Sunday, with much Sun

In spite of going to bed so late (at least for me) I still woke up at 6:00 AM on Sunday. It was supposed to be cloudy and overcast with a high of 82 degrees predicted, but no rain. But, it was a chilly 66 degrees outside just then and I was glad I hadn’t left the window opened. I made that mistake one day last week and it was 65 degrees in the house when I woke up! Brrr!

I ate my breakfast, refilled my pill box, took my meds and my tests and had another cup of coffee, thinking about my day. Since I had planned on Luanne’s visit, I am sitting in a very clean house with no clear plan of what to do today (which is kinda weird, for me).

I decided that it was time I put together the little cart I bought a long time ago when I couldn’t work the wheelbarrow. So, I spread out all the parts on the bed (so I didn’t have to bend over so far) and got started on that. It took about an hour or so, but I got ‘er done! I took it out into the garage and just then noticed the canvas liner. I realized that the instructions didn’t mention it at all! So, I’ll have to ask my brother Carl (who has one of these) how and when you use it.

I opened the window to allow that weird “Made-In-China” smell to get out. I opened the window in the office as well for cross ventilation. It may or may not work, but the cats loved it!

Since we’ve had so much rain, I thought it might be time to dig in the wood lawn edging in the new garden. So, I left my brace on, put my work gloves on and got started. I figured I’d work until I started to hurt and then quit.

I got all the way to the 2x4’s that line Jake’s patio. I dug down to the depth I had painted on the spade and about 3 inches apart, pulled out the sod and shook off the dirt into the wheel barrow. I did one length of edging at a time, BTW. Once I had the depth, I put in the edging, tight against the landscape fabric on the inside. Then I backfilled it with the dirt and stomped it tight. I just kept doing that over and over.

I did hit a few thick tree roots, probably from the maple I had taken down. But, I cut through those with the bow saw (getting out the Sawzall seemed like too much work).

Once I got to the 2x4’s, I realized two things: one, I need to find my big crowbar to pry them out and, two, my back was starting to hurt.

So, I spread loose dirt over the packed-down dirt and sprinkled on some grass seed. I raked that in and then watered the area, cleaning the dirt and mulch off the wood edging as I went.

I gathered up the tools, grass seed, etc., and took everything back inside and put it all away. It was almost 1:00 PM. I know, because I wound the mantle clock.

The air conditioner still hadn’t kicked on, so I left the windows open. That weird smell seems to have dissipated, but a little more fresh air couldn’t hurt anything but my allergies.

I took off my brace and sprayed it with Fabreeze. I sat there in my sweaty t-shirt and shorts and shaved; watching TV and drinking another cup of coffee. Then I showered and let the hot water beat on my back until the water cooled.

I put my sweaty clothes, the bath towels and the bedspread (I fancied it still has that odd smell on it) in the washer. I put on fresh clothes and laid on the bed, watching a movie I’d always wanted to, but never had before: The Da Vinci Code.

It was pretty interesting. When it was finished, so was the dryer so I took care of that last load of clothes. Then I started dinner.

It would have been the perfect day to grille outside. But, since I figured I’d be taking Lu out to dinner (much easier than finding a recipe both of us would want to eat), I didn’t take anything out to thaw.

So, I ran cold water over a frozen section of smoked sausage. I fried up onions and potato slices and then, once it had thawed, added in the sausage, cut on the bias. When the potatoes were golden brown, I pulled it off the heat and put about half of it on a plate.

I watched TV the rest of the evening. My toughest decision was whether to watch Longmire or Breaking Bad live (both are on at the same time and both are set to tape). Since it was the season finale of Longmire, it won. When it was finished, so was I and I went to bed.