Mr. Teabody Makes a Wish Come True

Bon Jour! Hola! Good Morrow, Gentle Reader! Mrs. Teabody trusts your slumber was restful and renewing, setting you in good stead for the challenges and/or fun the coming week affords. The weather forecasters have predicted a reasonably temperate Monday, and those of you bent on outdoorsy shenanigans shan't suffer too much. Truth to tell this summer day is one well worth greeting so do it properly. Quit dilly-dallying and give it a warm embrace. Mrs. Teabody shall shortly found herself sharing breakfast with Mr. Teabody inside the Secret Garden surrounded by bizzie lizzies and wild thyme and sipping a cuppa "Summer Passion." Brilliant, n'est-ce pas?

 Mrs. Teabody does ten things well -- not nearly so many as you, Gentle Reader - - and fete planning is close to the top. Nothing gets Mrs. Teabody's grey matter bouncing about so much as the idea of opening Chez Teabody up to friends, and Saturday was a ripe date for such divertissement. Other than a Christmas party awash in the scents of pine boughs and bay, there is nothing more enchanting than a summer party with convivial friends, and Mr. Teabody's considerable efforts served the fete well.
AFTER:
The Secret Garden  shown above was initiated when Mrs. Teabody expressed the desire to have a beautiful "retirement" garden to enjoy all year long - - one that would be visible from her chair by the large dining room window. A great deal of soil and compost was hurled about to create the original rose garden shown in the picture below but the area between the rose garden and dining room window was nothing more than a slanting downhill desert for ever so long. When mere wishing for a secret garden brought about no results at all, the Teabodys knew they would never have their wish without spending some money and exerting some effort - - the two key components of wish fulfillment.
BEFORE:

Sir Joshua Shadle was brought in with his heavy machinery and unerring eye to excavate and level the area and bring in a load of "patio sand" which the Teabodys mucked about with for many, many days, groaning all the while as the labor was tedious. On the very day of the only earthquake Mrs. Teabody has ever experienced, she had just begun hauling, piecemeal, load after load of inexpensive pavers in her ancient motor car. By summer's end all the pavers had been "placed," but it was only through the dogged labor of Mr. Teabody that each paver was finally "set" --- tedious as each paver was a different thickness. Beach glass and seashells were pressed into the sand between the pavers. A cobalt blue bubbler was installed. A chiminea made its way home inside the ancient motor car. Plants were added-- shrubs that will one day make the Secret Garden truly secret. Finally a comfortable dining set was purchased, and the Teabodys had the lovely outdoor space they so desired.
The Secret Garden would not have been possible without the labor and genius of Mr. Teabody, helped only in small part by Mrs. Teabody but loved and enjoyed by everyone. As you drive about noting lovely lawns and gardens attached to the homes of others, do not assume that such spaces merely plonked themselves down. Do not call their owners "lucky." Wishes do indeed come true, but as often as not, there was some elbow grease involved in making that happen.
And now to the garden . . .
Ta for now!


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