Saturday: Of course, I'm starting this on June 3, but we'll call it the first week all the same.
Last night, I was so tired and worn down. I asked John if he wanted to take off trash. He knows this is my code for "Please, let's go for a ride." We went along the backroads, and I could feel the tension melting from my body. We went over to Butler, and we were in shock at the Courthouse Square at the number of cars in that town. Truth, they do have three or four restaurants right there on that side of the square. They all serve good solid food, nothing fancy. There's a pizza place (also serves burgers), the chicken place, and a Chinese place. As we drove around the square I pointed out the bright pink building that houses the new ice cream parlor. John pulled in and I promise you four people followed though there had been no one there when we pulled in. We got a cone to eat on the way home.
We didn't have any solid plans this morning when we got up, but we do like to leave home because we've found that staying home often leads to feeling much like we never get any time off at all. Katie and Caleb had gone out with plans to enjoy themselves all the morning long. We lazed about the house, eating our usual weekend breakfast and I got to enjoy a whole cup of coffee before it got lukewarm. Heaven!
We left home and headed to Indian Springs State Park. I'd visited the park several times over the years. My parents sometimes stopped there when we'd start out on a trip to the mountains. My grandfather, my dad's dad, often took us there so they could fill up gallon jugs with the mineral water from the spring. He believed in the health benefits of it. We were surprised to learn today that it is the oldest state park in the United States.
The springs served as a resort area of sorts for people who went to take the curative waters for what ailed them. It was originally Creek land and just across the road from Indian Springs is an 1823 hotel built by Chief William McIntosh. There's supposedly a museum there now but the roof looked to be in pretty poor shape. I vaguely recall a visit there with my grandparents when I was very young, and we went inside the hotel at that time and did a tour. I don't remember much about it. I doubt I was much older than Isaac, who is six, if I was that old.
We didn't quite get lost, but we missed our turn. And of course, the map I had used was leading us a roundabout way instead of the shorter ride it might have been. I fortunately had a visual real time map that I could see clearly on my phone, and I didn't tell John that we were lost. I could see that we'd come to an intersection that would allow us to easily approach the park from another direction.
We didn't linger long. Saturdays are always busy days at State Parks, and we didn't bring picnic foods with us, nor snacks or anything else. John was impressed with how nice it all was and we have vowed we will return, likely in the fall. We went back to Forsyth where we did get lost, no less than twice, lol, and then we had lunch at a local chain eatery.
We stopped in Musella at Dicky's Farms. I bought peaches. I swore last year I'd eat peaches earlier and later than I've done in the past and yes, they had in their early crop of peaches. I also bought some fresh strawberries picked from the field just across the road from the farm stand, huge blackberries and fresh blueberries. I also got two large Green Tomatoes that I will fry for us to enjoy here at home. I might be doing a pantry challenge, but the fruit and tomatoes will be put to good use.
When we came in, Caleb came out on the porch to greet us. John opened the bag and showed him all the berries and Caleb said "Wow!" reached right in and grabbed handfuls of berries to eat, lol. I think he'll enjoy these fruits.
A far less expensive Saturday out which is nice but an equally relaxing day for us. I'm really enjoying these little road trips we're making that are near home but feel like getaways.
Sunday: John and I didn't go to church today. I just needed to be home after my night. We watched the service on television. When John said he was going outdoors to put new blades on his mower. I said, "I'll come out and work on the bricks about the Turkey Foot oak." I finished that task, did some improvements on the bricks about the Baby Tree and then fixed the border on the bed that runs in front of the back porch. It was plenty of work and I was sweating when done, but it was really nice outdoors with a steady breeze blowing.
Today proved to be a very hard day. It started with another pitiful night of sleep and finding myself unable to get any rest at all. The brief nap I took of less than ten minutes duration was broken as well when Caleb decided to call under the door, "Gramma, Are you?" Sigh, lol.
He was full of mischief and vinegar all day long. He'd woken at 5:30, wouldn't go back to sleep, wouldn't take a nap, fussed, whined, groused. I'm sure if any of the adults had felt more like themselves, then he'd have been a better child, but he was a typical 3-year-old on steroids all day long.
