Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #13 - 2/8

Since this was the only photo I took today you get to see one of the Emery's resident gopher tortoises.  This is a protected species and one may neither dispose of them oneself nor damage the burrows they dig, creating large holes and piles of dirt outside.  There are at least two resident near the house, doing territorial shoving matches occasionally.  They are about 15 inches long.

This lovely sunny day was a very productive at home, DIY event.  While it was still comfortably cool and Peter was doing his exercises Jean and I went for our standard 40+ minute brisk walk out to, around, and back from the nearby small lake but saw nothing worth photographing.

Our first major activity was the installation and the dismantling & reassembling to the correct length of the blind in the guest ("my") room.  At times it took all three of us together but diligent adherence to the instructions, written in micro type, eventually was successful.  The new blinds look so much better than the old ones they replaced and work well.

While P&J found other things to do (like make lunch!) I separated Jean's severely root-bound collection of spider plants into the two new pots we recently bought using largely new potting soil, watered them, put them in stands and cleared up the mess.  To me - no big deal.  Since neither P nor J "do dirt" (as Maria used to say) and both have "brown thumbs" - my efforts were much appreciated.

In the afternoon we attacked the "study prep" project by removing the trim around the windows and then with some difficulty and lots of patience managed to extract, without damage, the two faux marble windowsills.  The contractor is to remove the windows, enlarge the openings, and install bigger windows, but there was no point in paying a high labor rate for what we did which required no special skills, just effort and time.

After a few minor efforts our last major effort of the day was to remove, with hammers and crowbars, the multiplicity of nails from the framing lumber of the closet Peter had previously dismantled from the study and which was taking up space in the carport.  Once done we hauled the 2x4's and bigger trim pieces down to their shed complex and put it in storage.

To me this was an entertaining and satisfying day and I was somewhat overwhelmed at the end by the effusive thanks and hugs to which I was treated.  I need definitely feel no guilt by imposing myself on their hospitality.