I have such wonderful friends and family, some of whom came to our house yesterday for a weeding party.

What is a weeding party, you ask? Basically, it was a way for me to ask for help with my yard. Repeated surgeries on my right side had resulted in a year’s worth of neglect of my yard by me. My dear neighbor, Deana has helped a lot, especially with deadheading. But there were two big projects in the front garden that were getting me down: (1) The encroachment of grass on the west side of the yard and (2) the overtaking of an entire section of garden by a very pesky and intrusive wire weed. It was so cute in it’s little pot when I bought it as a ground cover several years ago. Little did I know that it was like a mini form of kudzu, the vine that has been choking off entire trees (and a barn in this photo) in the southeastern U.S.

With our little work crew, we were able to get the job done in about 1 1/2 hours. Then we had food and hung out on the new deck, that John has nearly finished except for staining the wood. The lilacs are in bloom and the scent was wonderful. It was a glorious day.

I had a hard time asking people for this help. But I kept reminding myself that people have kept asking what they could do to help and how much less helpless I feel when there’s something concrete I can do for a loved one in a time of need. It was a beautiful day, a celebration of love and kindness. Plus, the apple pie I made turned out extra pretty. (I heard it tasted good, too but I am not eating wheat these days and didn’t want to do a test drive with a gluten-free crust recipe on company.)

First things first. Is this pie a beauty, or what? The lovely caramelized top was an accident. I had so many apples to use up that I cooked the filling on the stove top before I filled the pie so that it would reduce in volume a little. It's a good thing I did this as my pie dough was not well behaved enough to roll into a full top and bottom crust. The pre-cooking kept the apples from drying out in the oven. Okay, enough about pies; let's move onto the garden.

First things first. Is this pie a beauty, or what? The lovely caramelized top was an accident. I had so many apples to use up that I cooked the filling on the stove top before I filled the pie so that it would reduce in volume a little. It’s a good thing I did this as my pie dough was not well behaved enough to roll into a full top and bottom crust. The pre-cooking kept the apples from drying out in the oven. Okay, enough about pies; let’s move onto the garden.

This is just after I took the first chunk out of the wire weed invasion.

This is just after I took the first chunk out of the wire weed invasion.

1 1/2 hours later and the wire weed is gone! Yay! Most of this work was done by my cousin, Catherine and my husband, John.

1 1/2 hours later and the wire weed is gone! Yay! Most of this work was done by my cousin, Catherine and my husband, John.

We dug up a lot of compost in 1 1/2 hours! Tomorrow it will get picked up by waste management and become part of Seattle's awesome composting program!

We dug up a lot of compost in 1 1/2 hours! Tomorrow it will get picked up by waste management and become part of Seattle’s awesome composting program!

Thanks, Mom, Dad, John, Catherine, Deana, Jennie, and Preben for making my yard feel manageable again. I'm eager to go out again next weekend!

Thanks, Mom, Dad, John, Catherine, Deana, Jennie, and Preben for making my yard feel manageable again.