And a little smartie, too. When Sam gave us all those foodstuffs from the school one thing included in plenty was juice boxes and juice cups. He wanted a juice cup and refused to let me put it in his water bottle or his cup. No, he absolutely demanded to drink it from the little cup it came in and of course, they fill those things right to the top. I asked him in frustration, "How exactly do you think you're going to drink this?!" "With my mouth..." Katie, John and I all laughed out loud. Katie said, "And there you are, Dad...Another smart aleck in the family..."
In the afternoon, tired of the rambunctiousness, I told Caleb, "Let's go outdoors. You can play with your Lighthouse." The Lighthouse is what he calls his water table because it has a tower in the middle of it. Even though he knows he's not supposed to mess with the water hose, he not only got it, but he took the head off the hose and ran away with it. I spanked him (not hard enough to make him cry) when he finally brought it back, but I was done. I put the head back on the house, turned it on and turned the hose on him. This delighted him no end. He'd run away then come running back and yell "I'm here..." and I'd shoot the water at him again. He loved it and he ran and ran and ran. After about 20 minutes, I told Katie, "I'll bet he'll sleep tonight!"
I've put aside the Happiness Key book I was trying to read and picked up an Emilie Loring book this evening, because reading the biography has made me want to read her novels once more. Besides they are 'easy' reads. Even with my desire to look up fashions of the day, listen to songs or music mentioned, see places that have historical significance that are included, etc., the books just move at a good pace and the story line doesn't drag.
We all made it through the day though I will confess it was one of the longest days on record.
Monday: Another busy day at home. I was up earlier than I came from my room. Caleb hadn't heard me moving about so I was able to shower, dress, and since I'd found my journal (HOORAY!), I took time to write out my thoughts.
After breakfast, I cleaned the house and then told Caleb we'd go outdoors. I've decided to sort of reduce the size of the bed about the Sweet Gum at the back corner of the house, but I didn't work on that today. I've only just stopped having strong shoulder and back pain from last week's work. No need to set myself up for another week of pain right away! Instead, I went about and weeded the whole of the bed, then raked the leaves off the roots of the iris, so they can breathe. Iris do like to have their feet mostly bare.
While I was weeding, I found a toad so perfectly disguised that I almost put my hands on him. Glad I didn't. I appreciate toads much more if they aren't jumping at me! He was the exact color of the leaves he was sitting among with dark spots on his back. It was his eyes that caught my attention. I brought Caleb over to see him. He was afraid and kept his distance, but I assured him he would not get bitten nor would the frog do anything except hop away.
It made me think of when I was little, my grandfather (Mama's daddy) took me out on the back porch one evening. They'd left the porch light on, and a toad was sitting on the back porch eating bugs that flew in attracted by the light. I was fascinated. He and Granny were always showing us stuff like that in nature and I want to do the same for my grands whenever I can.
We sat on the back porch for a little bit while I cooled off, then Caleb wanted to come indoors and 'play' with Grampa in the music room. I cleared the fridge and sorted things out there, while they played about. I started lunch and put some chicken on to cook for supper. I've changed up my meal plan but we're still eating chicken.
Sam came by and we sat down to talk over his purchase of the last remaining acreage on this old place that another family member decided to sell. Then we went on to discuss our gardens. He has a proper garden. We went outdoors and I was so pleased to hear that he thought my onions were doing a lot better than his own which were planted a week earlier than mine. He admired the way the eggplants have taken off, looked over my tomatoes and herbs. We both are having issues with our basil plants. Mine smells wonderful but it has NO flavor and is turning yellow and simply not looking good at all. I told him I'd planted some Genovese Basil seeds and we'd see how they came along. I put those out about the tomato plants yesterday.
After quiet time today, John went out to mow. Caleb nearly ran himself to death running from window to window trying to track John as he mowed around the house. Boy was it dusty out there. We've had two brief showers on Saturday and Sunday but not nearly enough to do anything any good. Later, when John was done, Caleb 'drove' the mower for John. Y'all. He has to put on his hat and mittens so that he can look like grampa and if he could have found his sunglasses, he'd have worn those, too. When they were all done, he came in and said "Gramma. I drived the mower."
