Shiner

Our yard is looking pretty ragged right now. Between my project last week (and yes, I am still planning to go into detail about it, give me time!), friends coming to town, and the wonky weather, we just haven't had a chance to get out and mow it the way it needs.

When I got up yesterday, the weatherman was predicting rain for yesterday afternoon through today. With that in mind, I decided that I would help Sammy out and go ahead and mow the lawn. I grabbed my old-lady-gardening hat and headed outside to the garage.

Currently Sam and I have two push lawnmowers--one from each of our fathers. Last summer we had issues with neither one working very well, but this spring Papa got one of them running for us. This was fantastic! Unfortunately, I couldn't for the life of me remember which of the lawn mowers was the working one. However, when I went into the garage, one of the lawnmowers was easily accessible and sitting next to the trimmer, while the other was clear in the back and difficult to reach.

Obviously, I went with the one that was with all of the other lawn tools.

I got it out, checked its oil and fuel, and decided it was ripe and ready to run.

I then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes trying to get the bloody thing to run. I'd likely have stopped sooner and gone for the second mower, but on three separate occasions I did get it to turn over and start, but before I could increase the throttle it would die again.

Finally I decided I'd give it one last try. I'd primed it, pulled gently back on the pull start until I had tension, and then YANKED.

Next thing I know, something's whipping across my face and my glasses are flying across the yard. Somehow, in the course of pulling on the pull start, it got loose from my grip and pistol whipped me across the face.

Needless to say by the time I finally recovered my glasses, I decided I was done with that for the day and went back inside. Of course, when I talked to Sam later, he explained that the other mower was the working one, because he found it easier to take it out of the big garage door. Which makes sense, except I can never open the bloody thing.

Ah well.

Anyway, this morning, this is what I woke up to:

It's kind of hard to see in the pic, but I have one helluva bruise at the corner of my eye/temple of my forehead. o.0

Wandering Toe

Growing up, my father often told me that his family line frequently manifests a "wandering toe." We have a hard time staying in any one place for a great length of time; we're always looking to the next horizon, wondering what's over the next hill.

We have a long tradition of migrating ever further west, first across the Atlantic, then to Tennessee, and on westward to Kansas, Nevada, California, etc.

More recently, my Grandpa Norman, my dad's dad, worked with a surveyor's team in Kansas and Oklahoma back in the 50's. The majority of the oil wells throughout this area were originally surveyed by my Grandpa Norman. Dad attended over twenty elementary schools as a result, before they finally settled out in California when Dad was in high school.

After Dad graduated from high school, he spent the next thirteen years or so wandering from one machine shop to the next, while his eldest brother went into the navy and off to see the world. When I myself graduated from high school, I headed into theatre, which meant that every six months or so I moved to some place new. Even when I was in college, I was doing summerstock.

Last week it hit me that I was still in one place. My eyes kept drifting to the horizon, my mind wondering what was out there and where we should go next. Texas? Arizona? Washington?

This is not to imply that I'm unhappy where I am--I love living in this small town, close to friends and family. As much as I may complain sometimes, I love this cute little house and the garden we've planted in the back. I love making this house a home and taking care of Sam. This is, quite frankly, the happiest I've ever been.

And, eventually, the itch passed. By the time Sam and I collapsed into bed Saturday after doing our planting, my energies were focused back on the here and now, and the restlessness from the previous week was gone.

I think Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz got it right:

"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!"

Rocky start

"You realize that once summer gets here we're going to have to get up at the crack of dawn to work on the yard, right?"

"Of course I do, Sam. Number one, we'll need to do any watering needed before it gets too hot so we don't boil the plants. Number two, we'll need to do the yard work before it gets so hot that we start to boil too. I have lived through Oklahoma summers before, you know."

"I'm well aware of that. It just occurs to me that if we're going to have to start getting up at six in the morning--"

"--we should start doing it now. Ah well, it'll give us a chance to have breakfast before we start working."

*    *    *    *    *

"Holly..."

"mmph."

"Honey bun, it's time to get up."

"nu-uh."

"Yes, it is. We're going to have breakfast before working in the yard, remember?"

"Pillows. Nest. Bed."

"Don't do that, baby girl. Hiding your head under the covers is not going to help. Now come on..."

"But--but--snuggles!"

"We can snuggle later. Now crawl out from under the covers. There we go."

"Sammy is a big meanie."

"Yes, yes I am."

*    *    *    *    *

"About done with your cereal and coffee?"

"I have a little more coffee left. Plus I'm trying to come up with a word in my game with Mom."

"Well, finish up. It's nearly 7:15, and I'll need to take a shower before work."

"Alright, alright. You act like it's my fault or something."

"Well, it did take me thirty minutes to get you out of--"

"--which is why we're starting this now, so I'm used to it when it becomes necessary."

"I suppose. Now, are you coming outside or not?"

"I'm a coming, I'm a coming, let me grab my jacket."

*    *    *    *    *

"Wow, it's cold out here."

"Too cold, Sammy?"

"Weeeeellllllll, I can almost see my breath."

"Then can we go back inside? Now?"

"Yeah, let's go back inside. At least I managed to get you up this morning."

"Pillows! Bed! Nest!"