Today was the day! I woke early and had black coffee to finish waking myself up. I'd already planned my day. First, I'd clean off the area at the end of the porch where Sam would be working on the new steps. Then I was going to tackle that big food prep plan of mine.
Sam was over early, and he was not in the best of moods. Disappointed, frustrated, angry at himself, angry at everything and no one...You see he bought a truck at an online auction months ago. Now the truck was a very good buy and even paying for transport from whatever state he purchased it to here in Georgia, he didn't have a fourth as much as most people pay for a used car these days. It took a whole $16 to repair the truck and get it up and running.
Well, the value of the truck running increased exponentially over the value of the truck as he'd purchased it. So, he felt safe putting extra funds into it. This was his sanity project this past fall and winter. (The garden has been sanity project for the spring.) It was a barebones sort of work truck. He's put in vinyl flooring, new seats, headliners, a working radio, and heaven knows what all else, all done on his limited budget as he had cash to spare. He's talked about nothing but this truck and his marital woes and what he's cooked lately that the kids wouldn't eat, in that exact order. The truck has been a source of great pride for him. This past week he bought new headlights for the truck and got all the wiring sorted so he had day runner, automatic headlights, etc. He took it for a test drive last night along the back roads to see how well the lights worked. An animal crossed the road in front of his truck; he hit the brakes and the concrete blocks he'd bought for our back steps slammed into the back of the truck bed. It bent the back of the cab and the truck bed.
Y'all can just imagine how he felt. It's my opinion, which is wholly unprofessional, that it's all going to be fine and not nearly as bad as he fears. It is his opinion, as a former auto adjuster (with twelve years' experience) that the insurance is going to total his truck.
His filed his claim but not without a load of frustration. There is a body shop he prefers (again his years of experience as an adjuster) in Columbus and he asked if we'd follow him over and bring him back home again. Of course, we said yes. At the time though, I admit thinking "Oh no! I'm going to miss another whole day of my plans for the week...". Then he said, "I don't think we'll be able to take it over until tomorrow...I have to see what my insurance company wants to do."
Eventually he went home after unloading the offending blocks from the back of the truck, but not without a momentary cry on Mama's shoulder, so to speak. John and I sat quietly together and every once in a while, sighed deeply because we hate what happened for his sake. We both knew how much all that good work on that truck had helped him along.
Finally, I told John, "Well just in case we do have to go over to Columbus today, I'm going to go ahead and start my planned work, but only the parts that I can stop in the middle of and put away. Not the stuff like baking bread that I committed to a three-hour long window."
I got all my things set out and put together and made a battle plan for preparation. I had just started when Sam came back over. "I'm going to go to work on the steps Mama. I can't just sit at home and look at that truck! I can work my frustrations off over here."
And here we are now about 4 hours later, and he's made me a perfectly lovely set of steps.
Pictures will follow soon...and yes, I know you want photos of the kitchen all painted and pretty, too. Well, it's painted, and the painting looks pretty but there is nothing on the walls and the counters look like someone slung stuff at them in haste. But I do have it on my agenda to get the kitchen finished off and take photos for you all.
While Sam labored (and John, too. He's fetched and carried and held and tugged and lifted), I worked indoors. I got the pizza dough made. I made the Pasta A la Diable. I got three pans off that one recipe, and I'm convinced we'll have leftovers in at least two of those pans when I bake them. They are already in the freezer now.
I made the cottage pie. I had a half pint of the filling left from that. I'll likely end up making a single pot pie or use as a baked potato filling with that. The leftover filling is in the freezer. The Cottage Pie is in the fridge to await tomorrow night's supper.
I made the Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken Pizza for our lunch today. Won't do that for Sam again. He apparently dislikes pineapple mightily, but he did say he thought it was a lot better with barbecue sauce rather than pizza sauce which is how he's had it in the past. I took half the pizza dough and made up the Buffalo chicken calzones. I got two of those. I couldn't have stretched it to four as I'd hoped, but they are more calzone than they are hot pocket sized. Those went right into the freezer. I knew Sam disliked Blue Cheese, so I had decided he'd prefer the other pizza.
I have a slow cooker of broth simmering. I've drained the bones and have them cooling on the counter. I'll pick over the bones and see how much meat we end up with. I had a little less chicken than I'd thought I from the roasted chicken. I only have about a cup left. If need be, I'll thaw a chicken breast and chunk it up to make the Cashew Chicken dish. I have a jar of Brown sauce from the Chinese restaurant that I'd frozen. I chopped two containers of vegetables for that dish and the Chicken and Dumplings this morning when I was in the kitchen.
I ran out of energy before I ran out of work today. I need to finish cleaning the kitchen (wipe counters, sweep floors), but I do feel I accomplished quite a lot. I'll probably bake bread later this afternoon or early evening since we will be going to Columbus another day this week.
I went out to admire Sam's handiwork and listened to all of his instructions about doing this and that and this and another thing, etc. I also walked up and down the steps. They are so easy to go up and down and I'm very pleased. Where we had two steps, one quite low to the ground and one that was more like a step and a half up, we now have three steps. I can easily walk up and down them without using a handrail, which is terrific.
So that has been our day.
The other night when we were about to go to bed, John clicked on one last video to watch. It was a prayer, a simple one. I've prayed it over the past two nights, and it's completely calmed my spirit and helped me to sleep soundly. If I wake, I pray it and I'm soon right back to sleep. It's not a magic formula but it is comforting.
Holy Spirit fill me.
Holy Spirit teach me.
Holy Spirit protect me.
Holy Spirit, renew the Spirit within me.
It's so simple but so effective! I'm reminded of that simple three-line prayer from Elizabeth Goudge's book, The Scent of Water. "Lord have mercy. Thee I adore. Into thy hands."
I think that is all from me for today.
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