Wednesday 9th August
Not a cloud in the sky this morning just pure blue, a summers breeze has blown away the humidity leaving us feeling blessed to be alive and in the northern hemisphere. The tradesmen have descended on the peaceful tranquility of this little patch of earth to continue their reconstruction work in Troy & Heathers house. Mainly patching and painting so far but at some point the kitchen and laundry will be out of bounds, probably for more than a few days as the old floors are peeled off in layers one by one revealing the homes history like an archeological dig. Then they will lay a new substrate and finish with shiny new porcelain tiles, all in time for the post wedding luau party on the 19th of the month. We camp out on the patio under a pin oak tree that stretches above us giving glorious shade until at least 4.00pm in the afternoon. We have yet to see a squirrel, usually they are many scurrying about, doing what squirrels do, gathering nuts and storing them for winter one presumes. Currently they must be content in their homes, feet up chewing on an acorn, watching the world go buy below them. While we, feet up relax in the warm air eyes glued to our devices. The teenagers Justin and Calista come and go during the day, Calista in particular enjoying the last of her summer holidays with friends from her band group. At one point she introduces us to two boys, Ben her current boy friend and Greg the designated driver. At just nearly sixteen, Calista is a popular outgoing girl and growing up fast, it’s all very cute and reminds one of their own teenage years. The day slips buy, the tradesmen coming and going, the kids coming and going, eventually the tradesmen pack their tools and depart for another day, the parents out working return to a dinner of fish tacos that we have partially prepared only awaiting the grill master Troy to cook the fish.
We spend the evening reviewing Troy and Heathers wedding photos from family and guests plus some of the professional shots that have come through so far, as week as the many more pics of guests and events that they personally captured from their time in Hawaii.
Thursday 10th August
Carbon copy of yesterday today the clear blue skies and warm air of yesterday keeping on today, helping our endless summer of 2017 continue to be a reality.
The work crew once again arrive and set to sanding walls and painting the basement. Our breakfast is interrupted when they advise us they would like to start the demolition of the kitchen floor today. Unprepared for this we finish our repast and hop to moving as much out of the kitchen as we can. Aubrey the youngest of the five children is at home today, she just wants to stay home and sleep in, I don’t blame her, from early school days, then Hawaii, where their days lasted from dawn to dusk and beyond and now early mornings at summer camp her face says it all give me a break! Amanda brings her breakfast of waffles and syrup in bed since the kitchen will soon shut down. We are unaware that Justin too is home sleeping peacefully in the bowels of the house somewhere, instead of his usual early departure to band camp. Calista it seems with her relentless energy is the only one up and out determined to make the most of her free summer days. Once done we can move outside and enjoy another day under the Pin Oak. We have decided to just chill out and relax for a few days putting our feet up and pursuing our individual hobbies, Amanda continues to read, up to seven novels so far this trip, she is loving the time to relax, that never seems to quite happen at home. I put together a slideshow of our Hawaiian experiences to show Troy and Heather that includes a number of wedding photos that I took on the day and Amanda captured at the meet and greet. The day wears on, the tranquility only disturbed by occasional loud burst of cicadas synchronised choral song. A flash of red appears in the sea of green as a Cardinal alights on a nearby branch while high in the sky hawks circle looking earthwards for a tasty meal of field mouse. Of course it is growing season here, the inevitable hum of a lawn mower somewhere becoming more prevalent as the sun starts to descend. Heathers parents pay us a visit, Stan and Bonnie drop in to, ostensibly pickup their small Kubota earth mover. One of Stan’s “Toys” Heather quips, fitted with a small front end loader and a rear end hydraulic digger it’s a perfect tool for the small land owner and has recently come in handy for Troy to distribute mulch around their newly refreshed garden beds. Stan, the more than willing operator loads excess mulch into his truck for their home that is currently on the market. Bonnie chats with us as Stan is working diligently to complete the task and return home by nightfall. The loam by the time it is loaded takes up too much space on the truck and the Kubota stays where it is to be put to work again another day.
A quick and easy pizza take out dinner for the adults and the only child left in the house tonight Aubrey. Justin and Calista are at the movies where films of marching band performance for a competition are being shown, a subject they both have a great deal of interest in.
After dinner we take our drinks outside, daylight remains until late, but as dusk falls the undersides of the wispy clouds above turn pink, deer graze in the backyard and fireflies start to blink on and off as they fly nearby.
The lights strung with Edison globes above the patio from the house to the nearby trees come on automatically at a preset time giving light from their glowing filaments to the fading daylight. As darkness descends we return inside to watch the slideshow I prepared earlier, Heather has a late pickup from the movies around 11.00pm. But for us another day comes to an end and we slip upstairs to our bed.