Week 17 - A Spring Cold

The week started well with a nice lunch in the park with my friend Lorri on Monday but then I woke up with a full blown cold on Tuesday. Claritin D rescued me from the crazy congestion and it's a good thing because I had lots to do.

A big front loader and dump truck arrived on Monday and got rid of the rest of both the front and back dirt piles. They made quick work of it but left a layer of packed clay that a power rake couldn't get through, which had been the contractor's plan. He was going to rent a power rake and charge me big bucks for the raking so I told him to skip it and called my lawn guy. Tim confirmed that the packed clay needed to be broken up by hand so despite feeling pretty crappy, I got out there first thing on Tuesday and raked the back myself. That involved swinging a rake over my head to get it to break through the crust and then yanking it back. I couldn't wait because I wanted the workers, who were busy building my retaining wall, to move the chunks I got up. I did the back on Tuesday and the front on Wednesday. They moved the dirt to the alley and it was ready for power raking.

Cam, who mows my lawn, came on Saturday and power raked then came back later right before it rained and seeded the front lawn. The back lawn had lots of grass coming through but the front didn't. Maybe that pile was there longer? No clue but I saved >$300 by having Cam do the work instead of the contrator. Nice.

After the two days of heavy labor while fighting a cold, I spent a lot of time knitting (finished another sock WIP) and streaming over the rest of the week, talked to my sister and my friend one afternoon and did some baking and cooking. On Sunday I was up and out early to take care of the cats at the shelter and water my friend Lorri's seedlings so that I could cross that off and relax for the rest of the day. Then I got a text from my cousin asking if I'd seen her invite. I hadn't gotten a text (turns out she had texted my old cell) but she had invited me for supper. I hemmed and hawed but ended up going. Of course it was fun with great company and yummy food so a nice way to end the week.

Things were looking up for sure. The basement project was finally finished with the retaining wall done and the yard on the mend from the dirt piles. I was off the Claritin D by the weekend and was doing OK. I also had crew free mornings to look foward to. Or so I thought....