Mother’s Day

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and cheese; home fries; asparagus; garlic rolls; fruit.

We did the transfer station.

Ron mowed the back and side of the yard. I washed and prepped strawberries for supper.

Chad and Mike came by to check out the room for dry wall finishing. Ron talked with Chad about outlets. Seems Mark the electrician has more work to do here.

We got the sheets changed and laundry washed and put away.

EE Day 2; Potato Salad

Great day watching and listening to the second and final day of the EE competition.

Rained a little for most of the day.  I did a very brief trim of the front bushes and put the leaf shredder away.

Ron drove this morning and I drove the boys home this evening.  Light shop at Roche.

Ron prepped a half bag of potatoes.  I made potato salad and saved off a few for hash browns and mashed.

Still trying to shake this cold.

Shredding; Essentially Ellington; Squirrels Nest?

This is the weekend of Essentially Ellington, which takes the curse off the worst holiday of the year, MotherF*g Day.

We unloaded the truck at the transfer station.  Only had to pay $9, a deal.  I hated to leave the wood pieces.

We brought five bags of shredding, including old tax returns and CapeCoder files, to the Barnstable Senior Center, courtesy of AARP.  Got there at 11:10 which was smart; they were lined up starting at 10, as I predicted.

We got sidetracked this afternoon trying to remove a squirrels nest under the solar panels.  Ron was able to remove or at least displace some leaves with the water blaster, but we need to come up with a different strategy to get rid of all of it.

While Ron worked on nest removal, I brought a second load to the transfer station, this time all recyclables.

Ron water-blasted the front door, and it looks much better.

I mowed the front lawn.  House across the street is under agreement.  I guess no one minded my sign after all!

Making Progress

We’ve more or less figured out what we want to keep and what we can donate, recycle or throw out.

We’ve also pretty much separated the cellar contents into functional areas, e.g., Ron’s shop, new room and laundry/storage.

We cleaned up and vacuumed the area under the stairs. It’s now usable space. I’m thrilled to have found some flooring.

We’ll set up Ron’s antique bed in the new room along with a chest of drawers, the rocker, a lamp/end table and a “bar” area.

Ron is already using the new closet for paper goods.  Smart.

Ron wants to keep the insulation, so we put it in the attic along with Christmas wrapping paper.

We took apart the futon and loaded the parts on the truck along with sliding doors and window screens.  Will bring this to the transfer station tomorrow.  Bourne won’t be taking household goods until July at the earliest.

Really cooled off this afternoon.  I’m happy with the work we’ve done today and earlier in the week.

More Organization

I managed to clear Ron’s portable tablesaw and both ladders.

We both made dump runs and I brought a few more items to St. Vincent dePaul.  Ron did a shop at Shaw’s and Walmart.

Em and I visited the wildflower garden at Green Briar.  They got some nice shots.

Found Ron’s Phone

Sorted through more basement recycling, trash and donations. In the process, found Ron’s iPhone in an otherwise empty Trader Joe’s bag. We’d looked everywhere else for it, at least twice.

Put as many of Ron’s tools as I could find on his shelves so he can at least see what he has.

Sean built a cool spot for the buffalo skulls, if only temporary.

Kitty was by earlier. He loves the cat mint and stayed in the garden for a while. Came back later for a short visit.

I slept for most of the afternoon.

Finished “The Secret River”. Watched some scenes from the Australian TV (ABC) miniseries – in Italian.

Ron Has Shelves!

Congratulate me: Ron and I cleared and vacuumed the area around his workbench this morning so John and Sean could put up shelves today and I am not yet a widow.

Chad and Sean continued work on the room: baseboard, HVAC and ceiling tile. Mudder will be here on Friday.

John ordered enough extra plywood (2 sheets) to supply Ron’s shed loft project.

Wrote letters to 3 of Uncle Bob’s family; FB messaged the fourth.

Got final figures on the HELOC. Even though our interest rate skyrocketed, the term is longer, so we have more cash flow, about $40/month.

Submitted unclaimed property requests, over $400 worth, to the State Treasurer’s office. Shirley found some as well!

Caught up from sick Sunday: laundered and changed sheets and Ron did the transfer station run.

He also did the bagel run at the Senior Center, drove James to Hyannis so James could get his iPhone fixed and drove Robert to and from work. Mercifully, Alpha had the day off.

Punk this morning but better this evening.

Ron’s Birthday

Had a bad night, including leg cramps.

Made a simple lunch for us, rotini and sauce.

Picked up a beautiful chocolate cake with vanilla icing at Washashore for Ron’s birthday.

It poured for a while.

Stopped in to the Mashpee Commons planning office. A very pleasant young woman collaborated with me on proposing a grange hall with a commercial kitchen.

Realtor had a whizz-bang last minute open house across the street. He was nice enough to let me see the tile work around the grill in the back. As he tried to leave, another car pulled up.

Ron did laundry, but we punted on changing the sheets and transfer station run.

Did some research on Captain Alex MacLean, the pirate.

Dragging

Cold hit me hard today.

I was up early and did a little bit of pruning and watering.

Cleaned out more recyclables from the basement. Brought up the hummer feeders.

Got plumbing supplies at Eastman’s to fix the leak in the outdoor shower.

Ron cleaned the chipper while I picked up Alpha at work, watered the new day lilies at Edgewater, and dropped off recyclables and yard clippings at the transfer station.

Looks like the Coes don’t have a pirate in their tree, but the McLeans do: Captain Alexander M(a)cLean.

More Basement Cleanout

We are purging: nonworking dehumidifier, nonfunctional tables, fake flowers, cardboard and other recyclables. Ron has two more bags of paperwork to go through. More stuff, including my “crip” boot and canes, went into the attic.

Ron delivered to the transfer station and St. Vincent dePaul. I washed the floor and provided entry to anyone who wanted to work(didn’t happen).

The materials arrived today from Falmouth Lumber for Ron’s workshop shelves.

Scientists predict that we are heading for another mid-Pliocene era. Sea levels would be 30 meters higher than today and grasslands and savanna would predominate. Spoiled children will demand pet zebras. Expect SmartPak Equine to dive in to this new market.

Smokey was by this morning for the first time in days. He’s getting hefty, maybe because he’s not allowed to wander as much as he has in the past.

This afternoon, Ron mowed and I raked and weeded the lawn.

Still sick but not so bad; must have met this virus before. Spent some quality time in the hammock and watched the birds.