Once in a while I get a good idea

My mother is not the type to sit around and do nothing. Telling her to relax while watching others work is hell for her. So for yesterday when I was having the whole family over for 4:30pm, I told Mum that she could come over at 3pm if she was only going to worry about me not being prepared. I knew that Mum would be great for setting the table and helping me with any last minute prep. However, I also knew that she would be coming with my dad.

My kitchen is to small for three of us to be doing things, and my dad gets bored easily. Then I remembered the garden. Dad grows herbs and tomatoes in large container pots at their house. He is immensely proud of his basil and parsley and loves to garden. The last time he was over he disappeared and it turned out that he had gone into the garden and tied up all my tomatoes so that they weren't weighed down in the dirt. In a flash of inspiration I told Dad that his job would be to finish harvesting my tomatoes and peppers, and to dig up the old plants in preparation for winter.

It worked.

Mum and I prepped all the veggies and Dad went to work on my small garden. At one point he entered the kitchen to announce that my kitchen shears had snapped in half. I told him not to worry and to leave the rest, but undaunted, he set out with one of my knives. The next time I looked out the window my garden was cleared and there were two big bags of garden trimmings ready to put out on the curb. Agent Orange had done his magic.

The dinner itself was great. Everyone ate well and my two nieces amused themselves by jumping on my bean bag chair all night. And today I have almost nothing to clean up, and a day intended for cleaning up the garden can now be focussed on other tasks. Yay!