Sunday began cloudy and fresh, but by noon the clouds had cleared, but the temperature stayed a refreshing 20°. I walked Her Highness and then Zoomed with my stuttering group who are planning to come here to visit me later in the Summer.
Then it was a quick lunch and back to loading, toting and stacking wood. And what a change I noticed. Doing 5 barrow loads is nothing anymore. Once it was the maximum I could do before taking a break. Now it is easy to do 8 loads before resting. I feel much, much stronger, and the proof is that I quickly dispatched all the remaining split wood to the shed. It is done!
I still have wood to split from the felled trees in the back of my lot. I expect I’ll do that next. It’s more fun that scraping and wire brushing the deck. I’m chuffed by all I have accomplished in the three weeks of good weather we’ve had. There’s lots more to do, but the end is in sight and for the rest of the summer it will be just watering and weeding.
My neighbour, Alwin, brought me a Petasites Japonicus. It’s fa shade-loving plant with very, very large leaves. It’s gorgeous and structural and a welcome addition to my garden.
And I had another visitor. As I was loading up the wheelbarrow with wood, out of one piece of wood jumped the cutest little mouse. I very carefully unloaded the wood and then helped him to safety in my garden. He is the cutest little guy. I cannot understand how people can be afraid or disgusted by the little mice we have here. They are adorable.
The cleaning up was the worst part of the splitting and stacking of the bought wood. Once all the wood was stacked there was a carpet of wood bits, bark and dirt—lots of dirt—that had to be cleaned up off my tarp. Then I folded up my massive tarpaulin and put it away until next year’s wood is delivered. That’s one huge job finished!
And as soon as I was done, I was in the hot tub. Oh, the joy! Then I took Her Highness for a lovely long walk before coming home to clean myself up and get dressed for dinner with Stacy, Kris, Steve, Bryce and Nancy. Woo hoo!
It was my first party since my speech got worse. I went to the meeting with my gay friends, but I took all I wanted to say in writing and shared it with them. Last night was different. I do not feel at all good about going to parties. It’s just like when I was in France and went to parties and could not say anything. It was rough, but my friends are most understanding and it went okay.
Then, after dinner when we had moved inside, I was sitting on the couch when Stacy came and sat beside me, and she put her arm around me. I have come to love this woman, largely because her affection for me is palpable. We talked together while everyone else was in their own conversations, and I became totally fluent. When I found myself involved in an intimate conversation with Stacy, I was fully functional. That gave me joy.
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Today I will be frantically busy. I have been so busy with the wood chopping etc., I have ignored the house, so I have a whack of cleaning and tidying to do because at noon, Susan, her son and his partner arrive for a visit. We’re going to have a meal together and visit Tugboat Island together in Ian and Jay’s boat.
I’m so cumulatively tired, I can hardly wait for tomorrow when I will take an entire day to myself to relax. I’ll putter around the yard, but no heavy work. I will be focused on rest.
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