Supper was a big hit with everyone tonight. Score for me!
While they were doing their fun part of the day, I blew off the patio and porches. I had to laugh when we were all in the house once more and John came along and said, "Well did you enjoy it?" "What's that?" "Did you enjoy your time blowing off the porches and patio? Your alone time?" I admit I was bit confused. "You mean that five minutes?" "Well, it was something more than you could have had otherwise." I suppose that's true. But I hope you all understand that I hardly considered it 'alone time'.
Tuesday: I decided this morning when I woke that I deserved a day off. Does a day off mean I did nothing? Of course not. It just meant that I worked indoors instead of out, that I focused on the house and not the yard, that I didn't strain myself trying to do too much. Which is all relevant in the end, isn't it?
After breakfast I cleared up the kitchen really well, then put the finishing touches on the house. Fortunately, it wasn't too messy. John wandered off to the music room to practice a new set of songs. I went into the pantry and called to Caleb to come help.
My purpose was to do an inventory, but also to organize that space afresh. I've been sort of just cramming things in there for weeks now. Quick in and quick out has been the rule of the day. Today as I worked I'd hand off items needed for meals this week, or to replace items used up in the kitchen, or that were past best by dates to Caleb and he'd take them to the kitchen. That little boy nearly ran his legs off carrying things from pantry to the kitchen for me. I told John I was astonished when I walked into the kitchen to see every single item neatly set on the counter. I hadn't realized I'd asked him to do so much until I saw the accumulation.
I suppose I was in that pantry for a good hour. But oh, how much better it looks. I had to go back in after lunch to finish up with the last two shelves, but now I know exactly what I have and where it is. It also gave me an opportunity to get the shelf stable items that Sam had given us organized, too. It gave me pause to think that he quite possibly might give me more next week as well.
I was well and truly ready for my rest time this afternoon. And no, I didn't take myself off to bed for that long promised ten minutes of lying down. If doing that was a requirement for a grade, I'd fail every single day. It is a rare day still before I'll lie down. However, I did doze off in my chair and while my nap wasn't more than five minutes, it helped tremendously to relax just that much.
Supper tonight was so good. I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did. Katie and John both went back for seconds which they seldom do. Made me feel rather smug about the whole thing. While Katie loaded the dishwasher, I put Caleb in the tub and bathed him. I started the dishwasher while she dressed him for bed.
After saying goodnight to Caleb, I went out and fertilized some of the plants. I'll probably do this task two or three days in a row. I'm only doing a few plants each day, not all of them. I decided to fertilize the lilies that are budding up and the Dianthus that is struggling to make a big come back and looking much better, but I thought they could use the extra boost of fertilizer.
I figured at 8pm though it was quite all right to call the day done. Don't you?
Wednesday: This week is going by so very quickly! Or so it seems. Yet, I can't quite figure out why. I've been busy-ish but not pushing as hard as I did last week and certainly am taking rest time seriously this week.
This morning, when the AC kicked on about 9:30, I thought "Uh oh...Here's summer!" It is warm outdoors but Katie informed me that we'll be below 90F every day this week. However, next Friday they are saying we'll hit 100F. OUCH!
Knowing that means next week may be a difficult week to get outdoors to play made me get myself in gear to do things this morning. I started out with a bang, too...By knocking a Pyrex pie plate onto the kitchen floor where it shattered into big and miniscule glitter sized pieces. Ugh. Caleb fortunately was standing nearer the opening to the living room than to me. As we all run around the house with bare feet I was deeply grateful I didn't have to try to keep him tucked in the kitchen sitting corner while I swept the floor multiples of times. After I'd gone over it, John and I stepped back from different perspectives to see if we could see anything glittering. Yes, there was a bit more. I swept again and then we both looked at it all over again and declared it cleaned up.
I made a quick lunch plan, prepped a couple of items and then took Caleb outdoors.
