Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Hump Day, More Lawn Care, Plans for the Next Couple of Days


On Wednesday, Aug. 9th I woke up at 6:30 beside Clemson and realized Bill had vacated the bed. Hmm, never heard a thing. That is one thing for sure about a king bed, movement from one side does not distract a sleeping partner. I love that. I dropped back off until 7 and both pooch and I rose to greet the day.
Clouds versus sun
 The clouds were challenging the sun so it could be a mixed day but it is already 15C so I’m happy. I had a tea with Bill as he finished reading posts and I caught up on mine. He had decided to take the drive to Walkerton, about 40 minutes away, to their drive test location. Bill is going to follow through to get his AR license, therefore he needs to pay and set up an appointment for the near future.

This has been a true headache from day one and we honestly wish we’d never heard a thing about it. Now that we know of the legal requirements required to pull a heavy trailer such as our Mobile Suite, Bill feels obliged to get licensed properly and have our truck and fifth wheel registered accordingly. He (we) have always tried to do the right thing so why should that change? We aren’t the type to just let it lie and take our chances on the highway.

Yesterday at McPhail’s RV Centre we were actually really reaching beyond the realm of our wishes. We thought we’d at least take a look at motor homes, see what was ‘out there’ and see what we could afford IF due to circumstances, we felt it wise to switch out our home. Neither of us want to give up our beautiful Mobile Suite and have never thought about owning a motor home. Requirements vary for driving one of these.

Just a couple we looked at

Things change, Jello jiggles if you will, and although we aren’t saying this is the route we’re taking, we need to keep options open in case Bill can’t get this license upgrade. Unfortunately, if that happens our standards are very high so finding a motor home at the right price with the proffered quality we want could be very difficult. Yes, we are spoiled.

So, Bill left after a shower at 8 am and I decided to pull up my socks (not literally) and get outside to finish the job I started yesterday. The battery has been charging for 18 hours so should be good. Famous last words! I was able to complete the main section of the lawn and along the fence line where Bill can’t cut with the big mower but then it died again. Jeesh! Maybe we need a new battery.

Next plan of attack was to haul out my FeatherLite weed eater, put on my hat, gloves and ear muffs. I hate it when you are all geared up (literally and figuratively) to do a job and then you can’t get the darn piece of machinery started!! 
Grass looks better
After numerous tries, numerous cuss words, my heart pumping and my temperature rising, I had to lay it down and walk away. After taking a cool down break (again literally and figuratively) I went at it again but to no avail. Grrr.

It is lucky that it didn’t end up in the pond! I have a very high tolerance level for most things, my patience is one of MY strongest virtues. Saying that, there is a fine line upon which my patience is running out and the frustrating anger steps in. No warning, really. The gloves were tossed on the ground, the muffs and hat as well and I stormed off to my chair in the shade to cool down once more.



Bill takes the last load and I pull my wagon
After discovering that Bill had made a stop at my sister’s and was still in Hanover, I came inside to pour myself a second tea. No point in waiting for him to get it going for me. I played my games on FB (Scrabble and Words with Friends) drank my tea as well as my smoothie and put my fingers to the keypad. Calming down by the time my sweetie drove in and soon after I heard the weed eater start up. Of course!

The sun has made a more dominant appearance so I’ll try this again. I just want to finish the chores so I can settle down for the afternoon. Nope, I still needed Bill’s magic touch to get it going, so much for purchasing a Feather LITE! After all that, I finished the trimming around my area of the property while Bill did the front and back fields, the corral and around the shed.
A special gift from our friends, Rob and Pat
Today's garden fare
While Bill worked on the fence lines at the front field I took my wagon and clippers down the lane. I don’t recall if I shared the brush along the sides of the lane with you but today it had to go! This is no easy chore, but I persisted until Bill finished and offered to get his tractor with the wagon for me to load stuff into. This would save me multiple trips up to our brush pile. Yay!
Pretty clouds and Clem enjoys the chair too

After 3 loads to the pile, we called it quits. I could feel my face was red and noticed Bill was just as hot. After putting things away, I hopped into a cool shower. Wow, that felt amazing! I slipped on a loose-fitting summer dress and settled outside in the shade while I finished bringing my body temperature down. Yes, lots of water was consumed.

a broken handle
I could hear Bill inside sawing logs and soon enough I couldn’t focus on my new book either. After two chapters, I put a quilt on my ‘new to me’ lounge chair and slipped it back into a nice position and closed my own eyes. Whether I dropped off is a mystery but I sure relaxed. When the boys came outside Bill had a job to do.

He drills a hole in each end of the handle
We found out this morning that he is required at CanAm for tomorrow and Friday for 3 orientations. The Coolatron that he uses to carry food back and forth has a broken handle. Bill is a Mr. Fixit and will at least try to make things work if he can so he set about making a new handle so he can pick up the cooler easily.

And then files to smooth and widen the holes

Fitting a dowel in between the holes in the handle
I watched for a while and then my Fitbit asked that I take it for a walk. Clemson joined me as we walked to the end of the lane way. After our trimming cleanup, it looks so much better and will not scratch the Suite when we pull it out on Aug. 20th. Clem was slow so I slipped into the front field to see if there were any turtles on the tree. Yup, I wasn’t disappointed.
The final push to attach the new handle
And success for Mr. Fixit!


My slowpoke walking mate
 Soon after returning to my comfy chair, Bill finished his job and went inside to watch NCIS. The person who delivers flyers just went by so I once more wandered down to empty the mail box. For supper tonight we are barbecuing hamburgers with an extra one for Bill tomorrow night. Here we are, back in the throes of routine.


With the meal and dishes cleaned up I settled in for the night. It has been an accomplished day and I just have a bit of lawn to finish cutting in the morning. Bill packed his bag and will head out at a decent time tomorrow. It will be a bit of a shock to Clemson and I, after having him home for two weeks.

Brilliant goldenrod
Did you know? Goldenrod is a perennial plant that is well-known for its healing properties. This wild edible is a plant that reproduces through its roots, bulbs, stems and by its seed. .
I hope you have enjoyed this fantastic day.

Clemson and I relaxing late afternoon
 Thank you for stopping in. I’d love to hear from you!

9 comments:

  1. You have had a busy day, you hot here for that kind of work,
    Bet the laneway looks much better now. Gotta love that lounge I used to have one years ago.

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    Replies
    1. Busy morning mostly, work has to get done before it is too overgrown. We took it easy all afternoon.
      Love this lounge and yes the driveway is much better!

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  2. Sometimes it is just better to sit, relax, and enjoy a cup of tea...
    I do enjoy looking at the pictures of your place.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a hot day but wanted to get it done before Bill left for a couple of days. :)
      Thank you, I do love it up here.

      Delete
  3. Sorry you guys had a rough day.... but did Bill show you again how to start the equipment?
    Hope you have a better day tomorrow
    Talk to you later












    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill had a good day, me just frustrated with the trimmer! Yes, he showed me again and I had done everything right it seems. I'm sure there is a hidden message in your comment, GH, so I'll let it slide! ha ha

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  4. Ken was outright laughing reading the blog this am :) You are a good writer we could feel your frustration! Love the old time lounger and the quilt. Your garden bounty looks awesome too!

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  5. BC has had the same licensing for years, although in BC it is called a heavy trailer endorsement. Hubby had to get it when we bought Maxx and had no problem with the written or road test so I'm sure Bill will do fine. Many RVers don't bother because they think it's a pain but if you have an accident your insurance is void so it's not worth running without it!

    ReplyDelete