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The weekend came, and the weekend went, and it was eventful.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
On Saturday morning at 7:20 a.m. I left the country house and headed down the road towards the little house in the city. The traffic was light most of the trip.
As I was on the last 20 minute stretch of highway, Highway 401, from out of nowhere, a huge white SUV, which was passing me on the left, veered into my lane, about to hit my vehicle at the back of the driver’s door. I caught the movement just out of the corner of my eye, she snuck up on me from behind. I was forced out of the driving lane onto the side of the road, and barely escaped rolling the car. I fishtailed for a bit, and regained control of the car. The SUV carried on as if nothing had happened, then cut into the passing lane and disappeared into the distance.
She could have killed me, and didn’t even notice!
All’s well that ends well though, and here I am to tell the tale!
Attila arrived at the little house in the city on Saturday evening. One of the items we transported down to the little house was our old television set, a CRT, the VHS player, the DVD player, and the cabinet on which they sit. We set that up and decided to take a break, share a pizza, and watch a movie.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Sunday morning, as early as was acceptable, Attila mowed the lawn. Luckily the new mower has a bag attached, that catches the cuttings. He created a pile of cuttings that was over three feet high, by the time he had finished cutting the lawn. Then we did a bit of shopping. We had a quiet evening, eating leftover pizza, and watching Netflix.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Yesterday, Monday, was a statutory holiday, so Attila stayed the night Sunday night, and spent the better part of the day here before heading back to the country house. It was a gardening extravaganza! Attila transplanted the lungwort, the day lilies, and the sedum from the vegetable garden, to various locations in the front and back of the house. Those plants were moved to the vegetable garden just before we dug up around the basement to waterproof it. He then planted the plants I purchased at the grocery store: lavender, big boy tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and portulaca.
Then Attila prepared soil for planting seeds, the seeds I purchased through Terra. He planted: swiss chard, borage, nasturtiums, red runner beans, pole beans, zucchini, and basil.
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After downing a cup of coffee, Attila was off on his trip back to the country house. He had a good drive, but a piece of Tank’s trim from around the front windshield blew off on the highway, again Highway 401. That highway!! No damage was done, other than losing the trim. No other vehicles were affected. I guess we will have to look into what happened there, and decide if we should try to replace the piece that blew off. As long as everyone is OK, who really cares!
The day was hot and sunny day, and as evening fell, the air began to cool, just slightly. I kept myself busy, to get through the dreaded “we me” emotions. Thankfully they came and then they went.
Yesterday morning I received a call on my cell phone, from a realtor’s office near the country house. They wanted to show the house this afternoon, which they did. The feedback we got was that they liked the house and the property, but that our location wasn’t for them. That could mean so many different things, that it means nothing. I was really impressed that we received almost immediate feedback from our realtor.
Last night I received another message from our realtor, setting up another showing this afternoon.
I like this realtor more all the time!
Terra is going in for surgery this week, and Lares has taken time off work to be with her. It isn’t anything life threatening, but all surgery involves risk, so I will be glad when she is through it and smiling again!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Well, here it is 5:47 a.m. on Tuesday morning. I am writing at the kitchen table, coffee at my side. It was such a quiet winter, and suddenly it is such a busy spring. Today I will be sorting and purging items here at the little house in the city, making room for another carload of belongings, that I will bring here on the next trip to country house and back. We will be moving from a family size three bedroom house, to a tiny two bedroom house with no closets, and a lot of our belongings won’t make the cut, or the trip south. Even so, room must be made for the belongings that do make the move!
My first task of the morning is to gear up and water the newly planted gardens. Which leads me to comment on the mosquitoes. There are lots of them! Nothing like the mosquitoes we get at the country house, but lots nevertheless. I have been bitten, and can only hope that the mosquito that got me either didn’t carry West Nile virus, or that I have already been exposed, and am now immune to West Nile Virus. When the mosquitoes are bad it is virtually impossible to avoid being bitten. My mosquito resistant clothing is all at the country house! I have the spray here though, and will treat another set of pants and a long sleeved shirt to keep here, then I will have gear at both locations. Usually I keep the mosquito resistant gear in the vehicle I am driving, but with Attila using both vehicles to accomplish various tasks related to the house sale, my gear got stowed in the mud room at the country house.
Attila and I chatted for a little while this morning, over FaceTime. He looks exhausted, and well he might. When I talked to him last night at 9 p.m., he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and was just coming in from loading Tank with a full load to take to the dump. He doesn’t eat because he says it makes him want to fall asleep. He will spend his lunch hour taking the garbage to the dump, and when he is done working at his day job, he will be heading over to work at his part-time job, where he will work until dark. Hopefully, there will not be too many more tasks related to the house sale, so that Attila can have some down time when he isn’t working at one of his two jobs.
