been putting a lot of work into you lately, and I really hope you'll show some appreciation and grow up big and strong like I keep suggesting.

Aerial view: still far too much brown out there for my taste.


What do you say? Maybe take a tip from your friends the hens and chicks and go crazy! Spread around like wildfire! Sprawl! See:

They know how it's done. Can't even keep 'em in a pot. And they've even sprung up in the rock wall all on their own. Crafty little plants, they are.



In case you can't tell by how much you've been seeing me lately, taking care of you has been a surprisingly pleasant hobby for me. I've never been that interested in gardening until this year when I discovered just how satisfying it can be. Weeding really speaks to the OCD control-freak side of me, and I find that I can spend hours ridding the yard of every little intruder without even realizing the day is flying by. I even bought a gardening hat to protect my delicate prematurely-wrinkly old-lady skin. I knew it was over for me when I actually wore the hat outside of the yard the other day and went to the store in it. I guess that makes it official. I'm either "a gardener" or I've just totally lost all shame in my old age.

So anyway, I've taken some pictures of you so I can watch how much you grow. Just like a kindergartener on the first day of school, I'm capturing your awkward smallness now, so I can look back in a little while and marvel at how mature you've become. I imagine that I'll be so proud of you in a few months. Unless you die- and then I'm just going to be pissed.

Clockwise from lower left: Catmint, Limemound Spirea, Kentucky Colonel Mint, Lemon Thyme, Hebe, and a couple varieties of Heather.


My precious patch of ground cover. Hurry up and fill in! You will be my cozy spot to lay out and relax in the midst of all the bark and cement that surrounds.


We're farmers too! Good job lettuce. So far you've been a tasty shrimp louie and made us some delightful lettuce wraps. Yum! Now get your friends the zucchini on board. It's their turn to shine.


My precious little strawbabies. I can't wait to have you stain my fingers red!

Anyway, thanks garden. You're all right.

love,
lulu