Day of Rest

Yesterday I was up at 5:00 and in the yard watering just before 6:00. Watering now involves hosing down all the branches of my Cherry, Plumb, Apple, Raspberry and Blueberry plants to rid them of the bazillion caterpillars that are now starting to cocoon. Soon we’ll be infested with moths that leave their eggs everywhere to hatch next Spring. I have a spray now that I will use next year.

Sheba walked very happily this morning. Her foot is much, much better and I am hugely relieved. After our walk, we went grocery shopping. The deck work has obsessed me since Sunday, and I am behind on domestic chores like shopping and cleaning. By the time we got back, it was late enough for me to start using the sander and to get to work.

First, though, I fixed my fountain and got it working again. I was not exactly keen to get started sanding. But at 10:00, I began, wearing two masks because of all the dust. I put on one mask that I dampen and then I put another mask over top. Plus, I double dosed my inhalers this morning, just to be safe. 

It’s hard work. Pete is a fit, young 63-year-old man He ae sanded for hours straight. I just don’t know how he does it. I am slow; I need a break every hour. There’s no deadline, so I’m not concerned with pace. I’m chuffed that I am doing some of the sanding and that Pete has not done the entire deck.

I quit for lunch at 11:30. I was not yet half-way through the work I wanted to do yesterday. I had an accident. I sanded the power cord oi the sander and it severed the wires, so I went into the studio to do the repairs.  I took an electricity course in high school, and it was one of the smarter things I did. If I hadn’t been able to do the repair, all work would have come to a stop. It’s a borrowed sander. I’ll be able to return it in full working order, but I will offer to pay to have the entire cord replaced, and I’ll offer to do all the shlepping involved as well.

Pete freaked when I told him about the cord because he borrowed the sander from a kind of edgy neighbour. I researched where to get it fixed in Nanaimo, but the cost of taking over and coming back, and another return trip to pick it up costs more than a new sander. So I bought one for the neighbour and Pete’s buying the one with the damaged cord from me for $40. We’re both happy with the solution.

After he left, I was back at it. It is so hard on my back and arms. I’m very glad this is not something I’ll have to do again. I may want to do some touching up next year, and even more likely, the year after that, but I won’t be doing this major makeover again. I finally finished all the sanding we need to do at 4:00pm. By then, I’d been working since 5:00 am and I was ready to stop. I took Heba for a walk, feeling mighty good about all I’d accomplished.

And guess what. Pete came over to see how I was doing. He was gobsmacked. He apologized for underestimating me and speaking condescendingly. (I never felt he was either.) He thought it would take me 2-3 days to do all the sanding. He was really proud of me, and it felt really good to rise in his estimation. He’s such a fine guy. I love him to bits.

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Today will be a day of rest. My shoulder and hip need a day off. Besides, it’s cooler and cloudy and I am uninspired by the weather. I suspect I’ll have trouble staying inside all day, so I’ll likely use Pete’s power washer to clean the front deck and sidewalk, but that’s all I’ll do. I miss spending time with Commissario Guido Brunetti.