The Trek South
We knew when we left the week of Christmas that we would have to return to do the work of cleaning out my father-in-law’s house. We spent two days headed south to find the temperatures a bit cool and I am not dressed any differently than I was I the mid-west. I got up this morning and put on a turtleneck and jeans. At some point in the afternoon I began to get a bit warm but decided if I changed into anything less I would probably be cool. (My body temperature usually runs a good degree or more below normal so it is not uncommon for me to appear to be overdressed.)
There is much work to be done and it needed to start at our house and not my father-in-laws. When we were down here last we had a water issue which Hubby was able to get taken care of before we left. Now we have another water issue…actually a couple. He is saying we may need a new pump for the well and then there has been the minor issue of the kitchen sink not draining due to some problem with the garbage disposal. I suggested that he just take it out but that meant two trips to town and one of those was to be in conjunction with taking care of business in a neighboring town. So it is quitting time for a lot of folks around here and I am still sitting waiting to wash glasses from the last time we were here plus the few things that have accumulated in the hours that we have been here.
The house rather looks like a cyclone has hit it. But as I have always told my daughters, sometimes it takes mess to clean up mess. So that is what we are doing. Taking the time to clean up our place so we can make things fit that are to moved out of my father-in-law’s home. (two of my daughters lived there for almost two years so we have their things yet to move back over here.)
Daughter #3 came with us and she has been cleaning out a room that she has not seen in over two years. She was going to sleep in there last night but decided against it when she found a bunch of munched on ants, knowing that the resident giant spiders had done the munching. If you are not from this part of the world you will be unfamiliar with the size of these rather docile giants. They will get to be the size of a man’s hand but one rarely sees them. They are timid and while we have been known to smack them down when they come out and surprise us, we have also been known to let them reside quietly within the shadows because they do control any other spider or ant problem without the use of chemicals. (I am super hyper sensitive to bug sprays.)
Well, back to #3, she opted to sleep on the sleeper sofa in the living room last night and has diligently been cleaning her room today. She has matured some since the last time she was here and tossed several things out or into the thrift store pile. Although, she is a bit upset that silverfish seemed to have munched on her bug collection! As a little toddler she was always fascinated with bugs and for the longest time would get all excited and call everyone to come look and then she would say to one of her sisters to pick it up! She was afraid to pick up a bug but she was fascinated with them. After she got a bit older she began a collection kept in clear egg carton boxes.
I too have been cleaning cobwebs and piles. When we left here almost three, or was it four years ago…?, it was under a cloud of emotion because we rather expected Dad to not make it through the year. The months spent here that year had been spent mostly in taking care of Dad, he was in and out of the hospital, back and forth to doctor…with the last two weeks needing constant attention and care. It was also the same year that we made the decision to leave two of our daughters with my husband’s dad. And while in the telling it probably does not come out overly clearly but our lives were chaotic and we left this place with the “we will get to it later…” mentality.
Now is later. Some things have been done. Mid-Kid and her visiting cousins’ tore out the chain length fence but then it rained so much that she couldn’t get the new fence built due to water standing all in the back half of the yard. So Hubby got the new barbed wire put up around the yard/pasture on his visit last year. In December, I took a whole truck load of stuff to the thrift store. It was mostly things that had been brought over here to make room for the girls over there. (Hubby and I grew up about a mile apart if you were a bird.)
We have a good deal in front of us on several fronts. We have committed to just getting done what we can, setting short goals at a time. I started new Lyme killers this week. So far I am having no problem with them. I am hopeful that this trend will continue and that I will be able to work diligently and clear of mind. Hubby switched Lyme killers this week and he seems to not be feeling as spry.
Day Two of Southern Adventures
Hubby needed to go to town to have the mail turned on so instead of giving him a shopping list, I decided to go along. I ended up at the Habitat store (across from the post office) and found a great Evan Picone dress for $1 and a book entitled Augustine of Hippo; Selected Works. After that we did the rest of our “stopping and shopping” along the way to end up at home tired and a bit disoriented since half the day was gone and we are all feeling a bit tired. The trip has kind of caught up with us I think. #3 had lunch ready and waiting on us..
At some point, Hubby came in said one of the pine trees is dead. That means a bit more work than we had planned...better to take it down now instead of having it come down later on the fence. He brought his chainsaw knowing there was chainsaw work. The palm tree that started out as a seedling from my grandparents place has grown into a forest. I like the idea of growing a food forest but this mess outside the back door is not my idea of something productive. The goal is to make the place not look abandoned. We may have found a man that will do the yard for us including weed whacking.
I’ve managed to make a little headway in the kitchen. The one thing we more than likely won’t get done on this trip is the countertops. That was another job we were going to do the year that Dad got sick that was to replace the countertop. This house was built when the gold fleck countertop was in vogue. I have looked repeatedly over the years for a company that has decided to reproduce this style of countertop. It has been a few years now but the last I looked there was one company in Italy that did something similar but not similar enough to even consider the extra cost.
I was also able to get started on the laundry. There is a mountain of musty smelling stuff. The dryer had to be fixed before I could get started on that.
Day Three
We went to church to worship.