Deck Decorating

Here's step one of the whole deck decorating process. Last summer I picked up a set of dishes that had mini little quilt patterns all over them. Too sickly sweet to eat off of, but wonderful to smash. I had a little bit of trouble sticking the pieces onto something 3D. Everytime I look at the pot now I think of all the not-so-pleasantries that came out of my mouth while I was making it. The urn underneath the pot came from the hardware store across the street from Psycho Suzies. That place is the best. It's like a new hybrid made with the quirkiness of AxMan and the usefulness of Hardware Hank. And of course it's cheap... It's like heaven.

This picture is of me right after I decided to take a break from the heat. Ooh la, la. Yes, that's dirt and sweat and maybe a little compost with manure on my face. Lovely. Oh, and I'm sun burned, too. I honestly cannot believe how hot it's been outside this week. It's fine when standing completely still if you've found a breeze. Otherwise, it's hot as hell.
Unfortunately, I've not been calmly sitting in the cool breeze lately. I've been working on a new garden around (you guessed it) the deck. Last year I dug up and tore out our lawn with a shovel where I wanted to put a new garden. It sucked. It sucked really bad, in fact. This year someone (who does not want to be named) told me the trick to creating new garden spaces. I think it's brilliant, and since this is my space, I'm including all of the steps. Just to bore you.
First I edged the space with rocks. I used a garden hose to sort of mark off how it would look first.

Then, I filled it all in with old City Pages. I got all of the pages really wet. That kept them from blowing around AND it kept me cool. I also think this might help the newspaper break down later when it's supposed to feed the soil.

Next, I threw a bunch of dirt over the whole area and started planning where stuff will go.

Alright, I'm still on a cooling off break. I might go see what kind of trash Dr. Phill is talking to today.