Friday Randy had taken the day off, too. I took Pnut to the Club, stopped by to visit Dad, and then went to weigh in. Then met Randy for breakfast & got new tires on my car. Then we dropped it off to get an alignment & new struts. He had the DirecTV peeps coming out to upgrade our stuff to HD, and then Allied out to pump the septic tank – just in time from the sounds of it. The drains have been gurgling for a couple weeks and he said the tank was only inches from being completely filled. Too close on that one!
Today I fitted all the patio bricks back over the tank, did a bunch of laundry & hung rugs & pillows outside. We went to get my car (it drives so nice!!) the new tires almost stopped the annoying wobble in the front end, but it needed the alignment. While we were gone the wind picked up and broke the clothesline right off the side of the garage. I’m going thru an average of one a year. I don’t use it in the winter, since the spring tends to snap when it’s cold. Next winter I’ll take it off the wall completely & bring it in the house. Maybe it’ll last longer. I’d really like to have one of those old time permanent metal cross-bar clotheslines that are set in cement. We also killed the BBQ grill tonight. I started to burn some old papers Thursday, but stopped because of the wind. Randy went to finish them & it blazed up so hot that the lid caught on fire & burned the heat-resistant paint right off. Ooops. We’ve had that grill since our first spring here, so without a doubt we got our money’s worth out of it. And now Randy has a reason to put together the new gas grill tomorrow! I have a nice thick steak already thawed, so that’s his incentive.
It was a rainy day for Curt's service 3/28, so when we got home to let Jack out, I had a fleeting thought about watching for toads - since I'd stepped on one (barefoot! ~cringe~) before. But then I thought it was too chilly still for them to be out. I was wrong. What I thought was a leaf on the dark patio was this gorgeous little guy. Look at those colors!
Easter was better than I expected. Since it would have been Mom & Dad’s 51st anniversary, I expected some dramatics, but there weren’t any that I saw. Nice! Angel went to Mom’s after dance on Thursday since she didn’t have school Friday, then on up to Laurie’s. We both had to work, so Randy & I went up Saturday afternoon. We went to our first Good Friday service at church, too. Since Discover sold the church building to River’s Edge Fellowship, they did a combined service there. It’s been a while since we’d been there, so it seemed really small & quaint – lol. The service was wonderful. Of course it was all about Jesus’ crucifixion, so yeah, it was very emotional. We were given nails as we came in and had the opportunity to hammer them into a real cross and remember our sins.
Easter
Dinner was yummy, as usual. Lisa & Angel were really pushy to color eggs for some reason. Guess they were excited. Sunday, Catie brought her boyfriend up with her. The poor guy had never hunted Easter eggs before!! What kind of sheltered life did he have?? But he had fun. And he got to get on a horse for his first time, too. I have to admit it is nice with the girls old enough to take care of the horses now. They went & brought them in from the field, brushed them & saddled Captain – after which I wanted to ride. The Lisa had just shortened the stirrups for herself after Isaiah rode, so they were too short for me, but I dealt. Luckily for her, it hurt my knees too much, so I didn’t ride long. So I handed Captain back off to her, & that’s all I had to do! Lisa rode while I lunged Kisses for a little. Then I gave her to Angel & they put the horses away! I went to the barn with them, since I enjoy being around the horses anyway. I think it makes everyone happy for them to still have adult supervision while working with the horses. Feeding & turn out is one thing, but untacking & taking care of them in cross-ties is another.
We also managed to skip having a "painting party" at Mom's house. Linda went over one day & put the first coat on in the living room & I went over Wednesday night & put the second coat on. It would have been too crowded with everyone trying to paint. It was easier just one at a time. It looks so nice! Mom picked this really nice light khaki that looks great. Now she plans to get new carpet & furniture.
Oh, we had another casualty in the family. OK, that sounds bad. We found out that Lisa’s birth mom had passed away about a week after Curt. Laurie said that Lisa had teared up, but she didn’t get really upset. She’s lived with Mom & Dad since she was 2, plus they’d adopted her legally 2 years ago, so Sue wasn’t really close to her anyway. Guess she OD’d on something. There’d been drug issues since before Lisa was born. Still a sad day, I kind of feel bad for not finding out when the service was. Altho I’d only met Sue in person once, for Lisa’s christening ~almost 15 years ago~, she did name her daughter after me.
So the world is greening up! Tiny little leaves are opening on the trees, the forsythia is bright yellow, and the tulips are all colorful. My daffodils haven’t bloomed for crap, tho! There are plenty of leaves and have for the past couple years, but no blooms since I planted them. Temperamental little cusses! Alrighty! I hear Randy over there snoring, so I guess it's time to go to bed. If I wait any longer I'm going to have a furry lapwarmer, since Skeeter is sitting next to me on the floor, eyeballing my lap.
Jack & Maggie mooching Daddy's dinner.
