You can’t beet this Saturday’s story

I woke up at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, after a restless night. I filled in the Blog and then got ready to meet the day. I showered in the main bath, merely to smooth out the wrinkles in the liner (which had sat so long).

I got dressed in my “bum” working clothes and headed out. It was cold! First stop was Home Depot. I had been asked to build a sofa table by the receptionist at work. It was not a big deal, as only the two ends and the top will be visible. But, the length of it is daunting: 123 1/2 inches long! When I asked why, she explained their couch is much like Jake and Carla’s: a sprawling sectional.

So, I got the wood I needed (after a long search for straight 1 x 8 boards) and the hardware (L-brackets and wood screws) and loaded up the truck. This was the first time I used my truck bed extender. It worked pretty well, except there were two straps that must lock into something I couldn’t find (Note to self: I gotta read the damn Owner’s Guide!)

Sidebar: First thing I found I didn't like about the truck: When the tailgate is down, the backup camera is covered. So, when you put it in reverse the trucks thinks you're hitting something and screams at you!

I took that home, unloaded the wood and then headed back out. I went to Costco for coffee for me and peanuts for the squirrels. I made two impulse buys: a big bag of Sunsweet dried plums (prunes) and a container of cashews. I haven’t had either in years!

From there I went to Meijer’s. I got the few items on my list and made another impulse buy: a beautiful bunch of beets with lovely greens.

I dropped all that off at the house and ran my final errand: the post office. I was home and done with errands just before noon.

When I got everything put away, I headed out back to refill the squirrel feeder. It was cold, and cloudy, BTW, so I had my hat and work gloves on. I had to open the shed to get the rake, so I checked it all out. No visible signs of winter damage or water leakage.

From there, I raked the ground level herb garden and then cut off the dead herbs in the raised bed garden.

I walked the yard, picking up branches. When I got to the back wall, I took a long time pulling as much kudzu (or Virginia creeper) off of it. I got everything except for the two places I had put up chicken wire back in the day. The chicken wire was supposed to support morning glories but now it holds kudzu. Sigh…

I heard a diesel-powered something so I looked over the wall. A big front end loader was dropping chunks of the wall from somewhere else onto a pile in front of mine. That’s cool. Less trucks potentially backing into my section. When he had unchained the piece he was carrying, I called him over. I asked him if he owned the loader or just drove it as I had a side job for him. He said no, but he could get me a card from the company he worked for.

Sidebar: I need “somebody” to scrape that mud off my driveway!

I noticed the flowering plum was leaning a bit (again). If you remember, this happened several years ago (they must have shallow roots) so I added a metal stake pounded deep into the ground. Then I added a wire to hold it straight. Where the wire touched the tree, I ran it through a rubber hose (so it wouldn’t damage the tree).

I was going to loosen the wire and retighten it when I noticed the tree had grown around the rubber hose! I’d seen that as a kid with barb wire stapled to trees on the farm, but never a rubber hose.

I also noticed I didn’t trim back the raspberries I have been trying to introduce back there. I should have done it in the late Fall, but I figured it was still cold enough I could do it today, so I did. We’ll see…

I finished picking up the branches and then checked the bait boxes. One was empty and the other just had a little bit left. Am I killing these damn rats or just feeding them? So, I donned some latex gloves and refilled them with the last bait I had in the garage.

Sidebar: I am using Decon mice and rat poison. Is there something stronger I could be using?

I remembered I had bought two rat traps last fall that I never used. I was afraid if I baited them with peanut butter, I’d catch squirrels instead. So, today, I dug them out. I baited them with cheese, then I wired them with heavy-duty picture wire to the trailer.

Why? Because I KNOW I shot at least three of them with the pellet gun. I saw them flip up, go down and stay there until it was too dark to see. But, the next morning, all there was left was a big blood spot. I swear they carry off their dead! So, I’m looking for body count!

Before I went inside (I was getting really cold), I went to check on the emerging daffodils and hyacinth. I showed you a picture a few days ago, if you remember. I was dismayed to see they were all gone! The only things left were holes. My guess is the squirrels ate the bulbs! Maybe I should have put peanut butter in those traps!

Last Sunday

This Saturday

Back inside, it was almost 4:00 p.m., I was cold and hungry. So, I warmed up some of my Ham and Bean soup I had thawed last night. I ate that watching a DIY show.

I really wanted to just take a nap, but I had things to do. Before I can build the sofa table, I had to assemble the miter saw utility vehicle (LOL! That’s seriously what they call this heavy-duty cart).

Let me backtrack. When I got my tax return, I put most of it into my savings account for retirement. But, I did buy that compound miter saw and cart I wanted. It wasn’t for this project (I didn’t even know about this project then), but it will let me cut a 1” x 8” board. That’s something my chop saw couldn’t do. If you remember, I had to cut out the boards for Yanessa’s crib with a circular saw and the angles were a damn pain!

So, I started to assemble the cart. Unfortunately, the instructions were vague and the illustrations were not under each step, but all together in the back of the book. I got about half of it put together when I suspected I had used the bolts I needed for the next step somewhere else (they did not have pictures of the hardware and all the lengths were metric). I got p*ssed and decided I better quit while I was behind. So, I put away my tools and shut off the garage lights.

Back inside for the night, I washed up. I wasn’t all that hungry, but needed to eat something with my evening pills. So, I cut up and boiled the beet greens. I drained them, splashed them with white vinegar and topped them with a little salt. Excellent!

I turned off all the lights in the house from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for Earth Hour (to proclaim my commitment to protecting the planet). Nobdy mentioned the TV, so I left that on...

I watched the newest taped episode of the Vikings. Then I went to bed.