Weekend Wrapup

On Saturday we had a re-convergence: good weather combined with no travel.

Ok, good weather is a bit of a stretch. More like the weather didn't suck with rain, cold, or snow. And we didn't travel because Kim had a friend come visit her instead of the other way around. So without any excuses, I was forced to face all the outside jobs that have been piling up this so-called Spring.

First was assembling the new barbecue. The old one had served us well over the 7 or 8 years we used it but it was on its last legs, literally. The plastic wheels had split and come off. It worked best when on a 20-30 degree tilt so the uneven heat was slightly more even than when level where it would burn the metal rack to the core and start a red hot glow.

The new barbecue is nice. We got one on sale at Crappy Tire and it doesn't have the side burner that we never used on the old one. A little bit bigger cooking surface too, I'm stoked to try it out this week. Assuming we're not snowed in by then of course.

After putting together the 'cue, I tackled the outside job I hate the most: raking. Whether its leaves or grass clippings, I despise raking and will avoid it as long as possible. The leaves I was raking up on Saturday were from last fall. You know, the fall that streched from September to the beginning of January with no snow? Well, I raked leaves in October and avoided raking again for 2 and a half months despite Kim's best efforts to cajole me into the task by pointing out how messy our lawn was compared to Steve the Neighbour. If the snow had held off another week in January I *might* have been forced out with the rake and yard waste bag, but that's a mighty big *might*.

With the raking done, I took a break. Ah. Then back outside.

By now I was on a roll and if you know me at all you know that while I'm hard to get moving I tend to move quite well once going. So I tackled the gutters on the house, cleaning them out so that water from rain and snow melt might actually, you know, drain. Funny that. I then did the tiniest bit of weeding around my favourite plant. The rest of the garden will have to wait for Kim's careful eye before I try anything else.

With that the afternoon was mostly over and I retired inside to relax and wait for supper. All in all a very productive day.