Wow! What a Great Long Weekend I had!
FRIDAY: I took a much-needed Vacation Day. It poured buckets and buckets all day. I drove out in the middle of it in search of additional pipes for the downspout, only to discover that the building centre where I got it last year no longer carries that brand, or an equivalent type. They’ve switched from the round PVC pipe (which I needed) to the square aluminum stuff. At least I got the manufacturer’s phone number, and late in the afternoon I placed a call to them to find out where I could get it. The rest of the day was spent puttering around inside. I was hoping that a certain someone would come for a visit, but she decided it was too rainy for her to drive the 40 or 50 kilometres. It really was coming down hard… it was raining cats and dogs… and pigs and chickens and all sorts of other small animals!
SATURDAY: I had an All-Day Date with “My New Friend.” I went to pick her up a little after noon, and stopped in to have a quick bite to eat. She made hummus from scratch for me! Then we took off and drove north to the Herb Place to get plants for my garden. I spent $47 on various herbs, most of which cost $3.25 or $4.25 each, so you get some idea of how much I got. Now I have to figure out where to put it all! After the shopping spree, we headed west. In Goodwood, just a little bit west of the herb place, we stopped for tea at this really great bakery/restaurant. I got a lemon square— yummy, yummy, yummy!— which we shared, and a chai tea. We sat at the picnic tables outside and ate. It was quite relaxing! We then continued west to Brampton in hopes of getting a chipper/shredder so I could tackle the brambles in the backyard. Unfortunately, once I finally got to my brother’s house and phoned the rental place, I discovered the machine was out and wouldn’t be back until after the weekend. Scrap that project! So “My New Friend” and I headed out again, stopping at Lick’s for dinner before going to Xoozland. I wanted her to see the place before it got too dark out so she would have some idea of what we are working with in the gardens. We had talked about the possibility of going dancing later… maybe even to “a goth club”… but as it turned out, she thought it would be cool to watch a video instead. She chose Eyes Wide Shut. After the movie was over, it was too late and we were too tired to go out, so I just drove her home. On my way home I stopped at the grocery store— I love shopping at the wee hours of the morning!— and I finally got home again well after 2:00 am!
SUNDAY: After sleeping in until the phone rang about 10 o’clock, I got up, did some stuff, phoned the lumber place identified by the drainpipe manufacturer, found out they had some in stock, drove over there to get the pipe, came back and began to install it under the deck. Because it needs to go UNDER the deck, and it is far easier to deal with it with access from above than crawling ALL the way underneath, I figured it was a job that needed to be done BEFORE the rest of the decking went on. Around four a certain someone showed up for a visit. I took a break from my work and we sat on the park bench in the arbour for a while until it started to get chilly out. We went in and I made some herbal tea. She couldn’t stay very long because she was meeting her housemate and his friend, but it was still nice to see her for a little while. She said she’ll try to come out again for a longer visit, maybe a whole day! When she left, I went back to the work on the new drainpipe. Once it was connected I tried testing it, only to discover that the gutters were filled with junk and the water wasn’t flowing! So way up on the ladder I go and clear out most of the crap. It still needs some work… like reattaching it to the house in some places where it really sags, or completely replacing it (which will have to wait until the upstairs renovations… no point in putting any money into it if it is just going to get ripped off soon anyway!)… but at least it’s flowing a bit better.
MONDAY: I spent the morning cleaning up the yard, moving the brambles into the driveway— I felt like a teenage hottie at a freshman mixer: I was attacked by hundreds of little pricks!— and then cut the grass. That yard needs a LOT of work! Well, a little bit at a time will have to do! When I was exhausted by my labours, I went inside, had a shower, wrapped the presents for my nephew and my niece, and went up to my brother’s for the party. I had a good time, and finally got home again around 10 o’clock. It was too late to call “My New Friend” to see how the bike trip she was leading that day— I couldn’t go on the trip because of the party— so I just checked my e-mail, deleted the 110 spam messages waiting for me, watched CSI and then went to bed.
Whew! What a weekend!
