{"id":3853,"date":"2011-10-29T06:30:07","date_gmt":"2011-10-29T10:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/?p=3853"},"modified":"2016-01-17T15:53:40","modified_gmt":"2016-01-17T20:53:40","slug":"stranger-in-my-own-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/stranger-in-my-own-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Stranger in my Own Home…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I feel like the last few years of my life have been consumed with virtually nothing else other than completing my book, The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey<\/em>. Now that the book has arrived and the actual inventory is in my exercise room, I thought maybe I would venture out of my office\/cave where I have been buried and found out I am a stranger in my own home. It seems that life had continued on around me as I was glued to my computer all that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most things that move on in time are easy enough to ignore \u2013 black roots in your hair \u2013 that\u2019s why rubber bands are made for pony tails. Cat hair on the furniture \u2013 that is easy enough to ignore \u2013 serious vacuuming is really only necessary when company comes to visit, which is usually only a few times a year. My muscle tone (or lack thereof) is something I attribute conveniently to my age, and the cats, well, they were more than happy to sleep in the office with me for hours on end, so there lives were not affected negatively at all.<\/p>\n

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The cats sharing the office with me - you see the full Zee\/Zoey family - the others, Harley and Jazz, are also in the office, they are just out of the range of the camera!<\/p><\/div>\n

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The backyard, however, is entirely a different story and one that I am not too thrilled about. Time does not stand still in the tropical climate of Florida and my plants cared not one wit that I was a budding author. Once I adjusted my eyes to the sunlight and covered my translucent white skin in long sleeves and jeans, lest I get any color, I immediately saw that my once lovely, breathtaking, and manageable garden had become a hostile jungle, completely taking over all sense of reason. Now, mind you, I love a garden that has no real design sense and is filled with glorious bursts of color and flowers with delightful meandering minds of their own. But, there does come a point when this freedom and independence is actually hostile and menacing.<\/p>\n

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Current times - obvious signs of neglect...<\/p><\/div>\n

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All the bamboo shedding has caused plants that were once healthy and in bloom, to be struggling for sunlight and survival<\/p><\/div>\n

Case in point, we planted the most darling bamboo shoots several years ago, yearning for the tall and proud plants to encircle our backyard where they would lazily sway to and fro in the wind with the unmistakable sound of a creaking rocking chair. Guess what? Bamboo grows at an alarming speed and sheds more that a cat does. They also block out precious sunlight, forcing much less dominant foliage to either fight for a random ray of light, or they cause these fragile plants to die. Kind of a survival of the fitness in the jungle. The bamboo shedding also clogs the pool and litters in such profuse display, that it causes neighbors to politely mention \u201cwhat are you going to do about your plant droppings that are trespassing in our yard?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Starting the cleaning and pruning process...<\/p><\/div>\n

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Several sore muscles and many bags of refuse later...<\/p><\/div>\n

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Back when our garden was our loving and well cared for showcase<\/p><\/div>\n

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This beautiful plant is aptly called "Cat Whiskers" and I am hoping it has 9-lives. Right now we are trying to revive this plant to its once majestic state<\/p><\/div>\n

We used to have this all under control \u2013 you can actually have controlled chaos when you take the time to tend to your outdoor friends on a weekly basis. With a green thumb and some tender loving care, our backyard garden used to be both a relaxing refuse to Dan and I and a stunning plethora of every color of the rainbow you could imagine in full and stunning bloom year round. Well, lessons learned indeed \u2013 it seems that I need to re-introduce myself to my home and my yard. While writing the book has been an unbelievably rewarding experience, it cannot be the only thing that defines me. I found out, despite the mountains of refuse, that I miss my flora and fauna and my \u201cme\u201d time to just relax in the glory and beauty of our blessed paradise. I want to bring my garden back to the proud state it once was, not the neglected, tangled, overgrown and weed infested world that has almost nearly become our permanent occupant!!<\/p>\n

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Zee is always happy to enjoy an early morning garden stroll and is happy to hear that his backyard will be back up to snuff soon!<\/p><\/div>\n