Staying Busy

Wednesday was for recovery. Sheba is out of action again due to another foot problem, and I was recovering from two heavy days of work on Monday and Tuesday. So, when I rose to temperatures of only 14°, I lit a morning fire to warm us all up. I was committed to a slow, easy day.

I began the day with watering the gardens. Then I took a quick trip into the village to buy a roasting pan so that I could bake the ham I got from François and Eoin. It was the first time I have cooked pork in over 40 years. By then, the sun had come out and I loved its warmth on my back as I watered the front gardens.

I was so sore and tired from the two days of work. I moved slowly through the day, but I did not stay idle. I cleaned and tidied my pantry, and then I felt obligated to bring order to the shed because it had become such a chaos of materials—both mine and Pete’s. I enjoy tidying and cleaning because the places I clean look so very much nicer when I am done. Plus, it is easy to move around in the shed now and to find things.

Next up was attending to the ham. Although I ate bacon and pork chops periodically until I quit doing so out of love for pigs, I never cooked a ham. So yesterday was a first. It was kind of exciting, and that’s a big change from the horror of eating pork that I lived with for so long.

Then it was time for some wood filling. That meant more bending. My hip hates me. It didn’t take too long to do the wood filling though, and then it was time to finish with the watering and to do some weed whacking to get a start on grounds control. And next, a spa and evening on the couch after a delicious ham dinner.

The highlight of the day was getting into the spa after yet another productive day, proud of all the work I’ve done. Pete, of course, did the heaviest work, but I was at his side all the time, doing the jobs that people hate to do, and supporting Pete by fetching things. Plus, I did a lot of sanding.

It was lovely to have the day to myself and to clean-up the shed. It looks fabulous. And today, I plan to weed whack the lawns. And then I’m going to buy some small paving stones and start converting my wooden boardwalk through the backyard to a paving stone path. Then I’ll fill all the gaps with topsoil and seed it in the fall. That will complete Pinecone Park’s makeover.

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Today has dawned sunny but cool. Cool, however, is okay with me. It’s nice to work and not sweat up a storm. I’ve sanding of the wood filler to do today, and I’ll likely do some weed whacking. There’s lots and lots to do.