Mix It Up

We all need a mix of experiences to better balance and fully enjoy life.  I tend to go full throttle at one undertaking... regardless of whether it is blogging, exercising at the gym, landscaping, horsing around with Amiga, walking all FG roads, dancing, hiking, working on the job, or playing.  It is important though, that I don't get so fully engrossed in one endeavor, that I forget (or not take time) to do other things.  Not only should we mix up our activities, we should have a wide range of people we do things with.

Back in the day, when I used to teach, we took the national campaign (Mix It Up at Lunch Day), launched by Teaching Tolerance in 2002, from a one day a year effort, to a monthly attempt at encouraging students to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch.  (The cafeteria is the place where divisions are most clearly drawn).  This was a simple act with profound implications.  It helped students to identify, question and cross social boundaries.  Studies showed that interactions across group lines help reduce prejudice.  When students interacted with those who were different from them, biases and misperceptions fall away.

Saturday morning I got last week's blog posted and then went out to work in the yard.  While lying in bed thinking, before getting up, I had remembered these rocks out front, that would make better borders on the flat concrete slab part of the old water way that opens up to the back hill side.  They are more uniform rock (and not sandstone) so will be better as a retaining wall.  I hauled them to the back and got them cleaned up and fitted into position.  I also had to move river rock to replace where these had been out front.

Once Joe got home from work at 1:30, (he works at the St. George Marina Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings now) he left in my car, to go to Car-max in Knoxville on his way to Cherokee.  We are looking to replace my Vibe because it is getting to the age of decline, and we don't want to mess with continual repairs or have me getting stuck out on the road with a broken down vehicle.     


The drainage ditch was my main project, but I got distracted when moving some rock I had hauled home, wanting to use one big slab down in back.  It broke into three pieces when I dropped it on the ground, so I just made three steps out of it, seen left.  They lead down to the big rock slab by the pond.
 





 I mixed up a batch of concrete, got the rocks for the retaining wall cemented into place, and covered them in plastic so the mortar would cure better.

Nearly running out of time, I took a quick shower before going into work.  I clocked out for a 20 minute dinner break to run home and feed and walk Maggie.


Then Cindy came into work at 8 pm, to close for me, so I could go to Red's where I was joining Shirley, Brian, and his clan.  We had a great time singing and dancing to some of our favorite songs.  Ed, seen right, is one of our houseman at the CC.  Terry runs the music, accompanies singers where needed, and sings many songs on his own.  This guy (video) displayed his harmonica playing talent.  I got home at midnight and was soon in bed, fast asleep.

This Lady, from Cat's Meow, (where the little pig, Kevin Bacon also resides) brought a lamb in to Church Sunday morning... which was fitting for the day's sermon.  Isn't he cute, except maybe the diaper.

When I went out to work on the drainage ditch project, I saw this chipmunk lying in the canal.  At first I thought she was dead, but her eyes opened for a moment and she was trying to crawl.

I moved her to a shady spot under the bush nearby so at least she wouldn't overheat.  This also better hid her from predators.  I thought about getting her some water or an apple, but later, when I went to check on her, she was gone.
  




I spent several hours working out back.  Right photo at day's start, bottom left at finish.  This time I got concrete pavers (that Allen had as a low retaining wall to keep the ditch water from washing out his side of the back hill) that he donated to my project.  Once I got them cleaned up, I cemented them down for the bottom of the trough.

  



I decided to mix it up, in terms of activities, so went over to Brian's to watch part of the hockey game with him and his friends from CA, Ken and Linnea.  I took cheese, crackers, and beer, to have my rest break and snack, before heading to the barn.

I had loaded  a bunch of logs from our pile, into the SUV (because Joe was still out of town with my car).  I got the real big ones, to spare Joe needing to split them.  This would help to down size the pile in back... with hopes of converting our wood burning fire place to gas, sooner than later.  I nearly dropped one huge log, scrapping my arm and bruising my leg.  Ouch!

After unloading logs at the barn, I had a great evening ride on Amiga.  We went in the winter pastures riding around the edge of the four fields.  It was still pretty warm and because the footing was unfamiliar, I kept Amiga at a walk except when on the gravel road.  She was a little concerned by the (four total) tractors we saw parked in various places, but otherwise did well.










Once done riding, I called Zorro (video) and took him into the wash rack to brush and then treat his hoof. 
I had to water grass seed (it has been so hot and dry) in the dark with the back lights on when I got home.


All of Monday was dedicated to the drainage project.  Seen left, I cemented down four more pavers.  Then, seen below, I continued finding rocks for the retaining walls, and cementing them into place.














This is the rock pile I have (from rock I have been gathering from around the Glade) to make my selection from.  Building rock walls is like jigsaw puzzle work, only it is a three dimensional perplexity, and the pieces are a lot heavier to move around. 


Stevie was working her own puzzle, so to speak...  how to fit into the jigsaw puzzle box to take a nap.

There were diversions from rock work, as I mixed things up and loaded up another bunch of logs, re-stacked the now much smaller log pile, water proofed the boots Judy had given me, and sat to eat lunch.


Once Joe got home from his poker weekend, I had him help me move benches.  The bench from the front porch we put down by the pond on the big rock slab.









I plan to take time to sit here by the pond and watch golfers and water life.  In the photo on the right and the one below, you can see the much smaller and neatly stacked log pile.


Next we moved the glider from on the deck, to the front porch.  I wasn't sure if I wanted this old thing out front, but it doesn't look too bad.  A bunch of rust fell off of it as we moved it.  And at one point, it pinched my finger, so now I have another ouchie.  Also, notice the new Japanese maple I planted last December, it is leafing out and looking beautiful.





While working with the wet cement, I also wore holes in the fingers of my new sheep skin gloves, and burnt the skin off of two of my finger tips.  More pain and suffering, ha ha ha.


