Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! It's Off to Work We Go!!

We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig from early morn till night
We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig up everything in sight

Remember those words from Snow White? The Seven Dwarfs sang it about mining. Well, we wouldn't be mining this week, but we would do a LOT of digging. 

Monday, September 27th, was our day to finish that second French drain in our backyard. We have a gate on each side of the house to the backyard. Claude had already done the digging of the trench for the black plastic pipe and put the pipe in place. We had to place all those red brick pavers  and make the flower bed as well as fill the drain with more drainage rocks. We started our day with a trip to Lowe's to buy the remaining pavers and more drainage rock. Then we worked together to get them in place and then make the flower beds. This is done by Claude sitting on the ground and working with the dirt to level it out. Then I lift the brick pavers and put them in place. Once a paver is in place, I do what we call the "Sandi Dance". This is me standing with a foot on each of two opposite corners of the paver and wiggling back and forth. If there is any wiggle, we determined where the ground underneath is too high to too low. I lift the paver out and hold it to the side while Claude tries to level out the ground by adding or taking away soil. Then we repeat me laying the paver back in place, Claude hammering it into exact position, me doing another Sandi Dance. This is repeated until the paver is in the exact right spot. After we got all the pavers in (they are each about 16-inches square) we placed the bricks for the edge of the little flower bed and Claude poured more drainage rock over the French drain pit. Claude also placed another concrete block outside the gate. There is a block just like that on the other gate. The plan is to purchase metal cranes to stand on these blocks. When we visited China we learned that the crane symbolizes longevity. On a romantic note, it represents long-lasting love and loyalty in marriage. I think cranes are a beautiful bird. There was one or two in Eagle Creek in Sadieville. We determined cranes needed to be part of our life story and landscape in our new home. We also decided to put a trellis in the little flower beds on each side of the house. In the spring we'll find the right climbing plant to go on the trellises.

Tuesday, September 28th, we spent out morning working together. Another trip to Lowe's. We decided we wanted liriope along the back fence in the back yard. This plant is in our front flower bed. So putting it in the back along the fence line makes perfect sense. It really doesn't require a lot of care. It has a pretty flower on it that is purple. Purple always speaks to my heart. We learned on Monday that there were plants that it is okay to plant in the fall. We really thought all our planting would have to wait till spring. We were overjoyed to learn we could get some things in the ground now and they could take root and fill in quicker than waiting till spring. We purchased all the liriope that Lowe's had on hand, 12 plants. We had about 40 feet of fence and these spaced really nicely along that distance. As they grow and fill in, they will still be individual plants but they will extend further and about touch each other. 

I learned Monday, when I dropped a treat bag off for Papa, that I could not take Papa out of the nursing home for a visit. I can't go back to his room. Which is fine with me. So, Tuesday afternoon I scooped Papa up from the nursing home and we went on a nice ride. We ended our outing with a chocolate shake. He has fallen so much lately and I had not see him in person since the beginning of August. It was good to see him sounding strong this day. 

While I was out for the afternoon with Papa, Claude laid the pad for the Grandmonster Bench to sit on. Yeah Claude!! This is hard work for two people. It was nice he was able to do that alone. 

Wednesday, September 29th, Katelyn posted these pictures of our great grandmonsters having tummy time. Joel needs this to strengthen his muscles. Emelia loves her little brother and was right there with him. I love this.

Wednesday was to be a full day at home. Our goal this day was to make the pad that goes under the Adirondack chairs and table. They have been sitting where we wanted them but on the dirt. Every time it rains, the dirt splashes on them and they are brown from the seat down. We needed more red brick pavers. So...you guessed it...our day started with a trip to Lowe's. We bought all the pavers we would need to finish this project. Also some paving sand and some dirt. Claude had the idea that the Grandmonster Bench needed a little shrub on each side of it. Nothing large. Something that would be the height of the arm of the bench when fully grown. I found such a plant with soft round leaves on Tuesday's trip to Lowe's. We purchased two of them, one for each side of the bench. We also purchase a six-pack of little tiny grass plants. They will always stay tiny. I wanted them to plant around the fairy garden tree. One other plant was purchased. It is a Dinner Plate Hibiscus. It would be planted in the flower bed that runs along the side of the house. It would take the place of that poke weed plant. Claude dug that out for me on Tuesday while I was taking care of Papa. 

This is a picture of before we started our project. Then a picture midway through the project. Then pictures of the finished projects for the day. Lots of work. Lots of digging. But we are very, very, very happy with the results.

