Sunday, July 26, 2009

Ramble from Marilee

Marilee sent another ramble. Yippee!
Hi,

You know, I find it entertaining that my brother finds yard work displeasing. He hates the bending down, pulling weeds and well....just plain getting his hands dirty.

I don't mind yard work as long as it isn't too hot (asthmatic), if I can get the lawn mower to run and the trimmer won't have to be stopped every few feet because the line has broken off...so that by the time I have stopped for the '85th time', I am ready to beat the living s--- out of the.... oh, well.....um.....so, I don't mind getting dirty.

If it sounds like an 'old butch (with a short fuse) VS an old (picky) queen'.... that is pretty much what we have here.

Getting up and down the steps in the front and the back is hard for me. I have gained weight, my knees are pretty much 'shot' from too many years playing catcher, working foundry and doing heavy lifting with factory jobs. So, I try to make my trips up and down the steps as few as possible.

The trimmer is electric and while I have enough heavy duty cord to go 1/2 way around the house, I still have to unplug the thing from my side and go over to my brothers side the other 1/2. This makes 4 to 6 trips up and down the steps. That also includes the hauling out of the tools I am going to be working with, the putting back, the raking of grass, bagging and a trip to the dump.

My brother is a nice fellow and will always say 'I will help you when I get back'. Some of the time...he will....but more often than not, I go ahead and do it on my own to get the job finished. Of course, I will hear 'you should have waited for me' as soon as he comes home. Oh...right...like that is going to happen anytime soon.

I am home at 1 pm. He gets in at 4. Where I come in, change and get busy, he will change clothes and head to the gym. After which he will go eat with our sister and her family (he has yet to get his own stove or refridge...why should he? I am next door or he will have meals, do laundry and eat with our sister), then take his shower....play on the computer, stop on his way home for ice tea at the drive thru and come home. He will pick up my remote and change the TV from whatever program I am watching to the ESPN channels... ' I will only stay a minute. I am really tired....just want to check the scores'. By then it is after 8:30 pm and the sun is almost gone.

Tell me, please....where he has the time to help me?

Now, today is different.....

He has a futon he is going to give away to a friend of his at work. Rather than let this person see the yard with a few strands of grass growing up beside the hedge and around our front steps (not a lot of strands mind you...maybe 4 or 5 and the height of ....oh....5 or 6 inches....), he has been out for almost an hour pulling weeds and anything else that he may see.

It is ok with me....first time he has done any yard work in months....but... keep in mind...it is because HE has someone coming for all of 15 minutes to haul a piece of furniture.

Every 2 weeks I hose down the front porch....he did it, for the first time, this morning.

I did go to my door and watch as he worked from the pulling of the weeds, maybe what would have been a 2 minute job, to pulling up crab grass....and we have a lot of that in the yard (the lawn mower is not adjustable. So even after I have cut grass, so me spots just look like I haven't touched it....not true, can't get the mower low enough to cut it). He has been out there for about 45 minutes.

Grant you, the area closer to the steps looks neater. I have to give my brother credit, he did a good job....though for the next day or two I am going to hear how much his back hurts, how his hands are stained and can't wash all the grass color off.....

Living here, next to one another....we tend to take advantage of one another's strengths.....he gets the yard done, trash taken out, help to move furniture, painting....these things I do for the both of us.

So, as soon as I have need to know what length I have to make my curtains (I DO NOT HAVE CURTAINS...I have shades) and what colors will look nice with my rugs and bedding because they have to match the color of the walls in my bed room...oh, I will call on him......

Do you honestly believe that is going to happen any time soon?

I don't think so.

Have a good week,
Marilee


Please take a minute to thank Marilee for rambling. I love it when readers of this site send us words and I bet a fair number of you do too.

Tamara
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)