Saturday

Whew!  Yesterday was a workout!  In preparation for Monday's sod delivery, I pulled the little Mantis tiller out of the garage, and got a good start on going over the back yard.  While it's already pretty bare, there were still patches of the old grass that hadn't given up yet.    Didn't get any pics yesterday, though I might today depending on the weather.  We've got some chance of rain today, but if I can get out before it happens, if it does, I'll finish tilling the last little bit.  Maybe a fourth of the yard.  Guess you could say a fat quarter!  (That's a quilter's joke, ha ha.)

I got to visit with one of my neighbors for a few minutes in the midst of all the work.  As I was tilling along, I sliced through a cable of some kind.  It was only about 6" underground.  After checking in the house that I still had electricity and telephone service, I called the electric company to see if I had hit something critical.  They said they'd send someone out, but we all know that I could have been waiting awhile.  After a few minutes of wondering if I would be safe tilling somewhere else, I remembered a fellow in the neighborhood who is an electrician.  I looked over to his house, and as luck would have it, he was out in the front yard.  After a moment's hesitation to consider how dirty and sweaty I was, and deciding I didn't care, I went over and asked him if he could take a look at it.

James, the electrician/neighbor, was super nice and left what he was doing to come over.  As he stepped into the backyard, he told me "girl, you've been doing a lot of work back here!".   Thank you, thank you.  I showed him the cable that was sticking out of the ground at a 45 degree angle, and the little hole I dug just a bit to the side to show it was only 6" deep.  "What do you think, is it something major?"   He stooped over and took a look, and turns out it was an old tubing similar to a water hose.  He bent it, and it was hollow inside.  The part I saw was clogged with dirt, and I had hesitated to poke around on it.  Thank heavens that was all it was!  I called the electric company to cancel the callout, and was able to move on.  It was rather humbling to walk over to his house in my tacky shorts, tank top, pink visor, and gardening clogs, about as dirty as can be, but it was worth it.  Be glad I don't have a picture of me, I was not a pretty sight.  Sigh.

On a happier note, I got my April package from my secret sister!  She keeps up with my interests, and is great to send "just right" gifts.  I got a book for a garden applique quilt with blocks of different flowers, a couple of pieces of fabric that will work into the quilt just perfect, and patterns for a Snap Happier purse/tote and a pair of slippers.  I've been wanting to try one of these purses.  The closure uses a metal carpenter's tape (the interior part of one of those measuring tapes that pulls out and snaps back in) that allows it to "snap" shut.  I'll keep you posted on how that comes out.

That's it for now.  If I get a decent picture when it's daylight, I'll post to show what the yard is looking like at this point.