by Joyce is a gentle soul, I think we’ll all agree, kind and loving but we all have our limits and it isn’t wise to test hers, which is what the black rooster had been doing practically from the get-go by harassing the hens. Red rooster tried to keep him at bay but he couldn’t protect all 15 or so hens when they were scattered around the place. One hen in particular black rooster made life miserable for. Finally Joyce had enough, gave Chris the go ahead and so it was black rooster wound up in the cook pot.
It’s been a pleasant week, a little cold early but things improved as the week went along. Monday Joyce and I did most of our Christmas decorating. It was a good day for that, sort of an indoor day. We put up the outside decorations before Thanksgiving so we got to stay indoors where it was more pleasant. We couldn’t listen to Christmas music though. Our CD player had given up the ghost. I tried the one remedy that was within my limited expertise, that is, I took the cover off and cleaned the laser. Didn’t help. We got that 5-CD player in 1991 so we didn’t feel too bad when later in the week we bought a replacement. It was our Christmas present to each other.
It was a tough week for the resident handyman. Besides the CD player, Joyce’s bathroom faucet leaked and I couldn’t fix it. It is a cartridge type faucet and I overcame several obstacles in getting the thing apart but just couldn’t go that last inch to remove the cartridge itself. I decided to live to fight another day and not bugger the dang thing up so bad we had to replace more than the cartridge. The two plumbers who answered our call for help were able to remove the cartridge but it took both of them, one under the sink and one above. There was no way I could have done it by myself. Perhaps I could have gotten Chris to help me but even then I couldn’t be sure I was applying the brute force necessary in the right place. Someone who doesn’t work with that kind of thing everyday is often wise to step back and let the experts handle it. The challenge is to know when that point is reached. I do so hate to stop short and pay money to see someone do the simplest thing to finish the job.
Later in the week when the weather improved I spent quite a bit of time watering. It’s getting awfully dry so I’ve started watering trees. I don’t want to let things go too long and lose the nice improvement apparent in many of the trees after the moisture we’ve gotten this year. Here’s hoping we get some good winter moisture, which in my opinion can be some of the most beneficial.
Abigail had a basketball game this week and Rebecca had a couple of volleyball games. Rebecca seems to like to play volleyball and Kari says she is sort of the MVP on her team. We’re talking second graders here but everyone has to start somewhere and she seems to be off to a good start. Abigail went to a costume ball Friday night. The mask she ordered hadn’t made it by Friday evening and it looked like she was going to have to go au natural, so to speak. At nearly the last minute UPS showed up with the mask and she was able to complete her costume. What’s that? Well, of course she was gorgeous. What do you expect?