C-O-D-E-R-E-D

The summer I had a large strawberry patch was one of the happiest times of my life. My toddler “worked” beside me, both of us on hands and knees. I was glad when one-year-old Terza learned that those red squishy shapes tasted good. She quit picking the plants by their roots and plucking off the green fruit. I let her eat her fill until she fell asleep in the grass. Her exhausted sleeping form—back lit by the sun, which shone through a mop of curls—was an icon of that holy place and time. Within a twinkling, it seemed, she was eight and had been joined by two sisters. Still, Terza led the entrepreneurial effort to pick lemons and limes from our backyard trees and sell them on the street (“Five cents, please”), and a pitcher of homemade lemon-limeade was her idea. Little did it matter to me that the sugar and the paper cups cost far more than would be earned. The pleasure on three cherub faces was my contribution to the world that day. This was the true landscape of my life, sweeter than the scent of the roses along the neighbor’s front porch.
Some things we do not produce by conscious effort or design. We simply take our chances, and in brief moments of time, they become the most beautiful art of our lives. It is the human touch, the green thumb, the weathered prayers that fertilize seed.
These gardens start with the landscape you have been given and by letting the story tell itself.

Wood floors offer warmth and beauty to your mobile home. They also bring problems.
Parquet floors that start to bulge or rise at the joints are a clue that your home is probably settling unevenly. Page 20 suggests the test and the remedy. Apply fresh mastic or contact cement under parquet tiles that have worked loose.
You do not have the freedom with wood floors that you do with linoleum. They are not waterproof. Only special cleaning procedures can preserve their beauty. Use only cleaning agents recommended by the manufacturer for the finish on your floors. Always vacuum the floors and around the walls thoroughly before you clean and wax. If you don’t, grit becomes trapped in the wax and grates into the wood. Your floors age rapidly. You’ll also find yourself stripping the wax oft frequently just to keep the floor looking good.
Protect wood floors from gouging. Do not push heavy furniture across it. Table and chair legs should not have sharp bottom edges that dig into the floor. Use runner rugs in high-traffic areas, and perhaps under the dining area. You can always roll them up when you want to show off your beautiful floor to company.