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Showing posts with the label labor

What is Your Worth?

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         We have contacted landscapers throughout the years but have never been able to afford the asking price.  The last bid was at 8,000.  Uh, that ’ s twice the amount I was willing to go – though I thought it was still too high.  Since then Richard has been watching DYI videos on what we can do.          While we were watching the DYI landscape videos, we heard our censors go off to indicate that perhaps there was more presence than just the turkey in our yard. Two youth were at the door announcing that they were willing to do some landscaping work.   I let Richard know.   He ended up hiring the kid who said he would replace our pipe hose for 50 dollars.   That ’ s a lot of work for only 50 dollars – but Richard accepted his offer.   No written contract.   No credentials.   The kid is a high school drop-out.   But he did it.         He weed wa...

Anniversary Relived

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                 Yesterday marked the 20 th year of my marriage with Roland.   You think a couple might want to spend their 20 th anniversary with some kind of milestone celebration.   But both of us managed to forget – and yet I had just mentioned it to Jenna the day prior.   And thus our anniversary was celebrated in the same manner that many birthdays and anniversaries have gone during the pandemic.   We labored.                 We moved the freezer into the back room. We emptied the water barrel moved that as well.   Refilled with water. We unstocked and took apart shelves in the office and put a couple up in the backroom and one in the laundry hall and restocked them.   We finally did take a break between 10:30 and 11:00 to grab some food.   I had hoped for breakfast and NOT Mexican, but we ended up at a local Mexican that we had ...

Day 5: More Pictures

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On our fifth day was two weeks ago today.  We were at the house Randy put us to work.   Who doesn’t love doing yard work during their vacation?   Better than being cramped up in a plane or a car I suppose. Also his corner lot yard is much easier to manage than the wilds of our backyard.  Devin doing dishes Roland mowing lawn Jenna looks overly thrilled in all of these pictures happy to have recruited family to do chores I was certainly not dressed for the part "This is NOT how I wanted to spend my vacation" holding the cord of the lawnmower Me with my youngest grandson This is how Roland and I would vacuum at the church.  He would push the vacuum and I would hold the cord.

Reminiscing 70+ years: Dreams

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            Mom loved to dance, but didn't have many   opportunities to do so as it wasn't one of dad's favorite things.   She told me that she was a brilliant choreographer during her sleep and she would dance the night away.   She said she wished she were as active during the day and that perhaps she could lose some weight.   I think often my mom felt self-conscience about her appearance   and perhaps did not pursue her dreams of dancing as she didn't figure she had the figure for it.            She did seem to lose weight whenever she was involved in a sewing project - usually clothes for me.   I know she made matching shirts for the entire family when Kayla was just a baby.   She did make a couple of matching outfits for me and Kayla.   But as I think about it, I believer most of her projects she made were clothes for me.              I liked wea...

Not Even Close

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               This morning I started a search for pics to go with the next post I had mind – which has only been written in my head and outlined on paper, but still needs to be transferred which I had planned today but things don’t always go according to plan . . . like yesterday morning seeing Riddle before the town awakens and the streets have no traffic on them whatsoever.             I did not notice any traffic as I drove to the blueberry patch this morning.  The drive seems long each time I go out there, but somehow felt even longer this morning.  I had gone a different way than I had the other 12 – 20 times I’d gone there before.  The sun shining directly over the spotty windshield did not help matters.  I felt like I had been driving for half an hour at least.             I wish I had left the house s...

That Was a Less-Than-Productive Day

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                Roland had asked Troy if he would like to earn some extra money by cutting the grass on our hill.   What a chore!   Troy came by about 9:00 the other day and Roland showed him what we were attempting to do outside.   Troy said he could return the following morning to remove the debris so that we can continue our garden.                 So yesterday, Troy showed up with his wheel barrow and worked hard.   Fortunately the sun was not blazing yet.   Troy is a good worker.   He was the most productive yesterday.                 Ike is a retired electrician but had told Roland he would come over to check out some sensitive spots that we would like to change.   I had been on the computer attempting t...