A woman’s perogative

05/09/2022 A woman’s perogative is to change her mind. Correct? I’m the queen of changing my mind and of indecisiveness. I can remember a few times when the boys were young and we had hired a babysitter so we could go out. The only problem was that I had nothing to wear. Well, nothing that I wanted to wear, so guess what? We didn’t go out and I was miserable the whole night. Yep, I’ve done that to myself more times than I’d like to admit. Despite the fact of having more clothes than I knew what to do with.

So changing my mind is commonplace around here. We sent a down payment on a one-piece fiberglass inground pool, just a bit larger than the one we had in Roatan. The one in Roatan had to have a room built to hold it as I wanted it at second floor level for the view. This was not an easy task. However, the pool and ALL of the construction was less than 15K. When we proceeded to order this pool, the pool itself, delivered, would be several thousand more than the whole shebang in Roatan. We decided, we only live once, let’s just do it.

Push comes to shove and I realize I do not want to spend double what the installed Roatan pool cost us. This amount does not include landscaping or the deck around it and we (Bill) would be doing the majority of the work himself. I’m old, I’m not going to be enjoying it for years to come. It certainly does not increase property values, unless you live in Arizona. We have nixed the inground pool thing and are looking at an above ground that the dogs will be able to use and enjoy and not ruin. All we want is something to float in when it’s hazy hot and humid. We still plan to do a nice front yard with a nice fence and some artificial turf for the dogs. (Ticks are voracious here and they can’t live in fake grass). I’d also like a screened area to eat, away from the bugs. That’s it, keeping it simple but nice. Delusions of grandeur are forgotten and totally unnecessary for me to live happily. I kind of got spoiled by the fabulous pool in AZ but when you get right down to it, it’s the water that’s enjoyable, not how much the pool cost. Moving on.

We finally got the block work done, that took a few weeks just to get them here and get it completed. The weather was not conducive to outside work, unless you planned to wallow in the MUD, then you were ok. Now, the task of getting someone to bring fill dirt, then some topsoil has taken  2 weeks. Bill just got a message that they will be here Wed and work until done. I’m not holding my breath. Once that’s done we can get the fence up, the artificial grass ordered and the pool in. Slowly, it’s like Kentucky is on Island time.

We’re still walking the dogs every morning, and several other times during the day. We find some cool stuff on our walks, lately, it’s been box turtles.

My friend from Tennesee (she and her husband came up with food and stuff when Bill was in the hospital and I was having a meltdown in Walt) is coming up with her sons for a few days. We are overly excited. Andee is fabulous and hysterical. We worked together at Bank of America, it was the Andee and Deb show daily, how we got anything done, I have no clue. Her boys are super cool, we haven’t seen them since 2012 and can’t wait for this visit. Mason, the oldest is currently working with a group doing the largest Box Turtle study in the world so he’ll be able to give us the low down. Axel, the youngest, is just like Andee. A laugh a minute. The boys and Bill are going to make some playground things out of pallets for the dogs’ new play area. This area will connect with the fenced front yard, if that ever gets done this year. 

The other morning I was drinking my tea on the front porch and the turkeys were going crazy. They make so much noise. I didn’t realize it was baby season until we found this egg. I asked Andee and my friend Ryan what it was and they both said turkey egg. DUH. We should have known. 

I dropped some stuff at Goodwill in Columbia the other day and ran in to replenish my desire to shop. I found this great print, and loved the frame and the art. It was cheap, actually free. Later, when I looked at my receipt, I realized the girl never charged me for it. I inspected it closer while cleaning the glass and saw a signature so I started googling it. Turns out to be an old lithograph, worth far more than the zero $$’s I paid. 

My friend who works at the store in town went to Tennessee with me last Wed. We did some antique shopping and went to a HUGE Goodwill in Cookeville. It was organized as well as any store I’ve ever been in. I was meandering down one aisle and saw a tray on the bottom shelf. Just as I spotted it, another woman did too. I grabbed it quickly and she came over to inspect it. It was $9.99 with 20% off (senior discount). Of course I bought it. Once I got home I got online again and was astonished at what I found. This is a rare old tray from Maitland-Smith. Handmade in the Philippines. It’s pieces of bamboo on the bottom, bamboo on the sides and the handles look to be bamboo and silver. This is something I will never get rid of, it’s way too cool. 

I lost 2 friends to suicide in a week. One from Washington, he has a lovely wife and 2 sons. The other was from Williamsport, she was the sister of a very close friend. She was married and has a son in the military. I struggled with both of these losses, so tragic. My heart aches for the family left behind to deal with the aftermath. 

Bill has been mowing paths in the upper field, the dog’s favorite spot. It makes it less tick-saturated if the grass is shorter. Sometimes these guys get running and I have to find a safe spot to stand so I don’t get mowed over. 

The car lot on the main road, not far from our house, usually has some interesting vehicles. I am in love with this old Plymouth coupe and the T bird. I would happily drive either of them.

I apologize for being such a slacker, things just are not happening very fast in sleepy little Burkesville, KY., AND we still have no wifi so everything I do for the blog has to be done by USB file transfer or tethering. Except that wasn’t working just now and Bill got my mobile hotspot to connect again. What an absolute pain in the butt. 

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back soon.