We had planned on this for weeks, months even. We had budgets, and saved. Arranged for days off, for camping spots, and equipment. We had gathered ideas and made lists. We had endlessly prepared for this weekend. It was the weekend we were supposed to finish the rain shelter at the garden. Well, at least finish the roof. It has been a long hot dry summer, but as fate would have it, we finally got some rain. In fact, we already have had 3 times the amount of rain we're supposed to have for the whole month. Now, the rain really doesn't bother us, a person can't get much done up here if you always wait for the rain to stop. We have great fleece, raincoats and hats. We have camping gear suited for rain (although this was the first time I've actually had it rain-rain while camping since I was a kid). The garden is the thing my husband and I do together. It is our mutual project, and we both work together on it. Although he works much harder than I at times. But this weekend, we had the added difficulty of having to deal with the torrential rains. With a good fleece and raincoat, I can work in the "rain" no problem. Torrential rain like we had, now that's a different story. Jeff was able to get the tarps up on Friday because we knew it was going to "rain". So he had the whole structure under a tarp. And, except for the points of the building that stick out, it worked great.
Friday almost the whole day was spent gathering the materials for not only the building, but everything we need through the end of the year. Saturday Jeff got all the wood framing done on the roof, and I worked on clearing ditches. They were pretty easy digging because Diane's husband Lonnie had ditch-witched them almost 2 years ago, so I was just clearing where the dirt got kicked back in and leaves and debris had fallen in.
The best thing for me was..I glued my own irrigation pipes together. This sounds like a very small thing, but it was the first time I'd done it, so I have learned a new thing. I got all the 2" pipe and new wiring in. But I was quite worn out from the digging. Jeff got one whole side of the roof shingled. By the time we got there today, we were both pretty worn from a weekend of hard physical work. Jeff worked on the building a while, I dug out the ends where the pipe stopped (this pipe is for the waterfalls we eventually plan to put in) but I completely ran out of steam today. This is always where Jeff steps in, and takes care of me. As is so often the case, he lets me do all I can do, and then when I run out, he usually finishes what I can't, and then takes care of me like a battle-worn tired person. I really wanted some of the ditches closed, so he did all the shovelling on one side, then rototilled it (unfortunately, the noise made it hard for my poor sick sister to sleep...maa) to make it even. He got everything packed - put away all the tools, and loaded the car. By the time we left, I just burst out in tears I was so tired. Jeff was so kind and comforting to me. He let me sleep all the way home. When I'm tired like that, he helps me upstairs, and helps me get into bed. I was too tired for a shower so he brought in warm damp cloths and tried to scrub my arms which had the dirt ground in to my skin and nails. He rubbed my feet with lotion, and my back from the hard work. I am so grateful for all he does for me. He works as hard as I, and then quite often this is the scenario. Today, he will spend all day unloading the car, cleaning the camping gear, getting laundry started and putting things away. I am also grateful that my sister and her husband, Diane and Lonnie, allow us to have our little haven there. In my mind's eye, I can see what it will look like someday when we get the construction all done, and the grass in.
I will always feel blessed to have that opportunity. Thank you Diane, Lonnie, and Jeff, for my chance at a little piece of heaven.
