I feel really tired today, and my legs are so sore that the very thought of walking makes me cringe, so I'm taking a slower pace.
I don't want to sound like I'm wimping out, but I feel so tired. I guess it's likely that I am tired and weak, owing to the fact that I've had two surgeries this year (sinse Easter), and that I've been working so hard for so long on the house at Creekside.
Kerry has quit us. He didn't like that Steve wanted him to quit plastering the same room (for two weeks) and begin building things and putting in windows and doors (which we have in abundance). Steve had launched on me, so I told Kerry that his talents were wasted on plaster work, and that we wanted him to work on other things. We then left the house to take me to the doctor in Morristown, and, when we got back, he had packed his tools and left.
It's not too much of a loss, as he was really slowing down, though his skills and abilities are pretty good. I know the heat is bothering so many people, but I'm working in the heat, too, and I'm not getting the salery he was. We keep the air conditioning on all day, and the electric bill at that house is about the same as this house. One morning, you could have hung meat in the upstairs there. It was cold.
Most carpenters don't get to work in air conditioning, so I felt like it was a pretty good job to have in the heat of summer.
They run the central systems upstairs, downstairs, and two window units upstairs. That should keep even the hottest people sufficiently cool enough to keep up the pace.
I think everyone is getting tired of the endless labor with not too much visible result. Things like plumbing and electrical are enclosed in walls, but if you don't get them done, the house doesn't work very well. They are both things that take a lot of time and effort (besides the money involved), and they have to be done just the same as drywall, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows. All the projects on a house cannot be glamourous.
Yesterday, when Penny gave me the hours for labor for last week, she charged me for 8 hours for Kerry, but he had left before noon on Monday. Steve is livid about all that cost for so little result, and I am, too.
It seems like you can't get good honest help anymore.
I worked alone up at the house until 9:30 last night, and came home so tired that I didn't want any supper. I got a bath, washed my hair, and went to bed. I couldn't sleep for a while, but I finally slept, but didn't move much during the night, I think. The bed looked undisturbed this morning. I like to go to bed tired, but I usually move about quite a bit, due to restless leggs, pain, and troubled sleeping habits. Last night was a rare exception.
Teddy had brought his granny up to see the work on the house last night. She had once lived there, and she's really impressed with all the work. She loved the old place, but couldn't afford the costs of heating it in the winter. That will stop this fall, as I'm triple-insulating the walls, and really 'beefing-up' the insulation in the floors and ceilings.
There had been none in the walls, so I believe there will be a tremendous change.
She liked the deck on the west end of the house.
Troy Cook, an elderly man I'd known all my life, died last week. He and his wife, Margaret, had been gospel musicians in the Wesleyan Methodist Church for many years, after leaving the Church of the Nazarene in disgust. The Nazarenes used to be about like the Wesleyan Methodists, but had fallen into liberality and unspiritual practices, so the Cooks came to the Wesleyan Methodists. She had taught at Treveca Nazarene College in Nashville many years ago, and had taught Ben Speers music. She played really well, and I had played organ while she was on the piano at several meetings in the past. She died several years ago.
They left behind a life of service to the church.
Their daughter, Dorcas, had been killed a couple of years ago in a car crash. I believe she had been at Hobe Sound when Charles was there.
Yesterday, Penny and I were out in the truck on errands, and we stopped at a yard sale in this man's basement. He was selling a huge old upright piano, so I tried it out for him. I played a few hymns, and then shopped around for several small items. When we started to leave, he asked if I could play 'In the Garden' for him. I played two verses with many improvisations, and he leaned against his garage door and wept openly. When we started to pay, he wouldn't take any money, saying that I had earned everything I wanted by making him so happy to hear such good music.
That was very gratifying to me. I like that my efforts and talents can be good for others.
Randy is still working out really well, and he gets more done than anyone else. He's got such a good work ethic, and I just love his little family of his wife, Rhonda (Elaine's oldest daughter) and his three little tow-headed sons. He says they're rowdy, but they always seem so well-mannered around me. They're beautiful children.
Aleen Collins had given them her swimming pool earlier in the summer, and they took down part of it and got it home. Randy doesn't want it, though, so I don't know if it will ever get put up. The children would enjoy it, and Rhonda told me they swim. They have a good yard for a pool, as they're out in the hot sun, and a pool would cool them a lot, and give the boys a lot of pleasure. I think Rhonda would like it pretty well, too. She's got a lot of pleasant personality, like Geri a bit, and like Keisha a bit.
I saw four raccoons on the porch last night, so I set a humane trap today to try to catch at least one. I hope the cats get over going into it before bedtime.
I think I may lay down for a while. I need some rest.
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