What I Did on Spring Break

As a stay-at-home wife right now, there isn't really a difference to my job based on Federal holidays and vacations. The cooking and baking still need to be done, the laundry continues to pile up, the animals require tending, the weeds keep growing, etc. But it's fun when Jeff has a break because then we can do those things together!

I'm only partially kidding. Poor Jeff feels like he's had a vacation when he can stay home and do my work with me. That'll teach me to whine and moan about how hard my tasks are sometimes!

We didn't go anywhere special, but we did enjoy Jeff's week off for Spring Break. We hosted a formal dinner party, built a portable pen for the ducklings, installed a new (rain-proof!) mailbox, cleaned and organized the shop, worked on the lawn, and watched several basketball tournament games. Jeff even tried his hand at some baking one afternoon when I wasn't feeling well. With supervision (and just a little hands-on help), he made flatbread and butterhorns! Here's a bit of our week in pictures.

New duckling pen:


Bat discovery while cleaning the shop:


Jeff's baking foray:


Dressing the dining room:

Sick

March has not been a good month for my health. I hadn't had any illness in probably a year and a half, and I was getting cocky that my usually inadequate immune system was getting stronger. But no, I think I was just blessed not to be exposed to anything contagious for all those months. We had company in early March who had something mild, and I of course caught it. I was struggling to get over it when we went to San Antonio, and then Jeff caught something at the conference. I got it from him, and then just when I thought that second bought was over, I caught a third mysterious thing this week.

They've all been different, some more cold-like, some flu-like. All miserable, I can tell you. I try to watch my health, but I'm always the one to catch what's going around. So I'm making it a goal once and for all to really research and implement some ideas for strengthening my immune system. If you have any tips, techniques, or natural remedies, please help a girl out and leave some words of wisdom in the comments section!

Road Rash

Well, live and learn. We had gotten estimates a month or two ago on repaving our long drive and parking pad with asphalt. It just needed an inch or two of capping, so I had hoped it wouldn't be too expensive. But being a petroleum product, it was quite pricey! We decided it was out of our budget and not a priority, so we moved on.

Tuesday dawned a lovely, sunny morning after a day of hard rains and storms. Jeff stayed home to do some cleaning and organizing, so it was nice to have him around. I made us a pleasant lunch and, just as we were wrapping up, there was a knock at the door. It was a nice guy, the owner of an asphalt company who had two truck loads he couldn't use because the storms had washed out the gravel base on which he was suppose to pour that afternoon. He was offering us a good deal and seemed to have a very reputable company with good prep work, etc. The price was great, especially since I had gotten several estimates just recently. A private conference, a quick prayer, and an agreement was made.

But if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is! It could have gone worse, and we're satisfied with the end results, but the process was a bumpy road. After sawing up parts of the old asphalt at the top and bottom of the drive and pouring one truck load, the owner came to us and said he had miscalculated. It was going to take many more cubic yards than he had thought. The price per yard was the same, but now the job was going to cost around $1500 more! That put it over the previous estimates that we had decided were too expensive. Our good deal now looked like a grand mistake! The owner felt he had quoted us a price per yard, and we felt he had given us price for the job, so chalk it up to miscommunication. We were understandably upset and frustrated, but Jeff worked through it with the guy. In the end, they agreed to a compromise price that was more than we had first thought but still a decent amount under other estimates. And they did lay a thicker cap and do more prep work than the other quotes I had gotten, so we probably got a better job overall for less money.

The task really did need to be done, but it's hard to swallow such a big price tag for maintaining what is basically a utilitarian (and not extremely attractive) surface. But it has already made our life easier, as the old muddy gravel parking pad is now asphalt all the way to the shop, a curved walking path leads to the side door, there is a buried conduit under the drive for the inground dog fence, the driveway is wider, and the flowerbed brick border can now be installed level and straight. I just have to quit thinking about all the other fun, beautiful, big things that same money could have purchased and be glad this big ticket item is over and done with!

It was a large professional crew with lots of equipment, power tools, their own flagger for the road, and everything!





Street view before:


Street view after:


In front of the shop before:


In front of the shop now:

Lucky Duck

Our latest fowl adventure is the incorporation of ducks into our little menagerie. I bought four Pekin ducklings the other week. They are only sold as straight run, so we don't know gender yet. Names are under consideration, so if you have any suggestions (keeping in mind Jeff's "punny" sense of humor), be sure to leave a comment! As Pekins are the white breed best known as the Aflac duck, we are toying with a bevy of insurance company names (which would also be gender neutral)!

Ducks are adorable, but, wow, are they a lot of work! They are ten times as messy as chicks, and it's a constant battle to keep food and water available. They go through a gallon waterer in under a few hours, even when I provide a separate pan of water to play in. They gobble down food like little jackhammers, sending bits of starter feed flying every which way. The heat lamp casts a glow even at dark, so I have to tip-toe around to check on them in the early mornings and evenings, because if they see me they pop their little heads up and start whistling like mad to be feed and watered and bathed. They are wearing me out!

San Antonio

Jeff had a professional conference in San Antonio earlier this month, so I tagged along. It was beautiful weather and a gorgeous setting right down on the Riverwalk, so I entertained myself during the days and we had fun together in the evenings.

If you've never been to San Antonio, there is so much to do! I went up in the Tour of the Americas (built for the World's Fair) for a bird's eye view of the city. Then down through the parks and walking trails around the Riverwalk. One day I took the bus out of downtown and toured the Japanese Tea Garden and the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.











We, of course, saw the Alamo. It was a very special few weeks for the museum and shrine, as the historic letter written by Commander Travis requesting volunteers and stating their intent to fight (and die, if necessary) was on display inside the church. It had not been on the premises since it was written and sent 177 years ago! It was a very big deal, and there were lines up to five hours long to get in to see it. We toured the plaza, barracks, and other Alamo sites and made plans to come back to see the church and the letter another day. It turned out we saw the letter on the morning of March 6th, the same day the Alamo fell to Santa Anna all those decades ago. What interesting timing!







Since the Spurs were in town, Jeff hoped to see a pro NBA game. Several of his colleagues from the conference were interested, too, so Jeff arranged tickets for all of us to the Wednesday night game against the Chicago Bulls. It was aired on ESPN, so you might have seen us!







Dinners, a riverboat tour, and other enjoyable activities rounded out the week. All in all, a very fulfilling and fun time in Texas.