Labor Day

I didn't set the alarm on Labor day, but I forgot the damn alarm on the phone (again). So, I woke up abruptly at 5:45 a.m. on Monday.

I contemplated going back to bed, but then thought, "Screw it. If you're up. you're up." So, I made a cup of coffee and eased into the day.

I made soft-boiled eggs for breakfast.

I shaved, showered and got dressed for a Home Depot run. I bought the drop cloths, paint rollers and tray I needed to paint the kitchen ceiling. I am determined to paint it before I install the new ceiling fan (and I really want to put up the ceiling fan - this temporary lighting sucks).

I also stopped in at Meijer's and got some kitchen trash bags and kitty litter. I was back home by 9:45 a.m.

I changed clothes and got to work.

I decided that, since it was still cool outside, it might be the perfect time to finish the wiring in the garage. But, first, I had to turn off the circuit at the fuse box.

Now, if you remember, I have an old, piece of shit fuse box and only three circuits are labeled (and I labeled them, through trial and error). So, I turned the light on (the one I want to tap into) and then started turning the breakers off.

Funny thing. I turned every one off and then back on, but the light never went off! WTF? I repeated the process with the same results. Disgusted, I gave up. I went back inside and reset all the clocks and the cable box.

Sidebar: All I can figure is one of the old "push-o-matic" breakers is broke and won't shut off. That's scary. I really need to replace this fuse box.

Next on my ToDo list was to replant the perennial daisies I bought for the two container gardens. So, I moved away the mulch in two places in the new area of the English garden. I used my box cutter to cut a circle in the landscape fabric. I got the wheelbarrow and the shovel from the shed.

Sidebar: About that time, two of my little crew showed up, asking for work. I had to disappoint them, because I had nothing for them to do. I told them to come back in a week or two.

I dug out the holes and put the dirt in the wheelbarrow. Then I went and popped out the two daisies. I dumped a bucket of water in each hole. Then I planted the daisies. I used potting soil to fill in the rest of the hole.

Sidebar: I used potting soil instead of my usual "magic mix" soil, as I want the roots to take hold before the first frost. I put the mulch back and gave each plant another bucket of water.

Now I had to deal with the container plants. I took one coleus from the one planter and put in in the other. I filled in the hole with the dirt from the garden. Not perfect, but I'm not going to give up on them just yet.

Since I had the camera, I took a picture of my new bumper sticker. Apparently, I am an honorary Puerto Rican, even if I can't make pernil, LOL!

Sidebar: There were like 10-15 people eating and I didn't see a whole lot of leftover pork. So, it might not have been authentic, but it was good, dammit!

I put away the shovel and the wheelbarrow in the shed and then locked it up.

Back inside, I washed up (the temp and the humidity were rising and I was both dirty and sweaty). Then I took a short nap.

When I got up, I stripped the bed and started the last load in the washer. I went out back and grabbed the biggest cucumber. I peeled it and used the mandoline to thin-slice it. To that, I added half of a sliced onion. Since I was only using one cucumber, I cut my Mother's recipe in half: I mixed a half cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 1/4 cup of water and salt. I stirred that into the cucumber and onion and stuck it into the fridge (minimum of three hours, but the longer the better).

I read in the living room and then remade the bed when the dryer was done. When the time was up, I turned the oven to 400 degrees. I took out one of the smaller sized frozen pizza. I dressed it up with some sliced black olives and yellow banana peppers. I topped that with more mozzarella cheese and then popped it in the oven. 15 minutes later, my Labor Day dinner was ready.

I ate it watching American Ninja Warrior. The cucumber salad need more salt, but the pizza was excellent. I cleaned up the mess and read in bed until I fell asleep.