Saturday

I awoke at 5:30 AM on Saturday. I debated whether or not to get up, but finally did. I made a fresh pot of coffee (eight cups this time) and had a cup.

I decided to forgo my shower until I cleaned the house. No sense in getting clean, and then getting sweaty...

I began by sweeping the office, the upstairs bath and the kitchen. Then I deep-cleaned the upstairs bathroom: cleaning the sink, the tub and the toilet. Next, I washed the bathroom floor.

I started the first of two loads of laundry.

I had a big batch of stuff to go up in the attic, so I tackled that next. Now, I didn't actually go up into the attic and put the stuff where it belonged. I just got it up there and, some other day, I'll go up and reposition it all. My attic, which was all organized when I first moved here, is completely disorganized now. It's just another thing I need to address, here on San Jose.

About 11:00 AM, Jake and Carla stopped by. He wanted to do some work on my computer, so Carla and I sat in the kitchen and visited. They brought a big container of homemade chicken soup, so my Saturday dinner was taken care of!

I excused myself and took my leaf blower out and blew the ashes out of the chiminea. When Jake was done with the computer, I asked him to help me move it inside. He immediately went in the garage and got the furniture dolly I always use for this (hey, he remembered!)

Unfortunately, when he grasped it to pick it up and put it on the dolly, the "chimney" part broke off! Damn! That's the trouble with clay-fired things. But, I figure I can cement it back together next spring.

After they left, I returned a phone call from a friend. Then I finally shaved and took my shower. It was raining again, so I decided to wait until Sunday to get in those tomatoes.

I have been re-reading Moby Dick, so I was in a sea-faring mood. I got out Master and Commander, the Far Side of the World and put it in the DVD player.

I watched about 2/3 of it when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there was a short, little guy out there. He said, "Remember me? I was the guy you were gonna shoot!"

Yes, it was the tree guy who got stuck on the lawn last summer. He said he was in the neighborhood and had rented a stump grinder for another project. Before taking it back, he wondered if I wanted him to grind up that stump for $40.00. I told him I was sorry, but all I had on hand was $20.00 (I hadn't got to the bank, yet). He said it was better than nothing, so he went out, and after unloading it, ground up the stump.

I gave him the twenty bucks and after verifying my gate was once again closed, I warmed up that chicken soup. I ate it all and it was delicious!

I watched the end of the movie and then went to bed early.