NOW--It's Done!

Today's high temperature was:  72 degrees

Sunny and gorgeous once again.

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I started a colon cleanse on Wednesday--TMI, I know.  It didn't seem to work so Wednesday night, I drank two glasses of prune juice, a glass of Miralax and took one of my "Natural Moves" super duty, extra strength laxative pills.  

Susan and Chuck stopped in yesterday afternoon, on their way home from Staples and Lowe's and just before they were getting ready to leave, I felt a great rumbly in my tumbly!  

It's like when you are at Yellowstone National Park and you are waiting for Old Faithful to explode into the air.  A bit of gas escapes.  You hear the rumbling in the bowels of the earth and then---WE HAVE AN EXPLOSIVE GEYSER!!

I walked with them to the front porch, they made a few comments, then walked down and got in their car.  Susan didn't even have her door closed and I was running down the hall to the bathroom.

The rest of the day and part of the night held all the anticipation and excitement of a colonoscopy prep!!  This morning, I have decided I need to stay close to home the rest of today too.  

As my Grandma used to say, as she brought out the bottle of Castor Oil, "Twice a year, you need a good cleaning out."

I am so squeaky clean I can't even begin to tell you!!!
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I decided I had enough strength to really finish up the porch, so I put out my new small flag, I put the treads on the steps and nailed them down on a top and bottom corner and in the middle, put the new door mat in front of the front door and...decided to put up the motion sensor lights on the top and bottom posts of the steps.  Thus, enabling me to see the steps if I am ever out after dark, which is rare, but.....just in case.

I have to say, the hardest part of this whole job was putting up those two lights!!!!!  They had sticky tape to use to anchor them, but the battery compartment is in the back.  When the batteries die, how am I to get the sensor light off the tape and then hope it goes back on and sticks.  I had to screw the mounting brackets to the posts and hang the lights from them.

If you have been paying attention to my life story, you know I have very little strength in my hands--arthritis and all.  I also have a tremor in my right hand.  Sometimes I go to put a forkful of food in my mouth and my right hand jumps and the food ends up in my nose (not really, but kind of).  

So I marked where I wanted the bracket to go, lined up the holes, held the teeniest screw in my left index finger and thumb and tried to line up the Phillips head screwdriver with the teeny screw.  Of course my right hand trembled and jumped and I jabbed the screwdriver into my index finger and thumb.  GEEZ LOUISE!!!

I finally got the screw started so that I could take my "guiding" fingers away, but trying to get enough strength in my right arm and hand to push the screw in, was a real pain.  I counted how many turns of the screwdriver it took, so that I would know, so I could count with each screw to know, how many turns it took and I would know how far I had to go.  (This is where the obsessiveness comes out.)  At least, it gave me something to concentrate on, as I turned the screwdriver and counted away.  40 turns--do you know how much strength that takes?  I was thinking of running up to Lowe's to purchase a battery operated screwdriver, but I don't plan on screwing anymore in my life!!!

My whole arm was shaking by the time I was done with four screws and snapped the sensors in place and my right hand still aches, but IT IS DONE AND DONE!!!

If you enlarge and look, you can see the lights on the bottom

and top post--right over the steps--right where anyone who

comes to visit will no doubt bump into them and

knock them off.

AND--when I step out on the porch after dark--look what happens.

These are the neatest thing I have ever thought of buying!!!

I already have swept the leaves off the porch because...everywhere a leaf lies for any length of time, it puts a leaf-shaped mark on the stain.  Must be the acid in the leaves?

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Now, I have to plant the 50 tulip and daffodil bulbs that are stored in my car for safe keeping.  If I live through the winter, it should be beautiful around here next spring.  If I don't live through the winter, at least it will look better and Pammie will get a better price for this place!