Here we are with Lent behind us and the Easter season in full bloom. Most people think of Easter as the end of Lent but in reality it is just the beginning. With the arrival of this great holy day we should be new people living our lives differently from now on. Lent is a time of reading for me and this year was no different. I read four interesting book and am now moving on to a new one.
I started, Overcoming the Evil Within, last year but finished it this year. I have read many of the classics over the years but had not read, Wuthering Heights, so now I have done so. I love history, particularly stories of exploration and settlement. Brave Companions, tells of the pioneering development of the northwest territory, which was the region north of the Ohio River. Most of us are familiar with the development of the Pacific north west but are less familiar with the Ohio region, at least I was. My sister Deb recommended the book, Haven, to me. It is a fictitious story of three monks who opt out of the world and move to a deserted island. It was a strange but interesting book. Last, but not least, are Alexander McCall Smith’s stories of the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. There are 24 books in the series and, The Joy and Light Bus Company, is number 22. I have now read 19 books of that series. They are simple, delightful, slow moving stories of a woman’s detective agency in the country of Botswana, Africa. They are humorous and about human nature. A mini- TV series was done about these books a number of years ago which I enjoyed so much I purchased the series.
I didn’t always have my nose in books and was aware of life going on around me. Klickitat County is busy brushing under and around power lines along highway 141. So for one week we had single lane traffic should we want to go anywhere. Teagan and Latah flew to the east coast on their own, with Heather joining them just before Easter. They had a great time getting acquainted again with cousins and meeting new people in the family they had not met before. Teagan had her hair highlighted one day, which she enjoyed.
They loved spending time with Grandma Doyle whom they call Mimi.
One day I took Dennis to a Portland hospital to have a stint put in a major artery as it had become 70% blocked. He is gaining energy back again and feeling better.
In the mean time things were happening at Pebble Creek. Annie wrangled with a fence or some sharp object and lost. She is mending, but not happy about the recovery time. Jason stated that the damage was much worse than photos show, deep through layers of muscle and tissue.
Also this year’s 4-H pigs arrived at Pebble Creek. Sam named his pig Hamilton and Sophie named her’s Chicken. I have not heard the name of the extra pig that comes every year.
The day before Easter the pigs had to be taken somewhere to be weighed.
I haven’t heard the story yet behind the name, “Chicken.”
We were staying busy here at home as well. With daylight increasedTaylor has more time to spend on his tree house. A number of years ago Latah built a fairy house in the woods. It usually gets battered under the snow and needs to be rebuilt every spring. With time on my hands and Latah thousands of miles away, one day eager to be in the woods, I set about rebuilding it myself. I very much enjoyed being a child again for one afternoon.
You can walk right past the little house and not notice it even though it is right beside the trail.
Taylor gave me an old jacket he no longer wanted. I mend a few tears. Also the jacket had been put in the dryer at some point and the shell shrank leaving the lining longer than the shell. I cut part of the lining off and sewed the lining again to the shell. The project turned out great.
The lining was too long for the cotton shell which shrank in the dryer.
For some reason Teach and Wolina loved sleeping on the ironing board.
Not all home jobs were pleasant. The upstairs bathroom sink was draining poorly so back to cleaning out pipes. Wolina was my constant helper on that job.
Gurgling water, a joyful sound….. and so my piddly little life of home improvement moves on. Last but not least to share a few of my projects, I replaced the floor guards on the bottom of the kitchen stools.
