Yesterday, I decided to return to the house to pick up a couple of things. It was a last minute decision as I really had no intention or desire in making the trip. I was also a little worried that the mailbox might be full and attract attention as I am not yet ready to notify the Postal Service of my future intentions. As it happened, as I pulled into my driveway, my very good neighbor, Clara, from across the street, stopped by to mention that the Postal Delivery Lady had gotten worried over the fact that the mailbox was full and was concerned something had happened to me. Clara said she informed her that I was coming and going and was physically still alive and kicking. Well, alive anyway as I quit the kicking a few years back when I retired from playing soccer. Now, it is just a memory of my past glories. Incidentally, the mailbox was full of mostly junk mail but did have some medication that I order on line. I loaded everything into the truck to be sorted when I got back to the Eagle. I also received a package from Amazon by my front door which is one of the reasons for the return. The Neighborhood has a history of package thievery for packages left in full view.
The first stop was out in the garden to check the status of the ponds which all looked to be working well. I cleaned a couple of filters and satisfied that everything was OK, went about the business of collecting a few more items that I had decided I needed to bring back with us. The dogs ran around the yard and I must say that I will regret selling the house for just this reason, a place for them to roam without being on a leash. I guess it doesn’t matter too much as they are never very far from where I happen to be but it does mean that I need to exercise them every couple of hours. On the plus side, that is also good for me as I need it too.
I picked up a few things from the shed and from inside the house and loaded them in the truck cursing all the time at my fragile mind that only remembers what it wants to and vowing to keep a list in the future for reference. I think I may have decided to do that before but I can’t remember if I did. In any case, there is no list. I knew that I needed to stop by the Home Depot and figured that I would do that and leave the dogs in the house for a bit rather than leave them in the truck with the temperature beginning to rise. So, I made the quick trip and purchased a bigger inside door mat and a couple of other things. I managed to remember most of the items but discovered that without that ill forgotten and non existent list, I had missed a couple. When it was too late, of course.
I drove back to the house and finished loading and along with the dogs, jumped back in the truck all prepared to drive away to Henly when I truck pulled up in front of me and I recognized my Hispanic walking friend who has the little Shih Szu puppy. I stopped and got out and we chatted for a bit mostly about the fold up couch bed that I removed from the Eagle. My friend was very interested in buying it so I told her to make me an offer. I was more interested in getting rid of it out of the garage rather than how much I could get for it. Besides, selling it to her was one way to repay her many kindnesses with all of the food bowls she had left me these past few months. She thought about it for a long time and then finally made me an offer which I was more than happy to accept. I had spent some time talking to her Husband, who incidentally, is an older Texan of the old school, on which parts went where until he had a pretty good understanding of how to re-assemble the unit.
With the deal made and with cash in hand, I helped load the couch on his truck. This time, I got his phone number to let them know the next time I would be in town so they could look at some other stuff they were interested in. All of a sudden, the garage began to look a little less crowded and would look even more so if I had a dumpster. Not time yet for one of those.
While we had been discussing how to put the couch back together, there were two metal brackets that we couldn’t figure out went where. After they had left and on my drive back to Henly, a light went off and I remembered that they anchored the unit to the floor, something they were not planning on doing. I was very happy to call them to relay that information. All in all, it turned out to be a good trip back with the only downside of learning of the death of Clara’s Orange Kitty, run over on Thomas Springs Road. Somehow, after losing so many of my own pets over the years to this busy street and knowing just how much Orange Kitty loved to roam, the news came as no real surprise. Clara, I am so sorry for your loss. R.I.P Orange Kitty.
Written 04/25/2021
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Happy dogs running in their own yard…I’m there. 🙂 It’s a nice thing.
Yes, definitely one of the things we will miss although it does mean that I get more exercise.