Screaming, Alarm, Dead Battery, Sliced Hand and Immediate Care

We had quite an eventful day yesterday! Early in the morning, Evan wanted waffles for breakfast and wasn't being very patient. He was sitting in the chair screaming, I want waffles, then just screaming for emphasis, very shrilly. Our alarm was set and there is a window sensor on it. Well, the alarm went off, effectively cutting Evan's screaming. All we can figure is the glass must have vibrated enough that it tripped the alarm. Wow! Or maybe the microwave was shut too hard. So Gary grabbed the alarm remote to turn it off, but grabbed the dead remote instead. This remote has not worked since day one, but we have never had it replaced... Then he went to the key pad to turn it off, but thinks he hit the stay button instead of the off button. Next thing we know, the Apex dude comes on the speaker, is everything all right, can I have your name and code... Gary explained that we didn't know why the alarm went off. At least we know our alarm works now. Afterwards, we were joking about it saying that we should have told the guy that we did indeed have an emergency, a screaming 2 1/2 year old who wanted his breakfast! What fun.

The plan yesterday was to put the new deck railing up. Gary went to the store to get the last things he needed, then Evan and I headed off to WalMart while Gary got started. When we got done at WalMart, the Jeep wouldn't start up. I called Gary and thank goodness he had his phone with him outside. He came over to WalMart and we loaded the groceries and Evan in the truck. After I got in the truck I noticed that Gary had a pile of gauze and band aids on his hand. Apparently he had cut his hand earlier. I, of course, couldn't even look at is and didn't want to hear any details. He ended up going to Immediate Care and got some stitches. So needless to say, there went the deck railing plans. Kind of hard to use a saw with a numb hand.

After Evan's nap, etc., we went back over to WalMart to give the Jeep a jump. Luckily I had parked by one of those grass island strip things and the cars across from the Jeep both pulled out close to when we got there. Gary drove the truck up over the curb and onto the island to get close enough to the Jeep. We hooked up the cables and the Jeep started right up. We drove it straight to Perfection Tire where we get all our car work done. They were just closing, but they hooked the battery up to a tester and sure enough, dead battery. They would have put a new one in right then, but they didn't have the right one in stock. So, we left the Jeep there and gave them a list of other things that need to be fixed while they are replacing the battery. I'm glad we haven't sold the truck, because it's nice to not have to scramble to borrow or rent a car.

So, that was our eventful day for yesterday. It's strange how you day can go completely different than planned. Maybe the deck railing will go in next weekend! It'll be nice to have so Evan can ride a little bike around back there without falling off.

Dealing with the Eye Sore

When we moved into our house, we never really noticed what an eye sore the power boxes were! It didn't take us too long to figure it out though. We have been trying to figure out a way to make them less conspicuous ever since we moved in. We have planted several different types of bushes around it in hopes that that would really help. It was helping, then this winter our big decorative cherry bush was cracked and never recovered so Gary had to take it out. The picture above is the best "before" picture I could find. It's so blurry because I was actually taking pictures of the rain.

This last weekend, Gary spent 10 hours digging up grass, laying this new brick border, transplanting some bushes and putting in fresh soil pep and bark. He did a fabulous job and I was very impressed with his new skills! I kept checking on him to make sure he didn't hit a power line... The new bed looks so great and makes the other beds not look as good... I wouldn't have thought that making that area even more noticeable would help take your eye away from the power boxes, but it really does. I guess in this picture that isn't very obvious, but when you drive or walk up to the house, it really does make a difference. Once the bushes double in size that will be a huge help too. This fall we will transplant some tuplis, daffodils and hyacinths from the bed by the house and we will also get a variety of perenials from my Mom and Dad's place. We will also redo the front flower bed to match the new brick. Well, I keep saying WE, but really Gary will probably do most of the work. :) He's nice to me that way, since I don't really care for yard work. I sure appreciate his efforts though and like to keep him company while he works away.