A student too

An A + on a paper will soon be made.  Take it to the bank.

In addition to having a very strong helper person, unload (and load a dishwasher), yard work assistant, attic cleaner outer, hauler of stuff to the recycle, the Good Will pile, and trash bins, we had a most capable student as measured by capacity to put up with learning from the master. 

To the uninitiated, this student had the temerity to ask for a little help on a major paper for school.  We are talking throw me in that briar patch.  "Modern terrorism and how it has changed" is the topic, (or something like that) and resident expert has some resources and knowledge he is eager to share

and notes are taken, - footnotes noted, sources documented, and wisdom is shared all for the benefit of said student.

She is unsure if "Ahmed the Dead Terrorist" is a legitimate expert to quote on the subject or not.  As is true of most of the younger set, this student was not aware of Jeff Dunham's friend Ahmed.  Ahmed has observations of many subjects, not the least of which is his profession.  (Jeff has other puppet friends too, and they too are a hoot)    

I am trying to persuade our student that Ahmed represents a current take on modern terrorism, or at least a unique source.  (for those interested, he is well documented on you tube under Achmed.  Which is an incorrect spelling of his name -- according to student - who knows Arabic - or so she says.  and I am betting she does.    

I am not worried about our grade at all.

A most useful houseguest

Patt and I have a most useful houseguest this week.  As we are generally on the lookout for such addition to our house, we are delighted.  This is especially true when we have outdoor tasks that need doing and now that Patt thinks I have lots of free time, she has found a bunch of outdoor tasks that all of a sudden need doing.   So houseguest and I were cleaning up the side yard.  Houseguest can also unload the dishwasher -- who knew ?  

In our work --- you can see we loaded leaves, sticks and fall winter debris into a moderate sized trash receptacle. 

And it is hoisted onto the shoulders of a strong worker who then hauls container

around house across back and into the "natural area" in the back.  It is quite a trek.  And I am so delighted to report that of the umpteen loads we hauled ( the royal "we" ), yours truly hauled exactly zero, goose egg, nada, zip, zero, none, not a single load, --- so we are talking useful house quest for sure.

(check out green grass, periwinkle, and flowering shrubs, and daffodils. )

She also learned how to shovel--- correctly too I might add -- after tutorials --   efficiently, and effectively.--  got the wheelbarrow loaded too.  She can enlighten you if you are in need of learning how to shovel properly.  I kinda thought it was time she had a skill beyond dishwasher unloading ( now don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with dishwasher unloading )

The real benefit though was that this young person was able to absorb some words of wisdom, become more aware of wise old sayings, pick up some cultural norms, gain new skills, learn to be aware of nature things, and in general gain a deeper appreciation for just how crazy her uncle may be.

cause that would be me.  Here I am cutting off the escape route to the east.

not my vehicles in my driveway

But if I play my cards right -- who knows, I just may get one.

But which one ?

We are in the midst of several small renovation projects around the house.  We are talking several with a capital S.  This also includes cleaning our of closets, attic, corners in the garage and so on.  You would think my wife discovered that I was available for to do lists.  She printed out four pages on an excel worksheet with a capital W for work.

Anyway on Monday of this past week I had a guy working in the yard with me, and three contractors in the house on two separate projects.  Who calls, Patt that' who "How's it going?  she queries cheerily.  I "splain" there ain't no joy in Mudville this morning - as all three work units were asking me questions.

anyway we now have a painter in the house.-- see how nice and comfortable the house looks.  We are paying by the hour, so I am a helper -- gosh I love retirement.

That is the room I want to watch a little NCAA basketball in,-- "yah surh", as Laura's in-laws would say --only if you sorta sing it -- (you ought to hear Julianna and Lydia say it.  Luther and Jan taught them )  -- but I digress.

anyway back to the vehicles in the driveway.

we have two to chose from

Vehicle number one-- and unfancy pick up -- Chevy tricked out with ladder carrier and contractors tool box

vehicle number two.


oh and which one belongs to the painter, -- oh and number two--- it is a hoot.  Very large muffler, low to the ground and starts with a growl.   of the two if I had to, man it would be a tough choice.  which would YOU chose?

where did those flowers come from

We have lots of flowers this year and an early spring to enjoy them in.  They yard has been green for a while too and Patt thinks it is time to mow already.

sure the grass is green, periwinkle growing and daffodils up and oh so pretty.  Those we know came from my Dad's yard as we have brought many of the descendants of those to our yard.

The question is where did these beautiful pansies come from .  We have never had so many so beautiful in so many places in our yard before.

A look at the two pansies in the picture above from the rear and observing the mailbox post may provide a clue.

Yes, late last fall in November, I had two very good yard workers help me plant pansies.  You may even recognize them.  I remember them well.

They worked so hard.  Digging holes, adjusting hats, moving tools around, and

pushing dirt back around roots of the pansies.    Julianna and Lydia were joys to work with that day

We got so much done that day.  The flowers were planted and they survived the winter's cold and snow and now that spring is here, they look so beautiful.

And every time I see  pansies I remember that day and Julianna and Lydia, planting the flowers.

It was a very good day.