Grayson's Legacy

 Friday was a lovely day. We walked with our friends in the morning, and then we came home to welcome Grayson. What a guy! He’s done so, so much sawing, now he’s stacking and soon he’ll be splitting. 

While he worked on the heavy stuff, I also kept busy outdoors. I got started on cleaning my deck and the courtyard. I got a very good start done, but I’ll need another day to finish the job. When Her Highness and I went for our afternoon walk, I was a zombie having been active working much of the day.

Grayson worked six and a half hours today, bless him. And as you’ll see below in the photos, there is more work to be done. He’ll be back to stack the wood that I purchased in a few weeks. When he splits the big rounds in the new shed doesn’t matter, but it will likely be in the Fall.

The money I have spent on Grayson is equivalent to what the cost of buying the same amount would be, but instead of giving my money to a man whose very, very wealthy, I’m paying an honorable young man who likes doing the work. And I get to burn wood that otherwise would have rotted in the forested part of Pinecone Park.

What you don’t see in the photos below, is all the crap from me and from the previous owner that was piled out of sight amongst the two woodsheds and the sauna (that is unfinished). Plus, the new woodshed was piled high with crap. Now all that out-of-sight area is tidy and clean. The old woodshed has no more siding blocking the circulation of air. The new woodshed gets a lot of direct sunlight exposure. It’s thrilling.

He'll soon be finished, and I have already started yard work. It’s very gratifying to begin restoring order to the yard. I’m going to try to do a lot of raking and toting of detritus, and then there’s shearing all the lawns and the greenery growing in the cracks of the courtyard. I hope Henri will attend to rejuvenating the gardens. That’s my plan.

Last night, perhaps because I was active much of the day, I could hardly breath and walk. When I went outside to take the photos below, I was struggling to make it back to the house. I’m going to make an appointment with my nurse practitioner. I’ve written what I want to say to her on paper.

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I keep getting emails from manufacturers and retailers asking me how I liked their product or service. The emails always have a link to a survey that will “only take a few minutes of your time.” In principle, I will never complete the survey, but I would gladly do it if I were paid. These firms and individuals don’t give me free services or products, so I will not do anything for free for them. 

Wood can now be stacked for the entire length of the shed. Grayson removed
all the old paint the previous owner left behind on shelves in the far corner
of the shed. Wood will be stacked in three rows along the back wall.

This is one side of the old woodshed.

The other side, plus another half-cord that will be stacked on the planks
laying on the ground. This is all wood from felled trees in my yard.

This is the new woodshed that is a former dumping ground. These rounds
will dry over the summer and be split in the fall.

Bark is brilliant for burning.

This wood will soon be split and stacked. 

The old woodshed had enclosed sides which we have opened up to
increase circulation and hasten drying.

More bark to stack and branches yet to be cut into shorter pieces.

This wood is still in the yard and will soon be split and stacked.

There are little piles of wood to be split and stacked scattered around
the property, but Grayson is almost done for now.

Branches awaiting being cut into smaller pieces.

Feeling Great!

Thursday was a day of fine sunny weather, but it’s Saturday that’s predicted to be a wonderful 18°! God, I hope that happens.

We went for a morning walk together before my Zoom call with my UK stuttering group. It was an excellent session. We’ve been getting a lot of new people and I’m really enjoying being part of the group.

When we were done, I fed the brood and then Sheba and I went into the village to shop, and then we went to Rollo Park to play fetch. I’m hoping playing fetch every day, which she loves to do, will help her lose the weight she put on when felled by her sore feet. She spent a month without any exercise.

Late in the afternoon, we went to Elder Cedar to walk. It’s gorgeous to walk there when the sun is shining, and the sound of the stream that runs through the park adds to the wonderful sensory experience of walking in the rain forest.

When we got back, I got started on an essay that I will give to Jennifer, my nurse practitioner. I haven’t yet made an appointment with her. I’m still waiting to see if I hear from the cardiologist that Dr. Chen said he’d arrange for me, but I suspect that he’s forgotten to make the referral. I’m not at all a fan of Dr. Chen because he mumbles and doesn’t make eye contact when he speaks to me. My prejudice may be affecting my patience and thinking, but I do want to get onto finding out what is wrong.

