Tuesday, July 24, 2018

What to do when the hired help takes a hike

Or things we need to do around Little Pond.

Of course we don't really have hired help. Haha, that would be funny. If we did have the money for hired help, it would not go to pay hired help, but other needed things. No, around here, if it needs doing we do it ourselves. Eventually. Maybe. Er…

Dh has been in charge of grass cutting for most of our marriage (nearly 20 years now), but I will occasionally take a turn while he takes a break. Now, with his kidney disease progressing, this chore will now be mine. He just cannot take the beating the vibration of the mower gives his kidneys. Last time, he missed a day of work due to the pain.

So on Saturday, I mounted up and did the deed. Sounds risqué, but was much less exciting. He had to help me figure out all the workings of our new to me mower, but then I was off and mowing. He did take up part of it for the weedy back yard (has to keep his man card somehow, I guess; arguing is futile).

Killing weeds? I bought a container of weed spray, with a nifty battery operated spayer, and Dh was going to do that while I mowed. But he could not get it to spray. Couple days later, we both tried again, but while the 'motor' in the sprayer handle would work, no spray came out. So I took the lid off it and just poured the killer where we needed it. Except...two days later, and the weeds aren't dead. Not even wilted. What the world???? So that's a bust, for now.

The weeds around the front steps were handled by tipping the steps to one side and then the other, and mowing while they were down. More labor intensive, but it gets the job done. Can't do that at the back door, though.

The pond area. It needs mowing badly, haven't been touched since early spring. It's on the list for next time. We don't even go feed the fish b/c it's so 'snakey' back there.

Porch staining. Has yet to happen. Dh is not able to help move furniture (causes pain later), and I just don't  have the gumption to do it myself in the heat. Maybe in fall, before ds's birthday.

All this bothers me, in a back of the mind kind of way. But there's little to be done about it, so we live with it. It's life for us right now. I tell myself, one thing at a time, and, it's good to have goals. :)

Still, we love it here. Continue to see rabbits nearly daily, which thrills the boy. The heat has abated some, and it's nice around 7pm. We sit on the porch sometimes, taking it all in. God is good, all the time.