Rain, Rain, And More Rain

6:34

7:36

I woke up to the sound of rain for the first time in weeks.  And according to the weather apps, it may rain all day. It's a pleasant sound as I sit on my couch looking out of a window of raindrops, an empty gray lake. It's 66º and I can feel the humidity as I sit here writing the blog at 7:30. It's 8:20, Evie's awake and I won't be going kayaking and we have already gotten an inch and a half of rain. 

Thanks to our friend and handyman, yesterday was a good day because lots was accomplished. I  started the day as usual with a forty-five-minute paddle and photos of a couple of birds. Just as I paddled home, our guy arrived, ready for work. So in the next four hours, he trimmed the privets at the lake's edge, on a ladder, an area I could not get on my own. He then painted five metal chairs and a table, helped me move, clean and firm up a picnic table, and then moved to our porches, painting the railings and the columns. All this was done in four hours, and we appreciated his hard work. The fact that we would have done this ourselves ten years ago was not lost on us but we were happy to have him do it instead. 

Once he finished and left for his next job, I had lunch, a couple of chicken salad sandwiches on a bagel and watched another older series on PBS called Anikka. I think I watched a few episodes before but could think of nothing else to watch. I then read but fell asleep and took a good nap, at least an hour since I had a bad night. Around 3:00, Evie fired up the mower and mowed the lawn and I worked on our privets for a good forty-five minutes, cutting out the vines and weeds that had invaded it, filling up a garbage pail with the cutting. Both of us worked up quite a sweat and we were happy to relax in our chaise lounges for a bit after finishing. 

Before wine time, Evie did some prepping for our wok dinner and then joined me on the porch to enjoy the late afternoon, something we look forward to each afternoon Around 6:45, I fired up the wok, cooking the veggies and mushrooms first, then the chicken in hot bean sauce and garlic, adding the veggies and s sauce to finish off the dish. We served it on rice and Evie loved it, either because it was tasty or I did the cooking. We then watched the pundits discuss whether Biden should step down or not (he won't, alas). His hubris, (overseeing self-pride) won't let him, the flaw of all tragic heroes that leads to their fall. Then, we started another film we thought we might like but bagged it after half an hour. We are sure hard to please, not. We finished the night with Jeopardy and My Lottery Dream Home.