KEEPING ON WITH THE WORK (Wednesday, May 8)

We continue to enjoy the many hummingbirds. I hung the second feeder on the kitchen porch where I can see them as I wash the dishes. One of them is a beauty with a bright reddish head and throat.

Hallie's photo of hummers

Mike cleaned windows – again – and then mounted his motorcycle and rode to town. He has PT this afternoon and a supper meeting with fellow geocachers tonight. Bess moped when he left.

Hallie and I started the day at the compost bin. Since the compost cooked last summer without additions, I thought it would be a good time to remove it and start fresh. We loaded it into the garden cart, then softened clods as the basis for the next batch.

Back at the house, we continued work to put away kitchen stuff. Hallie removed things from boxes while I washed and put away. I tried to part with things as we went along, like Mother’s funnel pan. Since we never grease an angel food pan, she used her funnel pan for specialty breads or fruitcake. I’ve never used it. I can part with it.

The shelves from the previous pantry cupboard are still here, so on a whim, Hallie and I decided to insert one extra on each side, making it two shelves more practical. I am so pleased.

At 3:30, we walked the dogs out to the mailbox and back. It was pleasantly warm in the sun, but on the way back, it sprinkled rain on us. Hallie remarked that one little cloud above us was raining.

The clock said 4:30. I said we should quit working, but Hallie said she would give the bathroom a good cleaning. She did not need to clean the bathroom, I said. But she said it would make her feel good if the bathroom had a good deep cleaning. Okay. So, I kept working in the kitchen.

Evening after the storm #1

We were both engrossed in our work when CRASH! BLAM! “Oh ----,” screamed Hallie. A ferocious north wind was playing havoc with all the boxes we had tossed onto the porch. Hallie laughed derisively when I said there was nothing we could do. Off she went into the driving rain to retrieve boxes and what have you. I pushed as many as I could into the kitchen, but I was NOT going out into the rain. The storm lasted maybe ten minutes, and then all was calm again.

Evening after the storm #2

We had planned to fix a fresh supper, but in the end, we finished the lasagna. By the time we sat down to watch TV, we were ready to fall asleep.

Bess did not want to sleep outside, so we decided to let her stay in. She showed her appreciation by trotting purposefully to her pillow and curling into a ball, as if thanking us for this favor and promising to be good.

The vintage kitchen clock and the toaster are still missing. KW