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I didn’t care for Bob Dylan when I was young. Song lyrics went in one ear, and out the other. My heartbeat to the music. That’s all I hear. I didn’t like Dylan’s voice. And speaking of things I didn’t like. I’ve never warmed to Timothée Chalamet. I don’t know why, I just had no interest. However, I also hated all things western, including books set in the American West, but Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. It is set in the American West.

I live with a constant strong emotional response to a broad spectrum of stimuli. I have strong prejudices. I loathed Rita, Don Tyrell’s girlfriend. She was Connie Tyrell’s nurse. I hated Rita because I had been admiring Don’t dedication to Connie, but it was Rita having him go to the hospital after work and when he came home, he went to bed. I was out most nights anyway. But then, when she had her breakdown shortly after Don died, I became her guardian can came to love her. 

I’m very grateful for these experiences because they remind me of the risks of serving prejudices. I was thrilled to find I loved Angle of Repose, and I am very proud of how I cared for Rita and that I came to love her. I’m very proud of that. I couldn’t help it. She was so kind, and she said such nice things to me, how could I not fall in love with her? She did things Connie never did. She cared for me.

Well …. Pay attention Beth.

Last night I watched A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan bio-pic, staring Timothée Chalamet, and I had just the most fabulous time watching it. I cried when I heard the first cords of most of the songs. How could I not love this movie? It’s about a time I lived through. The cliché is true: it is the soundtrack of a time in my life when my generation was becoming who they would be for the rest of our lives. 

But what stunned me, was Mr. Chalamet. All my many non-metaphorical hats are on the floor. He has Dylan’s speaking voice down pat, and the guy sings and plays the guitar in all the songs. I was truly impressed. Hearing all those songs though, is very overwhelming because they were all making me cry. But now, I hear the lyrics and it’s no wonder he won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. And it's no wonder Mr. T. was nominated for an Oscar.

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I once watched a man, while I was awaiting a train in Deli, who was sitting squatted on the ground with a bathroom scale in front of him, and I could see man after man stepping onto the scales, but what drew me to him, was the crowd around him that was so engaged with the weighing. They were constantly cheering.

I went over to get a closer look, and a man in the crowd spoke to me in English. He asked me if I understood what was going on. I said I didn’t and that I really wanted to know, so he explained what was going on. He was running a gambling operation. People would pay him ten rupees (I’m guessing the amount), and then he’d kind grip/massage the fellow’s wrists and he’d have the fellow jump up and down while he had his head very close to the jumper’s stomach. Then he’d tell the client what he thought the client weighed, then the client would step on the scale and read aloud his weight.

If the person weight was more than the man’s guess plus two pounds on either side of his guess, then the man would pay the client 25 rupees (again, I am guessing, but the principle is there). But the man was very rarely wrong.

Everybody knew the guy’s story. He’s learned the game while sitting idle simply charging people 2 rupees to weigh themselves. That is how he once earned his living. He invented the game out of necessity to feed a growing family, and he was very, very successful.

Do something often enough, and you get good at it. That includes living with a disease or disorder. For me, that has meant living a life of low stimulation. I love in a dark home in silence. All I hear is chosen. Sometimes I hear a chain saw, sometimes a generator, but it’s not very loud with solid log walls.

I stopped entertaining, and I try to never be around more than 4 people. This has been a bit of a challenge to live in Winter. In Summer, I see neighbours all the time walking the street or in their yard on either side of me. I’m frequently in very short, very warm conversations as they pass or over the fence. I enjoy these Summer social moments.

Yesterday afternoon, I did a walkabout. The garden beds are desperate for attention, as is the yard. I shall enjoy doing as much as I can each dry day, once it get’s warmer. What I saw on my walkabout excited me. More and more of the beds are green with new growth, and more grown than last year. All the annuals have expanded and look so lush and vibrant. I want to clean their beds.

And the sun, and the longer days, and Sheba’s four healthy paws, and although I can very easily run out of breath, I am still alive and happy and very excited to soon be embarking on another wonderful bright and warm season. The bees are buzzing around me again, when we walk. There are blossoms and flawless young shiny emerald leaves everywhere. Yesterday, all the weight of my beathing blew off my shoulders.

