Unexpected news, the eclipse, a little progress

Chase and Makaila came over this weekend for a drop-in visit – and to go to a car dealer to look at a car they had found online. They got in Friday evening and we visited until I had to tell everyone good night and leave the party. The next morning, at breakfast Makaila gave Mama a little book to read. It was a baby book. They announced that they are pregnant; expecting in March. Most of the reason for the timing was so that Chase could video Mama when she heard the news. Brittany, who already had been told, was anxious to see Mama’s reaction. They made a humorous announcement card that I thought you would enjoy.

Chase and Makaila spent most of the day Saturday at car dealers in the Gainesville area but eventually came home with a brand new Ford Escape. They are relieved to have traded off Makaila’s car and have a new one. Sunday morning, they went to church with us and Mama got to share the news with several ladies. Makaila got lots of hugs and those knowing smiles that women give each other when a pregnancy is announced – especially a first pregnancy for a young couple. Mama had already shared with several of the senior ladies Saturday afternoon when we were out to lunch with the seniors from the church. So, all in all, it was a great weekend for them – and for Mama.

It seems everyone has gone crazy with the eclipse that will take place this afternoon. It is being billed as a once in a lifetime experience but I have found out that there is another total eclipse in 2024; only seven years from now. One of the employees at our company has traveled to Nebraska to be in the predicted path of the eclipse. He is an amateur photographer so it is a great opportunity for him to get those prized shots of the full eclipse. It is a wonder to me what we are willing to do for bragging rights. Here we will only see a partial eclipse due to the angle of exposure but that will be good enough for most of us.  At work, we are having a special lunch in honor of the eclipse. We were supposed to bring an “eclipse themed” dessert. I bowed out due to lack of creative expertise.

I worked on the electrical connection to the meter Saturday morning. It took me a good portion of the morning to complete the wiring to spec, but I can have Mama call the electric company today and tell them that it is ready. Friday evening and much of the day Saturday I worked on the walls of the shop. I even managed to put up four pieces of the metal siding – always a challenge when working by myself. I did not realize that the siding Mama got for us (on sale) was commercial grade siding. It is nearly double the thickness of the siding I have worked with in the past. That is both a blessing and a challenge. I had trouble getting a blade that would cut the metal sheets. While we were out to lunch with the seniors I bought several metal cutting blades for the circular saw and was excited to use them. I normally turn a blade around backwards to cut metal siding but that was not working very well. The composite blades worked well enough but I was only able to cut one sheet and then half way through another sheet before the blade had worn down far enough that it was too small to finish the second cut. I ended up doing back to my backward blade and babied it through a couple more cuts. That is as far as I got by the time I had to quit Saturday night.

I will be traveling tomorrow through Thursday night so what I have done is all that will get done until I get back. Little steps forward, but at least it is forward progress.