This final picture was the last thing we did before going inside. You can't hardly tell it here. We have a company coming next week to pour concrete to make our patio larger. We also have someone coming to seed the yard before winter. We decided we should rope off where the concrete would be laid so they don't seed that area. It is going to be a nice patio when it is done.

We are thrilled to get this work done. Frankly, I had resigned myself to getting the French drains in and the concrete poured. Wasn't sure we would be able to get the other things done. Really didn't think we could plant until spring. Now all these pieces are in place. Once the concrete is poured, we'll sit on the patio and make plans for the next steps to turn our backyard into a welcoming retreat.

Thursday, September 30th, I spent the morning cleaning in my home. It really needed it after tracking dirt through as we worked in the yard.

In the afternoon, I took Papa out of the nursing home again. We went to the creek and watched the geese play. Papa loves watching the birds. Takes him back to when he was a little boy and living in the woods. His siblings were all older so his walking in the woods with the animals were his entertainment and friends. This day I was a bit more concerned. Papa was more lethargic. He would get quiet and stare straight ahead or look down for periods of time. It was like he was nodding off to sleep or in a trance. He asked me a couple of questions that really let me know that he has slipped mentally. One was how he met Mimi. This was one of his favorite stories and he would tell it multiple times when he saw you. Now, he couldn't remember it. I did figure out why he thinks he went to Alaska, Hawaii and the Panama Canal (he just added that spot). I took my scrapbooks from our trips to these places and made Power Point presentations out of them. Instead of tossing the paper, I gave them to Papa to read. These are all places Claude and I have traveled and I made scrapbooks about. Papa has read these and somehow that has translated to his brain that he has been to those places. Mystery solved. 

Friday, October 1st, Claude and I decided to treat ourselves to a day long date after all our hard work. The yard was in good shape, the house was cleaned, the laundry and ironing were done. Time to take a day to play. Claude has been talking Mexican food. He also mentioned going to Bardstown, Kentucky. I found a Mexican restaurant we could try in Bardstown. This gave us a destination. 

We dropped off a treat bag for Papa and I filled the bird feeder. Then we got our biscuit breakfast at Bojangles. Claude drove us to Versailles where we picked up Hwy 62. This pictures is Hwy 62 crossing the Kentucky River outside of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. 

The plan was to follow Hwy 62 to Bardstown. Somehow we got off that and headed north on 53 toward Shelbyville. Not a problem. We picked up I-64 to the next exit and then headed south on Hwy 55 until we found Hwy 62 again. On to Bardstown. The next three pictures are driving the backroads of Kentucky. Once in Bardstown we found the Mexican restaurant and had a nice late lunch.

After lunch we drove another 15 or 20 miles to Bernheim Forest. This is a lovely place. We were there two years ago with the Mini's to see the Gentle Giants. These are giants made out of trees and things that fell in the forest. After doing that with the Mini's, we went to Dairy Queen where I fell and pushed my three front teeth up into my gums. Claude and I were both mindful of that event and were very careful to avoid any falls on this trip.

We opted not to visit the Gentle Giants but to drive all the roads in Bernheim Forest and get out to take a few walks. Our first stop was at the Big Prairie Overlook. Nice monument to the founders of Bernheim Forest. The first picture is a "Where's Claudo?" picture.

Claude was quite amused at the lawn mowing job done here. He was sure it was great fun for the guy with the mower!

We drove to the Canopy Tree Walk. It was cool to be on top of the trees. Fortunately, the path is a board path on tall poles in the ground below. When you get to the end, that is free standing and hangs out over the trees. Cool.

Our next stop was the Fire Tower Loop. We walked the loop. We were both happy the fence around the Fire Tower was locked! It was truly enough hiking up the hills to get to the tower and then to get out of the this area. 

I have a picture of Claude in Ireland looking up at Blarney Castle just like this. It's that look of, "Am I really going to climb this?"

Our final stop before leaving Berheim Forest was The Garden Pavillion. This is by a lake. We walked around it and then sat on a bench under the trees and enjoyed the breeze and the views of the lake. Large fish would jump out of the water every now and again. Very peaceful. 

It was a lovely date. We drove home and watched three movies that afternoon and evening. Great to spend time together relaxing after a good work week.

Saturday, October 2nd, and Sunday, October 3rd, were the General Conference broadcasts. We have been able to be home and watch all of the five sessions. So great to sit at the feet of the Church leaders and listen to talks they have prayed about. The topics are all timely and give wonderful instruction, comfort and peace.