Busy Is As Busy Does

Good morning! It is yet another beautiful day thus far. It is supposed to be warmer than yesterday. I think yesterday was in the 50s somewhere. It was sunny at times, cloudy at others, windy almost all day long, and just generally a good day to be out getting things done. Today we are supposed to have a high of 60 and it is supposed to be sunny all day long. Sounds like another good day for getting things done outside.

Amena had planned a trip to Nick’s in the morning but she didn’t give me a time frame and I don’t like waiting around for people to be ready for whatever because it usually means that I don’t get done the things that I would like to. So I had the boys help get boards from the attic of the barn and get the saw out of the basement and I set to work cutting them up to be ready for construction in the afternoon. Amena wanted to go when she wanted to go but I wanted to get the boards cut up so I could get the saw and scraps put away and picked up. I also wanted a shower first but since I knew I’d be building stuff outside, I forwent that.

Amena drove back roads to the end of Elm which according to GoogleMaps is a distance of 7.3 miles. Next step: Driving to Barre. She’s doing alright but needs to control the speed until she has more control of the car. Speed comes with experience. I know emergent drivers don’t understand this, I was one of them, but now I do. It’s just like anything else. You learn how and then as you get better at it, you go faster. Sewing, knitting, cleaning, cooking, etc.

We stopped near where Seth, Joseph, and I planted Amena’s letterbox because the car started making a strange sound. Neither of us could see anything obvious but it turned out to be a plastic part that should have been attached to the fender. There was nothing in the car to tie it down but there was an ancient cord for electronic devices so I used that. It worked, which is all I cared about, and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

When I got home, I built the two shelves for the windows and rearranged plants. Then I went outside and began the garden box project. First I fixed the two that Amena broke last year. That was kind of fun. Then I put one together behind the house because it was going to stay there. The other I put together beside the house because it was going to go out to the garden. So now there are four boxes to get ready for dirt and that is on my list for today. Not all four, probably, but two, anyway. It is much easier to build boxes when you have two helpers dedicated to helping rather than having to continually ask a boy to hold something. It worked and they were willing, it just took longer because I did more by myself.

Now it is time to go milk so I will probably be back.

I am back.

Joanna came over. I hadn’t gotten to the evening part of yesterday yet so I’ll get back to Joanna.

Cedric wanted to go over to Paul’s during the afternoon but wasn’t there for long. He and his brothers were busy taking bicycles apart and building a jump for them while I was working on garden boxes. Because we were going to be outside, I let the goats out so they could munch on whatever they wanted to. When people are outside, they typically stay close. They would come in the house with us if we’d let them. Sometimes I think we should just turn Viking all the way and let them in. I’m not sure about the raiding part, though.

When the boxes were done, I finally got my shower. I still wanted to plant a letterbox, after all. By the time we got there, though, there were too many people so we’ll have to go back today and do that.

Before Amena left to go to Nick’s, I asked her what time his mom would be bringing her home. I kind of wanted to have an idea of when I would be taking her to Joanna’s because the plan was for her to spend the night. She didn’t know. I was hoping it wouldn’t be after 8:00 because it usually is and I really would prefer not to drive in the dark. She got home after 8:30 and wanted to know if we could leave. I mentioned not wanting to drive in the dark and the fact that there were only twenty minutes until 9:00. She went upstairs. Paul got home. She came downstairs at 8:55 and asked if we could go. I said no. I told her I’d be happy to take her any time in the morning which is funny because Joanna had told her almost the same thing.

Fast forward to this morning. I was getting ready to go milk and Joanna showed up! She’s so darn cute! Seeing her little baby bump makes me want to see Laura’s, too. Anyway, she was on her way to the vet in North Brookfield (kind of made an out of the way stop here), and was ready to take Amena. Amena of course wasn’t ready so Seth and Joseph went with her.

And there you have it—our day yesterday and a bit of this morning.

Have a fantabulous day!