A day late, but Grateful Friday

I don't know what day it is.  I do feel grateful today.

Yesterday was quite a day!  I took a brief walk with my mom and then when I got home, I started cleaning the garage while Adam mowed.  Omar came over about 10:00 and he is such a dear boy.  He is a good little worker and just as pleasant as he could be.  And it was decidedly not a pleasant task.  There was decades old stuff in the garage as well as more recent stuff as well as some of our stuff.  (The huge steel crate the lawnmower came in for one thing.). Everything was covered in mouse droppings and bits of insulation.  There were a few birds' nests.  It was a whole ecosystem.

My dad came over on his horse and buggy.  He was going to do a little work on the ditch irrigation (the water is high!) before helping in the garage. He went down to where his excavator was, then tied his horse (I can't tell Talasco and Alazon apart but it was one of them) to the back of the excavator. It was the excavator leading the horse pulling the buggy.

I thought it was maybe one of the most Mark Dahl things I'd ever seen in my life.

Marianne, Robert, Clarissa, Liberty, Nikki, and Hyrum all showed up to work as well.  We loaded the back of my dad's horse trailer to the hilt in no time!  

The ladies and I dipped out of the garage party and went inside to make lunch.  We had been calling it a Junk, Food party.  If people helped us with our junk, we would give them food.  Again many hands made light work and we had lunch quickly prepared.  When we were renovating this house, we considered moving the kitchen island to make the living area bigger.  Andrew, our friend and contractor, told us that our family was like his family and everyone would be helping in the kitchen so we should leave the kitchen side big.

He was not wrong.

We had a very enjoyable lunch with my mom, Olivia, Desi and Carolina joining us as well.  They all said they shouldn't be able to get food because they hadn't been there to help, but I told them their family members were their bread winners.

After all that, Adam and I finished cleaning the garage.  There is an old oil stove in there and Adam was blowing all the detritus from behind it and this thick black dust and we got exceedingly dirty.  We were already exceedingly dirty.  We finally finished cleaning everything (the garage and the little lean to behind it have a new lease on life!), filled our water bottles and drove my dad's truck to town to take everything to the dump.  It was hot and we were hot from the exertion of it all and the AC doesn't work in the truck.  

We were every bit as hot and dirty as we look.

It was also not our typical way to spend a Friday afternoon:  taking a horse trailer full of stuff to the dump.

We accomplished that task though.  I climbed up in the trailer and pushed stuff towards Adam and he heaved it over the pile of stuff already at the dump.

Sometimes I think about the fact that mens' clothing comes in sizes small and medium.  What would I do with such a little husband?  I'm glad I have my big strong one!

One heavy piece slipped in the transfer of me to him and I have a battle wound in the form of a big bruised lump on my shin.

After the dump we stopped at Maverik to top off my dad's truck with gas and get some Powerade because we were so hot and thirsty and our water bottles were empty.  As we pulled in, I said to Adam, "We look like trail's end here."

We went in anyway and I washed my face in the bathroom but it didn't help all that much.  When we were pulling away, Adam said, "It's easy to judge someone by their appearance."  Next time I see some rough characters at Maverik I'll try to remember maybe they just cleaned their really nasty garage and they don't always look like that.

Once we were home we quickly showered and headed to Marianne's for Carolina's graduation party.  If anyone knows how to throw a party, it is the Johnsons!  Everything looked great and the food was delicious and then there was a brief thunderstorm and everything was moved inside and then the skies cleared and everything moved back out and Marianne handled it all with the panache she handles everything.

I was very happy to see Hannah!  She lives here now and that makes me exceedingly happy.  The neighborhood just keeps getting better!  I sat and visited with her and heard more about their five month European trip they just returned from.  I love that I will get to see her so much more now.

Olivia, Hannah, her girls, Maisie and Laurel, and I went over to Olivia's.  We quilted a little and I went back for Adam.  Hannah said, "If you see Jeff and he looks miserable, bring him over too."

I saw Jeff and I said, "You look very pleasant, but do you want to come over?"

He and Robert had been surveying the road where Boulder Creek was threatening to overtake it.  The water was high and swift!

Adam and Jeff and I went over to Olivia's.  We visited and quilted and my mom called and said we should head home while we still could.  My dad was on the case with the road and I wonder over the years how much my dad and uncle Drew have saved the county in road repairs.

I went to bed feeling grateful for family who show up and are so much help.  I felt grateful for the enjoyable time I get to spend with that super helpful family.  I felt grateful for Adam and the grand adventure we are having together.  I love that guy.  I felt grateful for this beautiful spot.  My uncle Demar said once, "Everyone wants to live in Starr Valley in June."  (He meant the other months can be a little rough.) I don't know if that's true because not everyone has been to Starr Valley in June.  As far as anyone who has ever been to Starr Valley in June though, I'm pretty sure they'd want to stay!

This morning the report from my mom is that the road is washed some but OK to travel over.  Good thing because we are going to take a walk soon.