Tuesday morning this deer (seen left) was very leery of the bench down in the woods where I always put some corn.  It took her a great deal of time to finally make her way over to it, and even then she was still jumpy and unable to feel comfortable enough to eat.  Later in the day, as usual, the ducks came and cleaned up what she didn't eat.

 It was another day in the high 80's so I kept wetting the concrete that has been setting up.  I also watered all of the transplants (more than I can count) that I have planted in the past year.  The grass seed got watered too.  I worked in back, only getting one bag of concrete mixed and rocks cemented in, because watering took precedence.

Just after noon, and lunch, I headed to the barn, with my last load of logs.  (Zorro was with Smurf as usual)  I treated his hoof and let him and Amiga chill out together at the wash rack while I got her tacked up.

Then Jan and I went on a 2 1/2 hour ride, going almost 8 miles and burning 600 calories... according to her "map this route."  The tent caterpillars are out and we could see them wiggling within their silk bag.  Seen right, Amiga and I were taking a closer look at Terry's new farm property, (unofficial still) from under the old look-out tower.

Jan and I met Karen going out as we came back to the barn.

Seen right, Karen is feeding the dogs with a spoon from the can of dog food.  She spoils them... and they love her.




Joe got a load of dirt for me, and also picked up carry-out hamburgers at Dorchester after golfing there.  When I got home, we ate dinner, and then were off to Legends for a few hours of Karaoke, some singing, and a few dances along with a couple of beers.


During Wednesday morning's walk I took photo's, to include here, to kind of mix it up.  This gives you a break from all the backyard work and horse photos.  Seen right, pollen floating on the pond.  It has been so hot and dry for so long, there is pollen dust everywhere and when the wind blows, it sometimes looks like a mini dust storm.


However, pollen is a result of some of these beautiful flowers seen throughout the Glade.  I like the different colors of these azalea's in front of this house I always walk by.  Below, are the dogwood lining our street.  Allen's house is is the middle and ours is behind the columbarium on the left.
  






Wednesday was dedicated to working on the water way all day.  Again it was very warm.  I have managed to get sun burned in a few areas where I had neglected to put sunscreen.  It's just something else to add to my misery.  But I don't mind... I love working outdoors.



I took lots of time moving pavers (removing Allen's wall) and lining them up for use farther down stream in the base (bottom) of the channel.  The old porch concrete slabs were put along side for filler and then I fitted more of the rocks into the puzzle of the walls that are needed to contain the water when it is gushing down the water way.






Joe was off playing cards so I skipped dinner and worked past dark.  I did take Maggie for a 20 minute walk, and sat on the bench by the pond to snack and rest.









At dusk, I also gave everything a good watering again.  Then, like several nights this week, I took PM sleep aid and pain relief because of my sore hands, wrist, bruises and sunburn... and now, additionally for my back and knees, that have also taken a beating. 

Thursday finally promised of rain.  It was clouding up and didn't get so hot.  (The temperature had hit nearly 90 degrees five days in a row.)  Since I had to (was delighted to) put concrete work on hold, I went to the barn mid morning and rode Amiga, fairly hard, for an hour.  Coming back to the barn, I asked Judy to get a photo of us.  I took my helmet off and next thing you know, it became a photo shoot.  Ha ha ha.


It is hard to get both horse and human looking good in the same photo, especially when you are working with me.  LOL





















I put in my usual afternoon / evening work shift, getting off early because it was so dead at the CC, and Gwen (who was subbing for Callan) was willing and able to do the closing by herself.

Joe and I had to watch Survivor on his computer because the recording from Wednesday night was messed up.  This mix up was not to my liking.



It stormed overnight and I woke worrying about Zorro.  It was gloomy, but things had gotten a nice washing.  I checked the waterway, to see how it had held up and it didn't look like water had gone over the top of the walls. 

It was sprinkling at 7:40 as Joe and I headed out Friday morning.  We stopped by the barn to leave some vet paper work and check on Zorro, who was wet, but none the worse for wear.

Next it was off to Knoxville to do some car shopping.  This ended up being my last drive / ride in the Vibe.  I started a new John Grisham novel with hopes to "mix it up" with some leisure reading time in between my rather active working time.


Between Carmax and the Toyota dealership, we did some furniture shopping.  I am looking for two smaller side chairs to go in front of the picture window, as Goldie (the chair Britney got out of a dumpster for her college dorm room) also needs to be replaced.
  
We ended up buying a brand new, 2015 Toyota Prius C Hybrid with only 55 miles on it.  It gets 53 MPG city and 45 on the highway.  We got a super good deal on it, that far surpassed anything Carmax could match.

 It was a sentimental drive home, as the Vibe has been a great car for me over the last twelve years. Much of the trip occurred in a downpour, which made me a bit nervous, but I spent the time reading the owners manual, fiddling with knobs and buttons (above), getting the hang of Bluetooth, and sometimes distracting Joe.






Once home, I needed to get my body moving, after the rather sedentary past eight hours.  So Maggie and I took the new car for a test drive (she fits perfectly in back, which I wasn't sure of at the dealership, because it is smaller than the Vibe).  We headed into a secluded  part of the Glade to walk more of the undeveloped roads.


Another look at the drainage ditch and yard, after more rain while we were gone, and I was pleased to see that the new grass seed is taking root and appears to be catching up to what was planted two weeks before it.  I brushed several ticks off my jeans when getting cleaned up for dinner, removed one during my shower, and I discovered several chigger bites as well.  What else can I put this poor body through?

We met the gang for dinner at Fortes.  Linnea took this panoramic photo.  Her husband Ken didn't make it into the picture, but seen left to right are... Andy, Rita, Mary, Chuck, Brian, myself, and Joe.