Saturday

I'm not sure why, but I set the damn alarm last night. So, I woke up at 5:45 AM, on a Saturday! Weird!!

Also, weird: it felt like I was inside a montage of Bob Dylan songs (don't ask, 'cause I can't explain). Speaking of which, my favorite Dylan lyrics? From "Tangled up in Blue":

"I got a job in the Great North Woods,
working as a cook for a spell.
But, I never did like it all that much,
and one day the axe just fell..."

I had bacon (microwaved), scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. I shaved and showered, then hooked up the trailer and I'm off to pick up my riding mower.

I used the "tilt" to get it on the trailer and to get it off, but two things I discovered they didn't tell you in the manual:

1. In the "tilt" mode, you are resting on the license plate, Needless to say, it got all bent up!
2. Raising it in the front in "tilt" ripped the electrical wires in half! I discovered that when I got home.

But, I got it home! Unloaded it and unhooked the trailer, then left for my hair cut. On the way home, I stopped and bought a gasoline can and filled it with two gallons of gas. When I got home, I put the rib back on the trailer, pulled it in back, padlocked it to the boat trailer and covered it back up with the tarp. I'll fix the wiring some other time.

Now I'm off to Jake and Carla's for dinner. I took my swimsuit and a towel just in case, but don't think its warm enough for that (its 60 degrees F. at 2:00 PM).When I got to their house, Carla just took out a homemade baked spinach and artichoke dip that we snacked on with corn tortilla chips. Carla warmed up my appetizer, which I was disappointed in, by the way. It was Jamacan Jerked Chicken wings and it tasted okay, but in spite of using my broiler (NOT the grill) so I wouldn't burn them, most of them were, in fact, burned!

We chatted a bit while Carla worked on dinner: Braised lamb shanks. It seemed like a LOT of work, BTW. Jake made us a pitcher of his signature margaritas. We played some cards as the lamb slowing cooked.

Jake had cut his grass and I was struck by the difference in our "style" of grass. I like mine shaggy, like a thick carpet. He likes his short with a crisp edge next to the sidewalk, etc., like a military haircut!

Finally, it was time to eat. The lamb had a very hearty flavor to it and the side was a fried potato/onion/bacon dish that was also excellent. I ate way too much.

We discussed shutting down the pool for the winter and also his sprinkler system (at his request, I brought over my air compressor so he can blow out the sprinkler lines) and furnace filters. I was debating whether or not to head home when Carla mentioned that, if I was staying the night, she wanted to make a nice Sunday morning brunch. Need I say more?