When It Rains...
Old Rodan at the Old Leaksville Cotton Mill Dam in Eden, NC
Well, you know the old adage. An interesting weekend, to say the least. I had
intended to make my customary weekly trip to Pleasant Hill in Martinsville on
Friday, but friends Joe & Suzy invited us to dinner, so I
decided to push Martinsville back a day. It was definitely worthwhile — Suzy
made pasta é fagioli , which we found incredible. There were Campari
spritzes, Negronis, Ouzo, and plenty of vino (not all at once, or anything,
haha). In remembrance of David Crosby , we rocked out to lots of
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & (sometimes) Young . A lovely evening
with good friends.
Saturday, I hit the road early to hunt a passel of new geocaches in Eden,
which is right on my way to Martinsville. I got in a good bit of hiking —
about three miles — and found all the caches. A very satisfying start to the
day. However, Allison had forewarned me there was a plumbing issue at Pleasant
Hill: the kitchen sink was totally stopped up. I gave it a couple of
treatments with Drano, to no avail. So, being that plumbing work and I are not
good friends, I feared a call to our regular plumbers in Martinsville was
inevitable.
As it was, I had made plans for a late lunch with old friends
Bob & Yvonne at Forest Park Country Club ,
so I decided that I’d call the plumbers when we were done. Allison and I met
them at the grille and enjoyed an excellent lunch. Back in my old
golfing/swimming days in Martinsville, I spent uncountable hours at Forest
Park, so it was mighty pleasant to visit again. During our conversation, I
mentioned our little plumbing issue, whereupon Bob indicated that he was
skilled in the plumbing trade, thanks to his father. So, being true heroes of
the day, Bob & Yvonne took it upon themselves to set our problem to right,
which they did. They also invited us to spend the evening at their place for
drinks and light hors d’oeuvres .
Those aren’t saplings that toppled into the yard.
However, going back to the title of this blog entry, after lunch, upon our
arrival at Pleasant Hill, I discovered that all our recent rain had taken a toll
on a couple of trees on the wooded hillside behind the house. Boom! Two
huge trees had just fallen into the yard, one fully uprooted. Thankfully, they
missed the house, but there are now two big trees lying more or less
horizontally in the yard, as opposed to standing vertically in the woods where
they belong. I have been planning to buy a chainsaw, as in relatively recent
days, there have been several situations where one would have come in handy.
Well, now’s the time because I’d rather just get the chainsaw and cut those
fuckers down to size than pay someone else an arm and a leg to do the job. It’ll
take considerable work, but I would say both Allison and I can use the exercise.
Again, we were truly fortunate that the trees did not hit the house. That could
have been very, very bad news.
Anyway, for the evening, Allison and I enjoyed refreshments of many varieties
at Casa di Bob & Yvonne — and, once again, lots of
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & (sometimes) Young filled the
evening. Plenty of other great tunes as well. Much like our old next-door
neighbors Paul & Jamie, Bob & Yvonne are masters of the magically
refilling drink glass. One could not look away for a minute or so to find
that, upon turning around, one’s glass was again completely full. And Yvonne’s
guacamole is probably the best I’ve ever tasted anywhere. That’s not
hyperbole.
So, another lovely evening with friends. At least our plumbing problem was
solved, and without having to engage expensive plumbers. So many many thanks
to Bob & Yvonne. I hope I can return the favor in some fashion.
I did have considerable difficulty getting out of bed this morning, courtesy
of Allison’s little terror, Cannoli . He had me pinned for a good hour
or more after I woke up. Then, during a spell of zoomies, he knocked off a
whole shelf full of items in the den. And then had the audacity to gaze
sweetly at me so I wouldn’t fuss at him.
I reckon the next order of business is getting that chainsaw. What a job I’ll
have coming up soon...
A view of the bar in Bob & Yvonne’s basement. A thing of beauty, I
would say.
A lovely spread
Why getting out of bed at Pleasant Hill is problematic