I endure the cold and wet season. I survive it easily only because of the firebox. I thrive in the warm season. I live a bear’s life: dormant in the cold, living full when it’s warm. It’s enjoyable doing the yard work that I can do—the watering and the cleaning of the yard. Henri does the beds. Grayson stacks the wood. Life felt so, so good yesterday, and the thrill was back for Pinecone Park.

Mr. Idles Island Life

tuesday

We went for our walk Tuesday morning, and then we went into the village for a quick shopping trip before coming home. I was keen to get to work outdoors because it was so fine a day. I got right to chain sawing branches, and although I have a small saw, I still found it tiring. But I got all the big branches sawn into burnable sized pieces before it was time for lunch.

Once the brood was fed, I got to work removing the siding from my primary woodshed. I loved being outside and so did Sheba. Dave, next door, took the day off and Sheba loves Dave, so she was back and forth between our yards all afternoon. She played with Dave a lot while I removed the siding.

Grayson didn’t turn up until the middle of the afternoon. He needed parts for his chainsaw and had to go into Nanaimo to get them. Sheba and I went to Elder Cedar to walk at 2:30 and when we got back, Grayson’s truck was in the driveway. I just can’t believe what a nice guy he is! But he’s gone now until at least Sunday. Sigh.

He approved of my work on the shed and felt I could take some of the back wall off the shed as well. I shall do that today. The woodshed is getting lots of sunlight now and with the warm temperatures coming, my wood will season well this Summer.

wedesday

Yesterday was another bright and sunny day, but I didn’t do any yard work, I didn’t have the drive that I had on Tuesday. So, it was another Winter-like day indoors. It amazes me how time passes while I accomplish absolutely nothing. I’ve even stopped reading. I just want to idle the time away.

It was a cool day, even though it was bright and sunny. The weather has been cooler again. The forecast had been for warm weather today (18°), but it’s currently 3° and is likely to only reach the low teens today. Sigh. The best part of our day was playing fetch in the sunshine at Rollo Park. 

Last night I watched a truly dreadful movie. A major problem was Nicole Kidman. My God, I wish that woman would stop working so other women could get a crack at time before the lens. Her overly surgically engineered face betrays nothing to viewers, but even worse was the plot of the film. I couldn’t finish watching it. I went to bed early instead.

thursday

Today, I Zoom with my UK stuttering group. And time will pass easily and slowly like all my days of late.

It’s been a month and a half since I saw Dr. Chen and accepted his offer for a referral to a cardiologist for a second opinion. I have heard nothing since. I feel shut out. I’ll wait a little longer to see if I hear from anyone, but I may return to my nurse practitioner to ask her what I should do.

Good Day Incoming

Sunday was quite the lovely day. We took a short walk in the morning, but we walked the Elder Cedar trail in the afternoon. The rest of the day passed easily and pleasantly because it was a nice bright day. I even did some yard work, but not much because I got too tired. I hope to do more today.

Grayson did not come yesterday but he will be here today. Yesterday would have been a great day for him to work because it was bright and sunny, but today and all the rest of the week looks amazing. We’re getting endless sunshine for a while and temperatures will reach as High as 18°! Hooray!

Yesterday, I got outside to do yard work. I had a large pile of crap left over from the bomb cyclone months ago. It was too wet to burn, so I had to shovel it all into the wheelbarrow and schlep it into the backyard dump. It was overwhelmingly exhausting, but I persevered, taking breaks to recover my breath.

Now all the branches, cones and tons of needles are gone and I’m ready to call Gabriola Disposal to have all the shite from the sheds taken to the dump. Once they come to take all the crap I’ve piled in the driveway, my front yard will once again look like I care about keeping Pinecone Park looking tidy.

And all the remaining work is for Grayson. I will attend to raking the lawns, the courtyard and the driveway when he is finished. That’s light work that I can do. Otherwise, the rest is for him, and then I call Henri to come to clean up the garden beds. And today is a gorgeous day. I’m glad Grayson can work in dry sunny weather.

I’ll be sawing some branches today. I’ll be using my girlie chain saw and not sawing my hand. When that is done, I plan to take the siding off one of the woodsheds to increase air circulation inside. Grayson will use the siding I remove to widen the roof to keep rain off the wood.

It’s going to be a good day!