Apr 4, 2015

A Day of Chores............

Everything outside is jumping, and that means lawn mowing time is upon us.
Last week my dad came over to change the oil in the lawn mower and sharpen the blades.  It seemed like a pretty easy task.  He showed up in the morning, when the twins were at school, and assured me that he needed no help.
He did not need help, but I almost had a nervous breakdown watching him wench up the mower with chains over the rafters of the garage.  Everything went smoothly except for me having visions of it falling on him and him lying helpless on the floor, slowly dying while I run around trying to decide what to do and who to call.
None of that happened.  He worked on the mower and I painted woodwork for trim on the back porch, where I could hear him if he should call for help.  He didn't call.
What he did do, once he got the mower all wenched up in the garage, was take a walk outside to the front of the house.

You have no doubt heard me talk about how my mother cleaned house.  Her method was to decide to clean something, say the buffet.  She would drag everything out of all the drawers, dust the top, and then spend about 4 hours going through everything in the drawers and "organizing".  After 4 hours, she would suddenly remember what time it was and shove everything back into the drawers.  For next time.  Now, she could have just dusted the top.  In about 2 minutes, but that was not her method.

I have discovered that I do not just get this kind of method from 1 side of my genealogical tree.  Although at least my dad finishes what he starts.

Even if it takes all day.

Once in front of the house, he declared it to be a good day to take out the shrubs in the front of the house.  We all hate these shrubs, including the neighbors.  Luckily for us, the neighbors, my aunt that I never had, Janine, and her husband Jack, have the cutest little red tractor, and they had it out this day. 

Shrubs: begone!

Jack was hailed, he reported for duty forthwith, chains were rounded up and the shrubs were tackled in a death grip.

It's a good day to die, shrubs.

Although the pictures do not show it, I helped my dad plunge into dead leaves, wasp nests, and possible snake lairs to attach the chains.  Sometimes 2 chains were needed, and multiple scratches were acquired by both of us, but eventually those shrubs came out.

Goodbye, cruel world.

By the time we were half-way done, I noticed that it was really hot outside and remembered that I think I forgot to put on deodorant that day.  My father assured me this would only give the snakes more time to get out of the way.  We did not see any snakes, but we did spend many hours on the look out.  I do not mind if I see them first, however, my father does a dance that few have seen and that defies actual description when he spies a snake.
I worried about him throwing his back out, and to be honest, how many times he could actually keep getting up and down in a day.  I didn't know about him, but it was about to kill me, and I'm younger.  Just saying.

Half-way there.  Keep on trucking.

We plugged along with the shrubs coming out pretty easy, once we got them hooked up.  The hooking up was the hard part.

Once out, it was around the back to the brush pile.  We had plenty of limbs but these shrubs would make good fire starter material once they dried out.

Note to self: buy hot dogs and buns.

There is a very big bonfire in our near future.  Yes, that is my back yard, and we need to mow it.  There is quite a large area under lots of limbs and now shrubs that we cannot at this moment get to, but it will be all burned off within a few weeks.   A fresh start.  Also, strangely, the dogs have dug a hole big enough to plant a small tree in the back yard.  I am at a loss as to why they stuck with this particular hole, because they have never showed such dedication before.  But this is big.  I think a Willow would be just perfect, but them again maybe just a large bush........well, I don't have to decide right now.  But soon.  My list is getting longer and it's all still in my head.  I haven't even written it down yet.....

All gone.

By the time the twins came home from school, the shrubs were out, the mower was still wenched to the rafter in the garage, and my dad decided it would be a great time to run the old water heater to the metal recycling center.  To get that out of the way.  Into town they went. 

I stood there, observing the bare but messy ground, and my mind was filled with what to put in there.  Four O'Clock's for sure, more bulbs, perhaps a trellis and something to climb up it.  Vegetables?  I have those tubs my brother cut up for me......This faces East, blah, blah, blah.......I don't have time for this!  This entire day has been spent and I haven't really done any of my work!  Best to just walk away and see what happens.  I get it from both my parents.  It's the way God made me............enough of this, I was wasting time.

I looked at the clock.  It was 4 pm.  I started to warm something up because I had not eaten that entire day, and I was pretty sure my dad hadn't either.  I also needed to think about supper.  
I warmed up chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes.  My dad showed back up and took in to sharpening blades.  I worried about him cutting himself and bleeding to death, (doesn't he take a blood thinner?) and made him eat something. Yes, made him.  When I asked him if he was hungry he said yes, but he wasn't going to eat because Geri was making supper.  Well, of COURSE she was!  It was 4:30 in the afternoon by now!  I used my "tone" to point out that he hadn't eaten all day and it was ready, so he agreed to a small bowl of noodles.  And appetizer, if you will.  The boys never had come back and at this point I really didn't care if they ever did.  I was exhausted and too tired to really make supper.

Eventually, about 6 hours after the initial job was started, all the jobs were finished.  I was so happy!  I collapsed on the back porch and what did I see but Janine and Jack over there---get this----cleaning out the gutters on their house.  OCH!  I hadn't even considered that, and hope to our sweet Lord that my father hasn't either.  I had to marvel at their strength, not to mention wonder where it came from.  I thanked God again for such wonderful neighbors.  This led to me wondering if my dad would even be able to get out of bed the next day.  I chuckled, remembering how he kept looking at me when I would offer to help or express concern over his ability to lay on concrete multiple times in one day.  I doubted he would be back tomorrow.

In the end the boys did come home, I did feed them.....something,  I can't even remember what, all the jobs were finished, and nobody got hurt.  I told myself I was just obsessing, or being pessimistic, but the voice in my head just said "We'll see".  

In a cryptic tone.

That voice is beginning to get on my last nerve.