I finally rallied after our very busy weekend and was up and cleaning at a respectable hour considering retirement and all. I piddled around the house. Mr. FixIt made oats for breakfast…one of my favorite things. I took my coffee to my recliner and knitted while I watched the documentary I told you about yesterday. “To Which We Belong” was a wonderful story of ways any one of us can make changes that can reverse the effects of climate change. It did it in a way that steered completely away from politically charged terms like “global warming”. As a matter of fact, the entire focus was on individuals and things they are doing to improve the earth’s soil which in turn will improve the air, water, and temperature. It’s not too late and I was so encouraged by this film. I strongly encourage you to watch it.

As I was settled in my chair, Mr. FixIt headed to town. He has a project in the works and he needed some supplies. He is replacing the stairs to the pool deck and adding a handrail for stability. When my stepson was here last week, he dug the postholes and unfortunately put the porthole digger through a drain pipe. He came out yesterday to help his dad repair that and build the steps. As with most any job, it entailed another trip to town for a part. That is one of the downsides of living this far away from everything…it’s often inconvenient when you need something.

When the documentary was finished, I put my knitting away and went out to mow. Lands, the grass is growing like crazy with all this rain. I hate when I mow and there’s a thick layer of cut grass left on the surface. However, I don’t like to bag up the clippings. I think it’s better for the soil to put the nutrients back into it by decomposing. They’ll disappear in a couple of days and you’ll never be able to tell it was there. As I mowed this time, I tried to visualize where I would like to start my pollinator garden. It was fun to picture the end results. A friend of mine shared a picture of a logging operation going on in an older area of his farm. As he panned the video, I notices several beehives in the background and I asked him about them. It turns out, he made a deal with a local bee guy. He gets over 20 pounds of honey a year in exchange for letting him keep bees on his property. Now, that’s a fair deal. I might see if I can find someone to do that. We don’t eat that much honey, but I could barter it for canning vegetables.

Once I got off the mower, I fixed a quick supper. I texted a friend who is newly retired and he was sitting out on his gorgeous covered porch, drinking wine and enjoying a beautiful summer evening. Mr. FixIt was building the steps with his son, so I grabbed my knitting and headed into town to schmooze with my friend. We met and bonded through our late friend, Diane. Sparky always talked about her friend Richard but I’d never really knew him till after she died. As a matter of fact, he is the one who called me to tell me she had passed away. It was nice to sit on a summer’s eve and talk about our buddy.

I got home and the steps were finished and my stepson was gone. They did a great job on this project. The only thing left is to set the posts in cement and mount the railing and that’s one more thing we can check off our to-do list. Today is knitting group. Only this week and next before the shop closes and we will need to come up with another place to meet. There are several options to look at but I don’t want to take on another project. One of the other gals will try to organize it and I’ll be happy to go.

I’m about ready to start the ribbing around the bottom of the sweater. This pattern is so simple and easy…I love it. It’s hard to believe August is half gone!

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““He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”

Job 6:14 ESV