August 6, 2025
You may recall that our house is on a corner lot. And
it seems like only yesterday that the powers that be here in our town, in their
infinite wisdom, decided to reconstruct the cross-street at the south side of
our house. That was a small project as these things go, and when it was done,
we were left with a newly paved side street, but one without a paved dip into
our driveway, as the workers were told there wasn’t a driveway there.
Yesterday, two weeks after the original projected
start date, began the work on the street that our house is addressed upon.
My husband, utilizing his extensive knowledge of these
matters informed us several days ago that likely the work would begin at the
southern-most end of our street which, at two and a half blocks away, is the
end furthest from our house. No need for any rush to take up the large pavement
stones that form our walkway between our house and the sidewalk. No need to
hurry to move our mailbox sitting on the edge of the sidewalk out of harm’s way.
As I said, they began yesterday morning just before
eight a.m., and by 10:00am, there was no longer any pavement in front of my
house. By the end of the work day, the crew had removed all the pavement for
the entire length of our street which is the first phase of this infrastructure
project.
And this morning they began to pull up the sidewalks.
At least the last time, my office being two rooms away
from the action, I was able to focus well enough to get some work done. This
time? Quite frankly, your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not creation
is going to happen at my keyboard. Lately, focus and discipline don’t seem to
be my strong suits.
I can tell you it’s a very odd sensation, having my
entire house trembling as the compacter makes certain that the base layer of
the road—mostly brown earth of an indeterminate sort—is well and truly tromped
down.
In other news, the oppressive heat has broken, and I
credit my daughter entirely with that fact. Why, you ask? Because a couple of
days before the heat broke, she finally gave in and ordered a new air
conditioner for her area upstairs.
The day the unit arrived was the first coolish day in
ages. Before I could chide her, she came in, looked at the heavy box at the
base of the stairs, looked at us, and said, “you’re welcome”.
A good sense of humor has always been strong in this
family.
We have been happily nibbling on cherry tomatoes from
our garden and have now enjoyed our second fist-sized tomato. There are several
green ones growing, and we’ve all got our fingers crossed that some of them
will gain impressive size before ripening. We all enjoy a light supper of
toasted tomato sandwiches, and we are all eager to make it so.
We already had our first veggie-only supper of the
season a few short weeks ago, and that was quite delicious. Green beans, new
potatoes and corn all picked fresh that day.
David had an interesting experience on his dog walks
yesterday morning. For some time now, he has transitioned this routine by using
his scooter. He has trained the dogs to walk while he rides. But because we
live on a busy street (when it’s not under construction) he lets them ride for
a few blocks, as he takes them to a quieter neighborhood.
The dogs love this. Rather than having to walk at
David’s pace, which is not what once it was, they are able to run to their
heart’s content. They always come home with big doggie grins. There’s not much
that can brighten one’s spirit in quite the same way that a doggie grin can.
But yesterday, the work crew kept such a good pace
that when he returned from walking the one dog—about a half hour—he drove his
scooter from the north corner a half block before he realized he wouldn’t be
able to cross the street on his scooter to get to our porch. And on his return
from walking the second dog? He realized he would have to go up the hill on our
north cross street, across a small street that runs parallel to our own, and
then down the hill of the street right beside our house.
But he now knows it’s doable. Later today he will
discover whether or not he can do all that twice, all on one (new)battery
charge.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
