Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Family Pets and a Busy Day



A couple of piles of whacked off oregano sit out in the yard west of the house, waiting for me to load them into the cart and dump them in a pile in the woods.  

I've done that in years past and am now noticing that Oregano is happy to grow just about anywhere.  Some day we may just own an Oregano forest here in Selle because the herb spreads easily.

That will be okay.  I kinda like smelling the fragrance from place to place as I walk around the farm.  Besides that, it's a pretty shrub, with its varying shades of purple blossoms, throughout most of the summer and fall. 

I cut hundreds of oregano stems yesterday while waiting for the farrier to come and remove shoes and trim horses' hooves. 

Turns out he forgot but called and promised to come in the afternoon. 

Our day yesterday almost needed a spreadsheet to keep track of who was going, who was coming, what needed to be driven where and at what time, how I would get to lunch at the same time that Bill would be going over to Colburn to wait for the stove repairman at Willie and Debbie's house, who would attend Wille's basketball game, when we would pick up the white pickup and what I would drive to the game. 

Well, by the time the day ended, the horses' feet had been trimmed, I had finished cutting one large garden plot of oregano, Bill discovered that the part he had ordered from the East Coast for our Lovestead wood stove did not fit, the white work pick-up got new tires, I enjoyed a nice lunch with my friend Becky, and another stove at another house was not yet fixed.  

During my lunch date with Becky, Bill held horses for the farrier who told him he had spaced the appointment and remembered it while going to lunch with a friend. Happily, he honored his commitment, albeit a few hours late. 

Then, Bill drove the not-yet-fixed deerslayer aka Subaru to Colburn and waited for the repairman to come and fix Willie and Debbie's stove.  

Not thinking about the fact that the Subaru CAN actually be driven and totally oblivious to its absence, I came home from lunch, checked on the dogs and quickly drove over to my sisters' cuz I thought Bill would need a ride.  

Turns out nothing from the beat-up fender fell off the Subaru during his 3.5 mile drive from our place to the Colburn "compound," so, while we both waited there a while longer for the repairman, I  walked around the place and took pictures of my sisters' pretty horses and of the grandpuppies who look really, really fierce through the living room window when strangers suddenly appear.  Once they heard me call their names through the window, however, their infectious Border Collie smiles reappeared.

Later, after calling the stove company and learning the repairman would finally be coming in about twenty minutes, I left Bill and the Subaru and headed back home in the Ford Ranger. 

The repairman, who said he's fixing stoves all over the county, finally arrived about 90 minutes after the originally appointed time but could not fix the stove completely because he needed a part.  Fortunately, Willie and Debbie have space heaters to keep them warm until the part comes.  

Anyway, after Debbie arrived home during stove repair, Bill came back to the Lovestead and gobbled down a few fries from the take-out lunch I had bought him earlier. We then went to Les Schwab in one pickup where I took the white pickup with its new tires to the basketball game and Bill went home to eat the Sweet Lou's 60-40 burger from the takeout lunch.  

All in a day's work for retirees. 

I never did get the piles of oregano stems picked up, so that will be number one on a slightly more relaxed list of things to do, people to see and places to go today.   Snow is coming to them thar hills and then down in the valley, so I'll try to finish off the last of the garden-related projects before the white stuff gets too deep.

I'm still pretty amazed and thankful that we managed to accomplish so many things during so many time slots with different vehicles at a variety of venues and with a range of people. And, I'm glad it's not quite that complicated every day. 

Happy Wednesday. Safe travels for all who are coming and going for the holiday. Enjoy the family pet photos, all taken during yesterday's craziness. 

Off to the oregano!










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