Friday, April 21, 2017

April 21 – “all things outdoor”

Yesterday was yardwork day and I can feel it right now.  While Chris cleaned house for Home Group (which, by the way, ended up being Mrs. Betty.  Well, and Corey came by for a few minutes just as she was leaving.  One of those nights …), I was assigned “all things outdoor” duty. 

I was going to start with mowing the lawn, but on my way to the shed I remembered that we had decided to cut off one major limb of the oleander in the back yard.  So I grabbed the shears instead of the mower and went to work.  That kind of expanded into trimming up all the trees and bushes in the back yard.  Which includes (and I still have trouble saying this) the four or five huge sunflower weeds, er, I mean lovely flowers, stalks that are growing in the middle of the back lawn.  Just a trim, mind you.  No real hair styles. 

I finally got to the lawn mowing task.  It goes so much better with the front wheel drive vehicle we got this time, and it hasn’t fallen apart yet, either.  The biggest problem is having to remove Heidi’s doggie door ramp that we built out of pavers so the machine has room to get through the gate.  Mowing in the front revealed another “situation” we have discussed taking care of, so I got distracted again.  I shoved the lawn mower back into its hole in the shed and grabbed the clippers.  This time I trimmed the Mexican oleanders (sensing an oleander pattern here?) so they resembled a tree rather than a bush.  Chris appeared out of nowhere when she realized she wasn’t hearing the mower any more.  I told her the activity occurring at the present time required higher security clearance than she had been approved for.  Basically, the work decisions were above her pay grade.  Needless to say, she dug in her heels and stuck around to help.  At least now she can’t blame me for it.  It was a mutual decision.  It actually looks much better than it did, too. 

Next, I tried to trim the bushes in the front yard, but my non-electric, antique hedge clippers are dull and don’t even slide together properly, so they are useless.  That’s when I realized that I hadn’t yet done the edging.  I trudged into the garage and got that apparatus all hooked up.  It doesn’t take all that long to accomplish, and it was a good thing.  It was hot outside and I was sinking fast.  And as I rolled up the last little bit of extension cord to head into the back yard, I remembered that I hadn’t yet hooked up the blower to “sweep” up the cut grass off the sidewalk.  Back to the electrical outlet (which is a whole other story.  The outlet in the back yard that we had to remove for repairs and painting was apparently hooked back up incorrectly – by me - and it is the one that controls the power getting to the outlet in the front yard.  I know.  I don’t understand it either).  I got the grass blowing done in record time, and finally stumbled into the back yard to finish the weed eating there.  I gave up on sweeping, though.  I was thoroughly beat, and besides, the Astros game started in just about the time it would take me to shower and crash onto the couch.  Not that the Astros game had any bearing on my decision to leave the sweeping for Chris.  Oh, no.  She totally volunteered for that.  On her own.  She is awesome.

Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”


Father, thank you for my totally awesome wife.  She is a great gift.  Amen.

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