I joked earlier today on Facebook that if I had known I’d have so many status-worthy events today, I would have saved them up for a blog post. Well, here’s the post anyway! 🙂

Today was a pretty dang perfect Saturday, especially since we got our first sunny and hot day in almost a month! I was up earlyish and got my day’s work done by noon. I could then get tomorrow’s work done to have a full day off or do two half-days off. I chose the latter and it wound up being the best choice.

I started the afternoon by going to Willow Bunch to get some produce and to check out offerings at the thrift store. I got a good haul today!

Remember, I’m building a wardrobe entirely from scratch, from underwear to coats, so I’m not going nearly as crazy with the clothes buying as it might seem, plus the bulk of what I bought last year and was hoping to fit in this year is a size or two too big. And, frankly, when you’ve been a size XL or 1X most of your life and you find a super cute dress size S that looks fabulous on you and it’s just $1, it’s not hard to justify finding room for it in your wardrobe. 🙂

I also lucked out and found a good set of pruning sheers for 25 cents! I was going to borrow a pair from Caroline today, so this was good timing!

I got home and put laundry on, then I got on the roof and cut the branches that have been rubbing at the overhang and keeping me up at night. Let me repeat that in case you didn’t catch the significance of it. I went off and did something else while my laundry cleaned itself while not at an RV park or friend’s house where I’m using borrowed laundry facilities, but instead on my own turf! 😀

Once the overhang was branch free, I started at the south end of the eastern perimeter and worked my way north, trimming all the branches I could reach and which were small enough for my sheers to handle (which was a lot bigger than I expected; almost thumb-size!). I also laid down some pallets and piled logs on them in the hope that they will eventually dry. I was grateful that Charles’ trailer was still parked out front so I could get rid of the branches immediately.

While all this was happening, the gravel guy stopped by to make arrangements with me for delivery. On a Saturday! He needed Charles’ trailer out of the way to do that so he told me to give him a call when the coast was clear.

He also reminded me that the gravel this year is even worse than the stuff last year that I was unhappy about. I said that for this year’s application, it would be fine, I just didn’t want to pay the big bucks for it. He said that it would be more expensive than the crap I got last year and I wouldn’t get a discount on it!

He said, “I can bring you pit run,” and I perked up because that’s what I’d initially requested, but kept getting dismissed on the few times I discussed gravel with the RM. ‘Pit run’ is really dirty gravel with big rocks, even boulders in it. I want the rocks for landscaping projects, so this stuff being so much cheaper makes it feel like a real deal to me.

He left and I went in to call C&C to put in a request for Charles to move the trailer. Caroline said he’d check his schedule and get back to me.

Shortly thereafter, I heard the gravel guy again and went out. He said that he’d just spoken to Charles, who was going to move the trailer shortly. Was I really sure I wanted pit run? He pulled out a map and said that he’d just dumped some two miles out and he wouldn’t deliver me a load of it unless I went out to look at what I was ordering.

I knew exactly what I was ordering, but I humoured him and drove out. I’m pleased to say that, “Go about two miles east to the road just before the big turn, not the bad road, the good one, and look at what I dumped right after the Texas gate,” was perfectly sufficient instructions for me to find the place!

The pit run was exactly what I thought it would be, so I came home and called the gravel guy. He asked me again if I was sure. Yup… He said that I was second next in line and he’d be by in a couple of hours.

I hung up with him and thought I heard noise outside, so I went to see if it was Charles. Indeed. I put on proper shoes and jumped in his truck to take the branches to the branch dump, which is just around the corner, by the cemetery.

As usual, his dog, Brutus, was in the front seat, and had no desire to give me more space than necessary, so intent was he at getting some cuddling out of this whole affair. I still can’t believe what a dog person I’m becoming!

I came in and debated whether or not to make dinner or wait for gravel and decided to go for it since I was starting to feel a little faint. I’d been saving a package of Japanese dumplings for a night like this, so I had a nice treat. I even whipped up a frozen banana with some all natural peanut butter for a decadent (yet healthy!) dessert.

Shortly thereafter, I heard the gravel guy again.

He floundered in the mud getting in the yard and almost got stuck, perfectly exemplifying why I was so eager to get the front part of the yard covered!

As it was explained to me, after the old garage that was on this lot got torn down, the lot was back filled with manure. The ground is therefore very, very soft. After a wet period like we just had, with lots of hard rain, I can’t even park on the lot. So I really wanted to add a layer of material to give me a proper driveway and, as a bonus, provide another RV pad.

Once the load was empty, the guy got out of his truck to make sure I was happy and to get the cheque for the material, which has to be paid for on delivery. I’ll get a bill later for the delivery. The gravel was $66 and the delivery will be $189.

I was thrilled with the product, smiling as I noticed one big rock after another. I knew it would be hard work to get it all smoothed out, but I wouldn’t have gotten much better stuff from the RM and it would have been three times the cost!

Instead of crashing with a movie, I went out and starting hauling and raking gravel. Having property is good for my health! I doubt I’ll get lucky again with the neighbour who has the tractor since he’s farming and working very long hours.

So my goal at this point is to rake it out just enough that L can back in his trailer when he arrives in a few weeks. If I do an hour of work a day, that will be easily achievable, and I need exercise anyway!