Southbound Oriented

There comes a moment where one is no longer on vacation but gearing up to return home. I've just passed that.

The yard work is wrapping up. Never confuse that with being done. Ain't gonna happen. But the to-do-before list hovers over my head. Rain had prevented my getting rid of weeds and weed trees for a bit, but there have been other projects. Yesterday was perfect for clearing off the front of the driveway, as in the part next to the house. For the last couple of years a collection of tools, the garbage/recycle bins, and a ladder have contributed to an accumulation of stray sticks which never quite made it to the back yard, as well as a wind trap for leaves and tree seeds to accumulate. Two wheelbarrow loads went back after what is already compost got shoveled up from the concrete. A ladder still sits nearby but Paul let me know - upon my request - where in the back yard it needs to go.

For some reason the frustration of not being able to do my primary job leaves me itching to get other postponed tasks finished. So the entryway got (significantly) cleared. Well, all Steve's fishing stuff is back in side the house anyway, where it actually belongs, but the chainsaw is still there. I wrangled Paul into relocating the scooter into that entryway space, ready for Steve's excursions to the local store, and later moving him around inside airports on his trip home. There was some fuss with the battery, but charging the new batteries seems to have settled that. A key had to be located after three years of the scooter just sitting around in our bedroom now that it was to be used again. The key - of course! - was under the TV in the living room. So are about 5 other sets of keys that somebody, some other time, will need to figure out a use for. Meanwhile the bedroom has more space in it. Good news is I can reach the window easily for fresh air. Bad news is I lost my "clothes tree."

That frustration didn't stop there in pushing me to do stuff. Stray items are getting organized again. Dog necessities are again divided into for-the-trip-to-be-packed, and for-the-trip-for-use. Clothes, meds, food and electronics are mentally organized, and starting to be physically organized. Without Steve in the front seat, the car has room for a couple pieces of furniture to head down. Of course they have hollow spaces, so they will be first fitted into the car to see where they best will travel, then brought back in to be loaded up with spare clothes, souvenirs, etc. The brain is busy even when the body isn't. I'm getting back to not falling asleep as I mentally work on figuring it all out.

The video library has now been cleared off the shelves on one wall in the 3rd bedroom, aka den. Old copied-from-the-TV tapes have been relegated to our thankfully very large garbage can. Kids videos, mostly Disney, are in a fairly large box waiting for my granddaughter's visit in a couple weeks to take with her for her kids. (I asked first.) These also include a couple of videos from her dance class when she was little, as well as videos of her when she was little that I took. No comments on the lack of decent editing, please. A few other home videos, labeled for the trip they were taken on, like "Yellowstone", will be kept in order to see what can be done with them for long term storage - provided anything is left worth saving.

That leaves all the to-be-donated videos. I was slightly shocked a few years ago to find out that it's hard to get rid of them, even for free. A little research revealed that Family Pathways will still accept them. Thursday they will be dropped off on my way to get the car fixed - without turning said car off because the starting function is no longer trustworthy. Yesterday the final sort happened on the videos. There are now 3 boxes of them in the back of the car. There are also 8 bags full in the hatch. All in all, there are close to 200 heading out for somebody else to enjoy. It's a fairly eclectic bunch. Sets include Star Trek videos, civil war, John Wayne, fishing how-tos, and the full boxed Black Adder. (I would have given those to my daughter who introduced me to that particular brand of British humor, but she long ago got her own - on DVDs.) In addition there are all sorts of generally family friendly movies, both modern at the time and old classics, along with all kinds of musicals. I finally even parted with a belly dancing video. Heck, I still remember all the moves, even still have some of the flexibility I gained decades ago.

Sighhh....

I mentioned my car starter, didn't I? Pretty sure it's not the starter. Not exactly. Not the tranny either, exactly, though it happens in the interface between the two. As an automatic, my car needs to be in park to start. Sometimes, and now with increasing frequency, I have to pull the knob back out of park and put it in again before it will start. To me that screams loose connection. Maybe a dust buildup from it sitting through a few too many haboobs - dust storms for you who haven't heard that term before. I'm hoping for a quick, cheap fix. Early this year I ran into another loose connection, one in the front left turn light. Richard fixed that, after I'd replaced the bulb during an oil change. The new bulb worked fine in the shop, something which lasted until two miles down the freeway when I had to use it again. He looked at where the bulb was hooked up and found two loose wires sitting an inch apart and simply twisted them together. No problem since. I expect tomorrow a bill of at least $150 just for as simple a fix. I just don't trust the dealership to give me as simple a fix. But whatever it is, it must be done before that 1800 mile drive.

But this morning's thunderstorm has blown over, and it's about time to get dressed for more yard work. It won't be as wet as it sounds, since most isolated storms or simple rain clouds, from whatever direction, manage to part and go around Shafer. It's amazing that we got 5" of rain over the last several days. I can already see weeds sprouting from those places I cleared without adding the weed/brush killer. Dang!