Memories, work, work, work, Mama’s big dream

The temperature was near sixty degrees this morning and the air was thick and wet. There was a heavy dew on everything. The feel and smell of the air brought back a flood of memories of West Virginia. There, I would leave the house at 4 a.m. on my day shift rotation and most all of those mornings the air had the same feel and smell. They are good memories of the farm and the woods, Mama’s and my first home together, tough times and good times. It is fun to remember. It is even more fun to have the person still beside you with whom those memories have been made.

Each night I have been doing a little bit more in the apartment. I am still working alone so things are slow, but it is not unpleasant to be working alone. It gives me time to pray, gives me time to think, and gives me the time to concentrate. It is difficult to remember measurements for the cut needed around an outlet box or a light switch when you are in conversation. As it is I still have to measure several times to get it right, but so far everything has fit properly. There are only ten pieces of sheetrock left on the trailer and I will go through those this weekend – Lord willing.

At that point I will know how much more I will need. I am pretty sure I am short on materials needed to finish, but I will be pretty close. I am picking up a few pieces of green rock for the bathroom today. I did not order any of that in the initial purchase of the materials that have gotten me this far and what I get today will not complete the bathroom, but it will get the wet wall sealed and ready got the valves to be put in. My end-of-the-month move-in target looks doable at this point but time will tell.

I will not get a full day in on Saturday since it is Trade Days and Grandpa is going to cut hay. The morning will be taken up with breakfast – which I do not get except on weekends – and Trade Days. The late afternoon will be taken up with the initial cutting of the big meadow. I may be able to work a couple of hours on the apartment throughout the day but life goes on in spite of my urgent projects. The old adage “You have to make hay while the sun is shining” is still very true. There is no age-old adage for going to Trade Days, but is an urgent matter none the less.

After I work a couple of hours in the apartment I am a sweaty mess. I have to lay my sweat-soaked clothing on the floor beside the laundry basket so that they do not stink up the cleaner dirty cloths already in the basket. I worked Monday and Tuesday night and had my wet clothing laid out as specified. On Wednesday they had not been washed so I asked Mama to clean them before the dogs thought they had acquired an indoor toilet space. They were in the wash a few minutes later.

Mama is wanting to race to Pensacola after this big storm passes through in the hopes of finding some big and unusual shells. I will not be able to make that happen but we did spend some time talking about it last night.

Maybe someday.