I had a lovely day Wednesday (except I forgot to put my garbage out
and so the garbage truck drove right by). I planted my hardy Gardenias in pots
on the deck (that’ll soon be enclosed in my sunroom) and some Azaleas in the
yard. It was a sunny day yesterday and this today will be the same so I’ll get
to do some more winter gardening.
Darrell is
really ripping through the installation of the Pine planking on the walls and
ceiling of the studio. The chimney goes
in next week and that means the studio could be finished before Christmas. I’d
love that because I’ll get to move my art supplies in and set up the furnishings
during the holidays. It’ll be so much fun now that it’s so nice and cozy and warm
in there.
When Ron called about
the chimney installation he said it would cost $3,600 so I said okay. What else
could I do? I have no idea what’s involved or market pricing. But it did seem
expensive to me so I told Darrell and he called Ron back. The price is now fifteen
hundred bucks.
Darrell (and Elaine) treat me like family. That’s what it feels
like. As the saying goes, “They have my back.” He’s incredibly skilled and he
works hard and relentlessly so I have the utmost respect for him. But he’s also
palpably ethical and that makes me trust him. In fact, I trust him completely
and you can’t beat trust and respect as the base for a great relationship.
Already the
studio is much more comfortable. The
insulation is doing a great job of keeping the heat in — heat that’s currently
created by electricity. Clearly, the wood stove is only going to need to burn lightly;
I won’t need a hot stove.
•
I feel kind of badly for Ethel and I’m paying a lot of attention to
her. Fred has kind of abandoned her in favour of hanging out with Sheba. Fred
and Sheba are virtually inseparable. They play together through the day and
sleep together at night. It’s the cutest thing to see; I melt when I wake up in
the morning and see them all curled up together.
Sheba is clearly
growing. She can now jump up on the sofa to sleep. Fred, meanwhile, is losing
his mobility because he’s getting fat — well large. He’s less than half Ethel’s
age and almost twice her size.
•
I wrote to Jay
(my speech is super bad right now) and told him how much I’d enjoy watering his
trees. He’s got a zillion Hazelnut trees in the ground — babies; twigs
basically. And he waters them by hand using a clever system but it’s long
monotonous work — just the thing my mind loves. And it’s feeding trees!
•
Today Todd and Amy are coming to see Sheba, Fred and Ethel. I’m
bombing into the village for supplies before they come and gardening after they
go. Then, late in the afternoon, I love going to see the progress in the studio
when Darrell leaves around 3:00 -3:30. Then, with a Diet Coke in hand, I climb
into the hot tub to visualize how I want to configure the space. And I think to
myself, if life is this good now, how great will it be in summer? I can hardly
wait.
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| Stellar Jays visit every day but as it gets cooler they seem to have gone somewhere. They are so bold, blue gorgeous and noisy. I love them. |
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