We started out pretty early yesterday. When you have to mow in West Virginia, the afternoons can become so hot and sticky. It’s best to get done as early as you can. We still haven’t received the bolts I ordered for the push mower, so Mr. FixIt busied himself with the weed eater and the pole lopper. I rode the lawn tractor and mowed.

The color is washed out in this photo. I was sitting in the shade under the pergola.

I sleep out in the camper as often as I can in the summer. It not only gives me the feeling that I am really camping, but it also takes me to that safe place of prayer and meditation where I spent the first couple of years after becoming a widow. I was so upset Friday when the camper broke…AGAIN. And I knew I would toss and turn with my stomach in knots. So, I settled in, turned on the fans, and stretched out to read and write and knit. 

Remember when Gilda Radner played Rosanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live back in the day? She would make a point by saying, “It’s like my Gramma Roseannadanna always used to say, “It’s always something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”” Well, we picked up the camper from the service department at the dealership on Thursday and decided to stay overnight at a local state park to give the camper a once over. We just wanted to make sure everything worked as it should.

When we were mowing here at the house this week, I used just about all the gas in the can. There was maybe a cup left. Mr. FixIt was using the push mower and needed gas, so he used some in one of our spare cans. I have no idea how old it was, but sure enough…it was bad and the mower just would not run. About a year ago, the throttle started surging on it so I knew it was going to need some work soon. 

I went to knitting group yesterday. I haven’t been there since I got back from Colorado. I found some yarn to make Big a sweater to take to college with her. I’ve got about 6” of it knitted and I’m not sure I am happy with the yarn itself. It is a blend of baby llama, Merino wool, silk and linen and it’s certainly going to be warm. But it has these weird fibers in it. It’s kinda like pulling out sticks and twigs and leaves and little wiry bits. I’m pulling the stickiest of them out as I knit, but I can just imagine wearing it and getting stuck with these fibers. I know she’d have to wear a shirt under it or it would be really itchy. So, before I knit any more of it, I’ll give it some thought. I might give the yarn to my dear friend, Gail. She is a prolific knitter and I’m sure she could use it. She’s always making hats and mittens and things to give to people who need them.

I love mowing days in June. Everything is so green it hurts your eyes and it’s not hot enough to fry an egg on the driveway. Although 84° certainly was hot enough for me, thank you. I still mow with my big golf umbrella. People have worried I might tip over and impale myself, but our land is nearly flat as a pancake and in the three or so places it isn’t, I set the umbrella aside so…not to worry. The world looks a whole lot better from the seat of a tractor.

I remember when I became a Christian and invited Jesus into my heart. It felt as though every cell in my body had been made new again. My vision was even different. I was given new eyes. Not literally, of course…but I was seeing the world through the lens of Jesus. Everything was filtered in a new light and I could see beauty in places I’d never seen it before.

I do not know what it feels like to be told you have what could be a terminal illness. I’ve held a sacred space for many people that I love as they walk that path but I know that is not the same thing. It’s a different journey than the sudden loss of Mr. Virgo and his heart attack or my best friend who died after a week with a bad stomach flu. I can’t imagine going through all the testing, the waiting, the dread. The treatments. The…decisions.

When I walked into the house last Saturday, there were a dozen roses waiting for me on the kitchen counter. The house was picked up and tidy, there were fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and a new carton of Half & Half for my coffee in the fridge. I felt so loved and I knew how much Mr. FixIt missed me. I missed him as well, however my time had been packed so full with activities and the chore of driving five days in each direction, I didn’t have much time to dwell on it. Here, it was just him and the cat so he was super duper glad to have me home. 

I’ve had more trouble with allergies this spring than I have in a long time. I’ve read that climate change is causing more allergens and those of us sensitive are even more so as things worsen. I already take so many antihistamines I rattle when I walk, but Monday night…after two days of mowing…I took an extra one at bedtime and paid for it with the jitters all night. Most people can take a Benadryl and it puts them to sleep. Not me. I can take one maybe for two nights in a row. After that, it works just the opposite and my skin crawls and I’m jumpy till dawn.