WTF??

Yesterday was a most bizarrely challenging day. I swapped cars with my sister so that I could use the truck. I went to Morrisville to pick up my dad in the morning. We did yard work from, essentially, 10:30am to 7:30pm. (And it was HOT yesterday!) We cut up a large pile of old fallen branches that had been doubtlessly providing shelter for all kinds of wildlife in my backyard. Then we loaded them all up into the truck and took them to the dump. We planted some more flowers, and hauled a truckload of mulch, which we then proceeded to spread out among all the flower beds. We borrowed my friend's weedeater, but soon after starting the weed-eating, ran out of the 'string' for it. I had some extra cartridges, but they turned out to be the wrong size, so we just weeded by hand as best we could, and decided to get another cartridge [today] and try it again later. We raked up the yard three or four times as the weed debris kept multiplying like randy rabbits. Geez ... it doesn't really sound like much when it's typed out, but, believe me when I say, it was much. Very much.

In the midst of all this yard work, toiling and boiling in the sun, I heard a strange crackling sound followed by a dense whoosh. When I went to the front yard to investigate, I discovered a very large (and seemingly healthy) branch from the giant pecan tree in front of my house had taken a dive. It was still partially attached, but had managed to fell another smaller tree from the side of the yard, and they both landed atop a power line. Soon after, the branch decided it'd had enough of hanging around and made a clean break, further weighing the dainty little bundle of wires that struggled beneath it. Dad called the City, and they directed us to the power company, who assured us that within the next three hours someone would come out to cut the tree away from the power line, and into small sections so that the City could then haul it away. When the gentleman from the power company did arrive, he told us that the line in question was not a power line, but a telephone line, and as such, he wasn't allowed to touch it. However, he proceeded to get his chainsaw out and cut it away from the line for us anyway. What a kind thing to do! People aren't so bad after all! He wasn't able to stay and cut it into sections, though, because he had another call to attend. Still, it would have taken me ages to do all he did using my little hand saw. So, now after working so hard to make my yard so pretty and tidy, all anyone will notice is the large bundle of tree limbs in the front yard. (Must borrow someone's chainsaw today to take care of that.)

After all of that was said and done, and dad and I were exhausted and grimy and sweaty as we'd ever been, I drove him home. On the way back, I noticed the battery light illuminating on the dash, and called Dad to see if that was normal. It wasn't. The truck died leaving me stranded on the side of Hwy 147. While waiting for Dad to come rescue me, two kind gentlemen (mechanics!) pulled over to help me. They jumped my battery, and checked the engine for me. They confirmed my suspicions that the alternator was the culprit. They offered to follow us out to Auto Zone where we could purchase an alternator, and they would install it for us (for a very reasonable price, actually). At first Dad agreed, and so we headed toward Auto Zone. Then Dad missed an exit, so he ended up in front of us. Then he changed his mind and decided he might rather take the truck to his usual mechanics. So, he called the gentlemen who had helped us, and politely canceled our arrangement. During all this time, we had taken a very circuitous route which lengthened my drive time by almost double. So ... the truck died out again as I was exiting Hwy 85. I waited on the curb until Dad (who had managed to miss another exit) was able to meet up with me and jump my battery again. We weren't sure how long we'd need to charge the battery, so we allowed it about 5 minutes or so. Turns out that wasn't enough, because the truck died AGAIN two blocks from my house. Finally, we got enough charge on the battery to get me home. What a day!

This was all following a night of limited sleep. I was up half the night boxing and cleaning out my closet since I wasn't able to sleep. And that was by the lovely glow and dreadful heat of an array of candles since the power was out on my street all night. I thought for sure I would be so exhausted that I would sleep super soundly last night. I even ate a full dinner with lots of protein and a couple glasses of wine to help ensure that I would get to sleep easily. Well, it worked, sort of ... I was able to get to sleep after only about 30 minutes of tossing and turning. Unfortunately, I was awakened at 3:30am, and found myself unable to get back to sleep. After lying in bed with the greatest of hopes for a half hour, I gave up, and got busy around the house. (If I'm not going to sleep, then I should at least be productive.) Then, at 6:00am, I did a little reading and had another glass of wine and was able to finally drift off again for a couple hours.

So, my insomnia is getting worse. There's a big pile of big limbs in my front yard. I have no transport today other than hoof and pedal (which is fine, really). Oh, and I can't get my front door to unlock. Other than that ... things are going really well, and I'm expecting to be ready for the for sale sign by Friday or Monday. Some folks might see these setbacks as a sign that I shouldn't be selling my house right now, but I still feel in my bones that I'm on the right path. I think these obstacles are just keeping things from moving too fast so that I can really experience the full breadth of what is happening during this transformative process. Just call me Pollyanna.

Checking out for now. Gotta go find a chainsaw. Happy Tuesday!
xoxo ...