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Mowing in the Dark
Oct. 24th, 2013 10:57 amYesterday morning, just when it seemed like the crazy household things might get manageable again, the animals started getting sick. I suspect they're all passing around some sort of stomach bug, but it could also be each animal's finicky nature about different things. Things came out of the dog's posterior and the cats' anteriors, and while I cleaned up (just one of multiple cleanups), all I could think about was all of my friends/family members who have small children and have all sorts of tales about malfunctioning bodily processes. So ehh, could be worse, I suppose.
Yesterday morning, I also rearranged some furniture in my room so I could spread a thick blanket of baking soda over one region from which cat pee smell seems to be originating. I also did a load of smelly laundry on Tuesday (towels that had been left on the floor of the back patio), and those two things seem to have taken care of the worst of the cat pee smell around the house. That, or I'm becoming insensitive to it (yikes, I hope not). Then it was time to head to work (late), where I have a large stack of projects requiring attention.
Then it was time to head home and mow the lawn until it got too dark to see. The floodwaters that flooded the dining room also rearranged some portions of the backyard, which was interesting to observe. New piles of small sticks and twigs, which foul up the lawnmower blades but are too tedious to collect by hand (plus, darkness was falling). This backyard came with a set of what I'd describe as concrete "pool noodles" - one-foot cylinders of concrete that some people here use to line garden beds. When my mom was here, she suggested using them to extend the walkway to the back door, and I agreed with her that they looked quite nice there. However, gnomes have subsequently relocated them randomly around the yard. For instance, one of the pool noodles got relocated to mark the site of a small blackberry bush, so the blackberry bush wouldn't get mowed down (of course, it's dead now anyway). With the flooding, that pool noodle has now sunken up to its neck into the soil so only three inches are sticking out. I think another one got put into an ankle-breaking hole at some point; it's one more lawnmowing hazard. I had a large collection of plastic plant pots stashed underneath a large plastic plant pot; post-flood, I found the big pot and a couple of buckets along the fence, but didn't see many signs of the smaller pots. More new ankle-breaking holes have appeared in a couple of spots, and several areas where leaves had been accumulating are now scoured bare. The grass is green, green, green. There may be a spot now where a section of fence can get pulled up by an inquisitive dog.
This morning, I can finally see that the lawn has been sufficiently tamed. Thank goodness; I have rowing practice tonight, and rowing/other commitments that will take me through Saturday night, so the lawn needed to get done. Once the carpeting is reinstalled in the dining room, my roommates and I will rent a carpet cleaner, and then hopefully after that we can breathe a big sigh of relief and get back to other projects.
I will not miss this house when I leave Texas. It is too. much. work.
Yesterday morning, I also rearranged some furniture in my room so I could spread a thick blanket of baking soda over one region from which cat pee smell seems to be originating. I also did a load of smelly laundry on Tuesday (towels that had been left on the floor of the back patio), and those two things seem to have taken care of the worst of the cat pee smell around the house. That, or I'm becoming insensitive to it (yikes, I hope not). Then it was time to head to work (late), where I have a large stack of projects requiring attention.
Then it was time to head home and mow the lawn until it got too dark to see. The floodwaters that flooded the dining room also rearranged some portions of the backyard, which was interesting to observe. New piles of small sticks and twigs, which foul up the lawnmower blades but are too tedious to collect by hand (plus, darkness was falling). This backyard came with a set of what I'd describe as concrete "pool noodles" - one-foot cylinders of concrete that some people here use to line garden beds. When my mom was here, she suggested using them to extend the walkway to the back door, and I agreed with her that they looked quite nice there. However, gnomes have subsequently relocated them randomly around the yard. For instance, one of the pool noodles got relocated to mark the site of a small blackberry bush, so the blackberry bush wouldn't get mowed down (of course, it's dead now anyway). With the flooding, that pool noodle has now sunken up to its neck into the soil so only three inches are sticking out. I think another one got put into an ankle-breaking hole at some point; it's one more lawnmowing hazard. I had a large collection of plastic plant pots stashed underneath a large plastic plant pot; post-flood, I found the big pot and a couple of buckets along the fence, but didn't see many signs of the smaller pots. More new ankle-breaking holes have appeared in a couple of spots, and several areas where leaves had been accumulating are now scoured bare. The grass is green, green, green. There may be a spot now where a section of fence can get pulled up by an inquisitive dog.
This morning, I can finally see that the lawn has been sufficiently tamed. Thank goodness; I have rowing practice tonight, and rowing/other commitments that will take me through Saturday night, so the lawn needed to get done. Once the carpeting is reinstalled in the dining room, my roommates and I will rent a carpet cleaner, and then hopefully after that we can breathe a big sigh of relief and get back to other projects.
I will not miss this house when I leave Texas. It is too. much. work.
