Well.

Eleanor Roosevelt recommended doing one thing a day that scares you. I do at least one thing every day that I’d rather not.

Sometimes it’s laundry, sometimes it’s a phonecall. Today I did four things that I would have rather not: washed Fluffles’ litter box; went food shopping; did some banking; and mowed the front lawn. I also dead-headed the roses.

Rockland now has the new ATMs, which made the banking part of the day much less onerous.

I usually don’t mind mowing the lawn, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside, perfect for the Mashpee High School graduation, which happened this morning. It was just hot enough, though, to be a little uncomfortable.

Ron tried to change the head on the trimmer but that didn’t work. At least, he got it running. I need to ask the repair people at Botello for help. They did a superb job on the lawn mower.

I need to do the transfer station run tomorrow, drop off a graduation gift, see a friend’s garden (I hope) and then meet “the girls” for Cathy’s birthday brunch. I’m looking forward to everything but the dump run. That’ll be my “rather not” for tomorrow.

Truck passed inspection today. Had oil change at Cormier’s.

Light rain this morning.

Looks like the Jasmine may have buds? Buds on the Wisteria as well? Flowers on the beans and one of the tomato plants from the sale at Roche. Have been picking strawberries, at least a handful a day. Lettuce, too. The beans are growing like mad. The transplanted astilbe seem to be doing great.

Yes, the sun was out. I got the transfer station run done. I insisted that Peter stay put to take care of his broken toe. The evil vacuum cleaner has been consigned to an ignominious end in the used furniture section.

Got to Spaulding as Ron was starting his PT session. It was great to have an opportunity to talk with his therapist. He’s doing extremely well; he achieved 100 degrees of knee flexion. He said it felt amazing to be able to bend his knee, something he hasn’t been able to do for a long time.

Tied up the rest of the roses this morning. Went to Home Depot and Scenic Roots.

Made a really nice pizza for supper. Listened to Jorge Calandrelli’s gorgeous arrangements in Tony Bennett’s Duets II.

We’ve received an inch of rain, a lot of which came as a deluge. Great for the gardens but lousy for the 2,000 Girl Scouts and their intrepid leaders who camped out this weekend at the Fairgrounds.

I went over last night to volunteer and helped out with the carnival. I was responsible for the duck pond and gave away as many tickets (to be redeemed for prizes) as I could. As one of the other volunteers said, the girls were really good sports in spite of the weather, and the whole point was to help them have fun.

I stopped off at the DJ event afterwards. I was amazed at the kids and their joie de vivre. What a great bunch! Makes me wish Ron and I had given Peter a sister. Too bad I didn’t track him down when it might have been possible to do that. Oh, well.

Planted the morning glories yesterday. Have been harvesting lettuce and strawberries. It’s raining, thank goodness. What a great feeling.

Transplanted the last astilbe. Mowed the back and side yards last evening. Flipped the chairs in the living room so mine is now closer to the a/c.

Ron may be discharged on Tuesday. He’s working very hard on his PT. A woman from Post O’Connor called yesterday, giving “manic” a new dimension.

I met with a new counselor yesterday. I think she’s the right ticket. I’ve felt so much pressure, to fulfill expectations. It’ll be a relief to adjust them downward.

Ron’s surgery was just four hours shy of one week ago, Wednesday, May 23, around noontime.

Yesterday was his best day so far. Spaulding adjusted his OT/PT schedule to better coordinate with his meds. He was able to achieve a milestone, 10 straight leg lifts.

It’s been hot and humid, and I brought Peter to Home Depot to pick out air conditioners for the house. With the new configuration, the air flow is different, and I’m not sure that three a/c’s are going to do the job. Peter hasn’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks and is going to the doc today.

Watering today, both back and front.

Fluffles threw up last night.

Ron sounded pretty unhappy this morning. Spaulding is doing a poor job with his pain management. If it doesn’t get fixed, I will get involved, but Ron wants to fight this battle himself for now.

Paul offered to visit and bring food! What a sweetie.

As promised, I’ve almost cleared an area around the cedar tree to make it easier for James to mow.

I hadn’t realized how badly the poor little tree needed pruning. A good chunk of the side nearest the fence was brown. It should grow back eventually.

I put Round-Up in the walkway, the area in front of the basketball hoop and the right side of the front yard; hope it works.

I also transplanted one of the lavender plants in the grass garden; trimmed the thorn bushes in the front; fed the rose and and sprayed the “volunteer” in front of it.

Ron phoned, he made progress in an important area and was hoping to have a better night than last night.