Conditions at 5:40 am: clear skies and 12'
Expected later: sunny and 24'

Well the peroxide and baking soda trick worked once again. After spending most of the evening cutting the grass last night I then came in and tackled the dog. Fortunately for me he doesn't mind having a bath and it's the one place he behaves. The house might have a very faint odour about it but nothing I can't live with. I left all the windows open over night and of course it's quite chilly in here now but it's much better than before. Needless to say I didn't let the dog out this morning until I did a thorough check of the yard first!

Not much to report today. One more night should allow me to finish the grass.I actually got a a lot of it done last night in spite of one little mishap.  I was going along and only at the last second saw a piece of rope lying in the grass but I didn't stop quick enough and it became wound around the centre part of the blade. It took quite some time to get it off as it was wound around very tightly. I tried starting the mower and nothing happened except some smoke and the smell of burning rubber emanating from underneath. I knew I hadn't gotten all of the rope off and was afraid I had maybe fried the motor or something in trying to start it. So I got back down underneath and could see where there was still some rope quite tightly wound around and with the help of a small razor blade I eventually got it all off. I said a few prayers and tried again and this time it worked and I was able to finish the rest of the yard. This little mower and I have had our challenges but it always seems to keep going for me. The belt slips off every once in a while but I figured out where it should be, so I just stop, loop it back on and away she goes. I'm ever so grateful for that.

Once I got it back up and running and was continuing on, I thought to myself, I will be REALLY happy when Lloyd gets here permanently. It was one of those days when I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all and I'll be happy to have someone to share the work with. Not that I mind doing it, it's just not enough time to get it all done. But enough whining!

I talked to Lloyd last night to see how he's feeling. It seems he has a tooth that had a root canal several years ago and it's become infected and his whole jaw is in terrible pain. He's been to the dentist but there's nothing they can do until the infection is gone. So he's on antibiotics and pain medication for the next few days. I suspect he may feel a little better this morning. Once the antibiotics kick in they usually work pretty quickly.

I had to include this picture this morning of James before he left on Monday morning. He looks so grown up in his jacket and tie. There's also a couple more from last week. We really did have a great time - at least I did and I'm pretty sure he did as well.