Woke up to nicely moderate temps in the high 60s so I decided to go out and spread a big bag of dirt on the southern flower bed with the new lantana which has been drying out to dangerous levels, then add the rest of the mulch that I hadn’t used on the memorial corner to make sure that everything stayed nice and moist.

Phoo. I was dripping with sweat by the time I got that finished, which doesn’t bode well for all the new topsoil I need to spread over the back half of the back yard. It’s worn down to the clay due to erosion and needs new soil before I can have a hope in hell of getting any grass seed to grow.

And yes, I know, why don’t I put down sod? Because topsoil and seed is cheaper, and I really need to raise the level of the ground back there anyway. Never mind—I’ll brace the left knee and take lots of breaks while I get to spreading.

I also decided to brace the crowds at H-E-B tonight. For those who aren’t familiar with the name, H-E-B is a privately held grocery store chain based out of San Antonio with stores throughout Texas and parts of northern Mexico. The company also owns Central Market, which is the local foodie altar, so I really wanted to check out the offerings at the brand new H-E-B store in Plano.

And I was not disappointed. It’s huge, has a BBQ restaurant on site, the array of pre-cooked and ready-to-cook meals in the deli section is freaking amazing (Lyndon liked the chicken tikka masala I brought back for him and the sushi rolls I bought were yummy), and I picked up a loaf of asiago cheese bread because why not? I could easily drop $300 in that store without blinking, so it will have to remain an occasional treat, but it was fun to check out the offerings.