I found my first little tomato laying in the pot. Somehow it had been broken completely off from the plant. So right now I'm back to saying I can grow beautiful tomato plants. I was so sad to see that tomato lying on its side at the bottom of the plant. I had taken fertilizer out with me to feed the roses and tomatoes. I have a few more plants to feed, but I'll do it in small bites.
I cleaned out Caleb's water table. The whole time I was watering the Gardenia, Hydrangea, herbs and another pot that were very dry. Caleb wanted to play in the water, and I knew it, but the patio, at that point of the day is in full sun and it was hot. I was pouring sweat; his face was red and wet with perspiration. I suggested we go back up on the porch to play or that he plays on the lush green grass in the shade of the Faith Tree. He decided to play on the porch. The porch is a good four and a half feet higher than the patio and catches the loveliest breezes. Thankfully there were plenty of breezes and we both cooled down considerably.
After lunch today I sat down to read emails and had several lovely comments on last night's Iced Tea Chat post that went out. It does help tremendously to know not only what you all have found helpful but that you too have experienced the same sort of feelings I was trying to convey in that post. Thank you for reaching and letting me know! It's funny, but just knowing that another woman understands helps so much.
Thursday: Sheesh on the sleep factor. I did assign breakfast duties to John this morning. I slipped muffins in the toaster oven to warm and he fried the eggs.
I hurried through the small amount of housework we needed to do today and told Caleb we'd go to the grocery. I might be doing a pantry challenge, but the child must have his milk and fruit.
The trick was to figure out which store has the most deals I could potentially use, where I was least likely to come across a potential breakdown for Caleb. I mean, seriously, if I've no plans to visit the castle play space, I'd best not go past one.
Well, the smart little boy reminded me of something that made the decision easier. As we were pulling out of the yard, he said, "Chicken, Honey, 'roni n Cheese..." Well, that fixed my mind. I had forgotten that it was Taylor's weekend, and we must have Gramma's Fried Chicken. I always prefer to buy it late in the week and not on the weekend, just because weekends tend to be a difficult time to get chicken.
Caleb behaved wonderfully well today. He's in his room now playing with his new 'race cars', a set of matchbox cars he chose himself. For the money that is one of the best toys I can find these days. They hold up beautifully, are sturdy as can be, don't break, don't have removable tires...I could go on and on. They are also inexpensive. And he loves them so they're a great toy for him.
I really need to be thinking about tonight's supper, but I haven't done a thing but think thus far. I've made no move to thaw anything. And frankly at the moment, I don't even care. Somehow, we always seem to have a meal, and no one ever goes hungry. I'd planned to make soup...but perhaps canned soup will do just as well, with a sandwich. Simple and easy.
Friday: The house is clean and neat. The sheets and towels are fresh. Laundry is done. Supper is in the slow cooker. Lunch is cooking at the moment. I spent a good 1.5 hours outdoors puttering around the yard doing various tasks. I thinned and transplanted (fingers crossed) marigolds. I deadheaded the lovely but unknown wildflowers next to the shed and scattered seeds in the flower bed. I'd like more of those to come up, this year or next. I transplanted the two (not one!) tomatoes in the compost pile and watered all the pots on the back side of the house deeply as well as the potted rose in the corner flower bed.
I'm not quite done for the day, but so far, it's been productive and slow. I expect the afternoon to be much the same. The air outdoors was unexpectedly cool, making my tasks very pleasant indeed. Caleb heard the 'Boo Hoo Hoo' call of a Mourning Dove and said "Itsa owl."
I had a little better sleep last night, which helps the outlook upon life tremendously. All the love you all sent after my Iced Tea post was so deeply appreciated. Thank you all for reading, for caring, for saying you feel I'm a friend. It meant much to me.
I do know that my life is worthwhile. And yes, retirement indeed does look differently than I'd expected it might look. I'm trying to focus on the gems and not the dirt that surrounds them.
I'm praying for many of you. Dora, thinking of you and Liz both who are in New York, Dale you too though I know you're not in New York, and all of you who are facing the smoke and poor air quality from the wildfires.
I hope you all had a lovely week. Or at least a nice one. I pray you have a nice weekend. Come and tell us about your week. I love hearing from you and no comment is ever too long! Much love to all of you!