Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
We got busy early, knowing that the weather would be hot!! We planted the Disney Rose and several other items that had been collecting. We worked until 9:00 am, then went inside and got ready for Girls Night Out.
The Lodge was busy today, but we had the regulars on hand and ready for verbal battle. Bob, George, Iris, and Will joined us.
We went directly home after lunch and headed inside, where we watched TV in the office and did chores. Mary took the time to redress her restrung doll and place it in the doll cabinet.
Mary’s doll was handmade by her aunt many, many moons ago, and the elastic bands that held her together were shot. She is in great shape now, and her ceramic head looks so real! She is now back home in the doll cabinet.
While Mary worked, I had a chance to think and work on the upcoming dance video! The video was completed, including Mediterranean music.
I remember when I was about ten years old, I decided it was high time I entered the workforce. So I landed my first big job: weeding Mrs. Jane’s front yard.
And when I say “yard,” I mean jungle. The grass was about 18 inches tall, and I’m pretty sure animals were living in there that had never seen daylight.
I worked all day Saturday and all day Sunday, filling trash cans with grass, weeds, and possibly a few lost lawn ornaments. I ran my lawnmower until it was out of gas! By the time I finished, I was worn out, sunburned, and walking like a little old man.
Sunday morning I started early, around 6:00 am. She had dead roses wound up in her picket fence, and that was a job unto itself. On Sunday evening, as I started the long journey home — a full three doors up the street — Mrs. Jane proudly paid me for my hard labor.
Four dollars.
I was thrilled—rich, even—practically a businessman.
When I got home and told Mom about my big payday, she did not share my enthusiasm. In fact, she got madder than a wet hen, shot out the front door, and headed straight for Mrs. Jane’s house like she’d been fired from a cannon.
I don’t know exactly what was said over there, but a few minutes later Mom came back with forty dollars.
That’s when I learned two important lessons:
1. Hard work pays off.
2. Mom was a much better negotiator than I was.
Earlier this morning, I picked a mess of green beans, and when Mary began making dinner, I offered to wash and cook them. When the green beans had been steamed for about five minutes, I put them into a bowl and dropped a mess of butter on them, DELICIOUS!! Mary found some frozen corned beef and cabbage, so we had a delightful dinner with our favorite foods!
Nothing better than fresh green beans right from the garden!!
After dinner, we headed out to the “large hot tub,” which most people would probably call a swimming pool. The water was 93 degrees—basically soup temperature—so we floated around for an hour, discussinglife’ss big questions while slowly being poached.
We enjoyed a classy plastic glass of vino. At the same time, Mary spun around the pool like a determined aquatic ninja, using her pool screen to scoop up bugs that had made the tragic decision to go swimming without reservations.
After our swim, we were both exhausted from all the floating, sipping, and insect rescue operations, so we retired to the TV/living room and watched television until about 11:00 pm. We needed our rest, of course. Tomorrow was another big day of doing whatever it is retired people do when they’re “busy.”
