The Long and the Short of our Day

The Ridge

Saturday, Apr. 10^th we were up around 7:30, I think. We had our tea and coffee before I sorted the laundry into two piles. We each had to go to Durham but for different reasons. I went to the Mat to clean, leaving around 8:45. Bill left a bit later. When I arrived at the laundromat, carried the basket in, I was shocked, stunned, frustrated and well-shaken.

Remember we purchased a mat over the winter?
Here it is and we love it!!

There was a young man sitting on one of the tables, crap, his boots, garbage, dryer sheets, Timmy’s cups etc. etc. all over the floor, on the table beside him, in the Lost and Found box and under the table. Just a mess. He looked at me, straight in the face. At first, I thought he was smoking and I have no doubt that he likely just finished one from the odor I smelled. ☹ What to do, what to do.

                               WARNING: PICTURE MIGHT BE DISTURBING

I felt sick to my stomach

I like to think that my heart was in the right place and as always, I try to see the good and try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t want to get mouthy, and it apparently worked. After explaining that I was not only doing my laundry, that I cleaned the place, he seemed to feel empathy at least. He cleaned up his mess and carried on, after I gave him the broom, to clean the back door entrance. See? Not a bad person at all.

I told him he didn’t have to do that and took the broom back. He sat back on the table and we both said that he had to leave and he did. Who knows what was going on in his world, in his head when he opened garbage bags from somewhere and what was he searching for? He didn’t even seem to know. ☹ When I left there, after our laundry and after damp mopping the floors, it was 10:30. I stopped at the variety up town to get lotto tickets and drove home.

One of the things I changed because of my auction purchase
I love these little wooden cars
The bottom ones are the only ones Easton can reach
and they already have missing wheels. 😀

Hanging the clothes on the line for the first time this year felt invigorating! I was happy to be the Ridge Pioneer Woman again. Well, you get the picture. With the slight breeze, they would dry quickly. Bill and I had a ham salad sandwich for lunch and went back outside. I pulled a few of my past auction purchases out to the picnic table and situated the small wooden ‘classic’ cars on my shelf and removed the boxes from a couple of the larger wooden trucks. They will be here for Easton when he visits.

A couple of nice framed pictures that I've actually
seen in poster size in our former boss's office

Then, I worked away at cleaning up the little iris garden alongside the outhouse. They always bloom well there but it isn’t a very neat row of them. I cleaned up the dead leaves and grass that was growing in there, dug a trench and made use of some plastic piping we’ve had hanging around. With black mulch, it looks 100% better and I’m, once more, pleased with my efforts. It was 3 o’clock when Bill and I decided to drive over have Happy Hour with Donna and Gerry at the Acreage.

This iris garden has never been an 'organized' plot

Gayle and John also arrived and we sat outside at their trailer for a couple of hours. It was so nice to be outside and carrying on conversations that had nothing to do with the virus, vaccine or fallouts from them. We enjoyed ourselves and I learned a bit more about gardening from my older and wiser* sisters. 😉 (*so they keep telling me!)

But now it is!

Bill and I came home around 5 and put our things away that we’d abandoned for the visit. I brought the clothes in off the line and he lit the Weber Q to bbq our sausages. Inside, I warmed up the leftover scalloped potatoes, cooked broccoli and corn and we were eating by 6 ish. With some ice cream (frozen yogourt) for dessert, it was a lovely supper. We did the dishes, put our clothes away and relaxed for the evening.

Bill got our flag up at the end of the lane

Lots of turtle sightings today, here and at the Acreage but all at a distance. It was a wonderful day and lots more was accomplished. The garden tractor is now resting in the new shelter. 😊

Our first barbecued supper in a very long time!!
Good night!

Thank you for your visit. Your comments are always read and appreciated.