I'd Like to Sleep All Day

Yesterday was an extremely mentally exhausting day. Elijah really put me through the ringer and I woke up this morning swollen-eyed and defeated, but life must go on. I'm in control of my attitude so I need to make it a positive one. My life is going to get a whole lot busier now that he will no longer be driving. He got another $210 for having passengers in his car even when he's been forbidden to do so. Driving is just not a responsibility he can handle because he succumbs to his peers asking for rides. So for the next 6 months I will be back to driving him everywhere. It's a time-sucker for sure, but the worst part is the little ones being stuck in the truck so much. They hate it and I don't blame them. 

I tried to make progress yesterday without the help of the boys. Their lack of duty to family breaks my heart. I would never have imagined walking by my mother (or anyone for that matter) when they were tossing wood or shoveling rocks or what have you to sit on my butt and watch television, but they do it every day. Nick and I have reached a pivotal moment in our relationship. He needs to accept some adult responsibility at this home where he lives/eats for free or find a home of his own and pay his own way. As for Elijah, he can chose to not help and sit at home or help and hang out with friends. They have two choices and I'm not going to dwell on it anymore.  Emily, Olivia and Lucas understand chores and accept responsibility for their home. I don't work them to death, but they do little things that make a difference in my attitude. For me it isn't about how much they do, it's about the gesture. No matter how many times Homer tells the boys it doesn't take much to bring joy to their Mom they just don't get it. Nick told me the other day that he's sick of me always being unhappy and grumpy. Me, too. So I'm going to be happy. They can help or get out. Done deal. :)

Moving on......(you guys are like free therapy!).

There are supposed to be stairs on that very steep patch of grass. It's a struggle to get up and down. Maybe next summer. I started to place rocks on the liner (see the one by the beds?), but stopped. I need to widen the liner first.

Homer brought home railroad ties and will make a retaining wall. Not that anything really need retained, but it's ugly and will be much tidier. On top I'll put a liner and yesterday he brought me home a entire load of clean rock to put up there and to finish my other bed. So happy as the other rock was very muddy and took a lot of time to clean. When the second round of timbers go on the rock will be spread and the fire pit will sit in the area again.

This is some of the trees that I'm cutting and hauling away so this hump can be leveled. This is a long run... can you see the road way at the bottom?

This is standing further up the hill and the trees are in the middle left of the photo. I cut and hauled three trailer loads in between working on other projects.

The sky was pretty last night.

Quite yellow and quite bright.

Anchorage has been having 100 mph winds causing a lot of damage. We got a bit of wind ourselves last night and when I went out this morning to cut I found a tree had fallen. More work! Then I realized that it didn't fall, but instead snapped off 20+ feet up the "stump" it is laying under. Glad it wasn't closer to the power lines.

Going to jump in a hot shower, wash my troubled mind away and get busy. I've still got all those flower beds to clean out and the grass in the ditch must be 8 inches long. It's going to another long day of yard work. To answer Jean's question about working outside in the winter.... no I do not. There's nothing I could do in the way of progress on landscaping. Everything will be frozen solid (months of -20 to -40* F will do that) and under snow. Once it all freezes up we'll go back to remodeling the inside of the house.