Stuff and things

Once again we are being called out of town this weekend — I’m not even sure I have the ability to get away from work, but I just have to. I guess I’ll be sitting at a Panera somewhere in Johnson City trying to work if I have to. Mom’s huge septic-system overhaul work is finally done, and to paraphrase her, there’s not a lot of grass left. They destroyed her front walk, they dug up hedges, they flattened landscaping with their machinery… At one point she was walking to the mailbox and noticed they had shut down and were taking a break. They waved hello to her and she called back, “What did you guys do? Have to stop because you ran out of property to destroy?” This is my mother on stress.

But, it’s over. She has a new roof and a perfectly functioning septic system for a 5-bedroom house, all ready for guests. Guests who plan to come help rake and level the red-clay dirt that is now her yard, plant grass seed, lay straw, replant hedges and landscaping plants, oh and pour a new concrete front walk. This means us.

So, she tells me the extent of the damage and I lament, oh poor mom. Pity I can’t get away again for a couple months. I tell JamesT and he says, so we going back up now? I can help pour a sidewalk. Yeah, she likes him. Joyce is also sending Pete up on his bike for the weekend. Pete, I hear, is worried mom won’t be happy unless we actually lay sod so it looks finished when we leave.

Thus, this past weekend of slackerness was very very nice. James and I can’t seem to get caught up enough on sleep as it is, so giving up another weekend to travel and work isn’t exactly what I’m looking forward to. I haven’t felt like even trying to make time to work out this week, and I think if we manage to catch up on our laundry and house-keeping before we leave town again, it will be a miracle. Speaking of, I’d best go get to folding sheets so I can swap out laundry. No more time for slacker… have work to finish, and potentially clients to visit next week as I become the stand-in for Jonathan on his vacation week.