Matching Tracksuits

around the house

Preparing

Monday 8 January 2024

We’re supposed to get a hell of a storm through here tomorrow, with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and three to five inches of rain. Two separate concerns.

We have a forest in our backyard: wind gusts of 60 miles an hour could take down one of those beasts, and some of them are so big they would do significant damage to the house — like having to move out level of damage.

And we know how easily we can flood with less rain than predicted.

And so we went ahead and got ready for what’s sure to be come tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be rough.

Single Picture

Wednesday 20 December 2023

A walk with the dog gave us the single picture from the day — a day of doctor visits and yard work.

December Friday

Friday 8 December 2023

Today was our annual trip to the district’s vocational school to give our soon-to-be-high-schoolers an overview of what’s available to them there: everything from cosmetology to firefighting, from diesel engine repair to culinary arts, from mechatronics to nail tech. It’s quite an impressive variety.

Once I got back home, I saw that the inevitable has begun: our poor widowed neighbor has moved out of her house and family and friends have already started on the house — they took down the back deck that looked to be made of nothing but rotten boards.

“Wonder what kind of neighbors we’ll get,” will become a common topic of discussion, I’m sure — not that we have any say in the matter.

For dinner, Babcia made placki ziemniaczane with mushroom sauce — utter heaven.

And after dinner, a walk with the dog while the rest of the family went to church, a walk that included a street I haven’t been on in ages. I’d forgotten about the holiday scene they create.

Before

Wednesday 22 November 2023

Babcia Has Arrived

Tuesday 21 November 2023

It’s been ten years since Babcia last came for a visit here. She wanted to, but then again, there was always something: the noclegi business; Covid; other obligations; a bit of nervousness about the whole process.

But now the noclegi business is history, Covid is a manageable worry, and other obligations no longer are. It was still a stressful process for her.

Babcia

Saturday

Saturday 18 November 2023

This morning started with a mystery: an unknown dog was roaming around our driveway. When I went out to see if it was okay, he ran down to the fence and hid behind a bush there.

And he stayed there. I took him food; I took him water; I let him sniff me and then tried petting him. He took the food; he drank the water; he let me stroke him a little. We took some pictures, posted them on social media, and hoped for the best.

In the meantime, I set about trimming our second crape myrtle. We had to trim the one because it was sick, infested with some kind of insect that seemed to be killing the upper branches. And after we trimmed one, we couldn’t leave the other untrimmed.

By the time I had it almost completed, I got a notification from one of our social media posts about the dog: “That’s my dog!” So I shared our address, and she came to pick up her terrified pup.

The rest of the day passes as a usual Saturday: I’m in the yard; K works in the house.

And even when the last light has passed, she finds things to do.

Baking

Saturday 21 October 2023

Bloom

Tuesday 3 October 2023

The Lot

Sunday 20 August 2023

We went looking at lots in North Carolina. We found one. Boy, did we find one…

August Saturday

Saturday 19 August 2023

The whole day in the yard — every bush or shrub that could be trimmed was. For example, I turned this

into this

The day started calmly,

But soon, I was turning this

into this

bringing everything I cut off of every bush (and every blade of grass I trimmed) to the community dump pile across the street.

Saturday

Saturday 12 August 2023

Such was the day — working in the yard, working in the house — that I took one photo the entire day, of the Boy doing his part.

The rest stays in my head — and in my legs, arms, and exhausted body.

Changes

Tuesday 25 July 2023

K changed jobs a few weeks ago, moving away from pure surveying and CAD work to something a little different: water-line inspection. Sort of. She works for Greenville Water now, which means she no longer needs the fancy desk she was using.

Which means, I took it to school today. When I walked into my room, this is the sight that greeted me: all the desks turned up, ready for the poor custodians to come and scrape gum off the bottoms of desks.

More changes when we got back home: our neighbors are going to be moving out at some point in the near future. They’ve lived there long before we arrived. It will be strange for someone else to live there.