The day begins!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
17°C
Date: 8:12 PM EDT Monday 18 May 2015
Condition: Mist
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 3 km
Temperature: 17.0°C
Dewpoint: 16.7°C
Humidity: 98%
Wind: SSW 14 km/h
Quote
“As we grow old…the beauty steals inward.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803 – 1882
Wow, that near-accident was so scary! I don’t drive now but when I did, I would vehemently refuse to drive on highways if I could get away with it. Hated them. They are crazy places. With crazies all around you – and like that lady, not caring one wit if you live or die. Glad to hear your realtor is working for you… good luck with selling the house sooner rather than never!
You’re still beautiful outward. Tell Ralph to mind his own beeswax.
Wow! What a weekend. Glad you are safe and well. Best to Terra. Nice pic.
Bex, I hate that highway! There is another route I could take to avoid it, but that would mean another 30 minutes on the road, through city traffic, and with the drive already being four to five hours long, and me getting tired at the end of the long drive, I am not sure it is safer. It is certainly the wild west out there on the roads!
The realtor is great! We had a great realtor when we sold our house in the big city, before moving to the country house. She really worked for us, got us a good price on the sale, and was trustworthy, and pleasant throughout the whole process.
Steve-Paul, thanks for compliment, we have known each other for a long time!
Poor Ralph forgets he was never anything to write home about in the looks department! I am allowed to look my age, I am not young, and I don’t need to look young. I need to be healthy, and happy. What we see in others reflects what we see in ourselves.
I will say hello to Terra for you. The Grandbabies are a joy, my chance in life to experience first hand what a childhood outside the war zone feels like. An unexpected miracle.
Wow, so glad you weren’t hurt on the highway travel. The highways scare me, too. When possible, I choose the road beside the highway, (when we go to the foothills.) On longer trips, Julia does the highway driving. I much prefer the in town driving, even though there’s so much more going on. It goes on at a slower pace.
It’s good to see a photo of you and your grand kids. I’m glad to hear your realtor is being industrious on your behalf.
Joan, I feel very lucky to have come through the experience unscathed, just a little rattled! It is the first truly scary incident I have experienced with the five hour commute, which I have been making for the past five years. Hopefully there will be no repeat performances on the part of the crazies out there.
You’ve cut your hair, Maggie. Looks good on you. Whoever Ralph is, give him a boot in the behind from me. 😉
Scary story, your drive back. Things can happen in an instant, but you did great. Was a time I did a lot of long distance driving, so I usually don’t mind it.
I too hope Attila will have some downtime soon. You can’t get away with burning the candles at both ends forever.
BTW, potential for frost tonight. *grumble grumble*
LOL Teri, that Ralph! He is his own worst enemy!
Frost! Oh no, I will need to cover the new plants, have to look for some plastic today! I hope the wind dies down, it will be tough to keep the plants covered with the wind as strong as it is now.
Scary near-misses on the road still give me the heebie-jeebies, remembering them years later. They also seem to be a reminder that SOMEONE UP THERE (Who? Who? Don’t know, don’t care) must be looking out for me, as I’ve had some close calls. You too must have a lucky star.
Hi Maggie,
Loved the happy photo of you and the children! Faces!!!!!
The SUV experience left me cold. I remember when they first came out most people who drove them felt the road belonged to them….my opinion of course but I also had an experience like yours and have kept away from the highways when possible since. I will go way out of my way to do so too. I am so glad you were not injured!
You and Attila planted a lot. It should look so alive and colorful soon. I love to watch things grow. It’s nice you can have a compost pile too. I’m so limited here in an apt.
“We Me”…..I understand as best I can. I am glad it did not linger. It has got to be challenging but soon to be over, right?
Happy that your realtor is on top of things and keeps you informed.
A blessed and smooth recovery for Terra.
So the mosquitoes are everywhere. They have not started attacking here yet which surprises me. I am still able to sit out on the patio. I hope you can avoid them as often as possible.
Attila has boundless energy. I can’t even imagine doing a fraction of what he does.
Nora, we always have a wonderful time with the Grandbabies!
I was talking to my sister last night, and she was saying what a wonderful time everyone had at the get together. I found it interesting that the family was reserved and chatted politely until the Grandbabies arrived and tumbled into the house in a big ball of happy energy. Then it was like someone switched on the light! Everyone was jolly, talking and laughing. I come from a family that adores children.
I used to be able to keep up with Attila, but the years have passed and that is no longer possible. I have to pace myself! In future, so will Attila! Hopefully by that time we will have settled at the little house, accomplished most of the important renovations, and can spend our years puttering with little projects, and maintaining the place. That is the dream.
The mosquitoes were not around today, it is so much colder!