Wow, Spring hits here with a bang. On Saturday, our carpenter friend, Tom, stopped by to ask if we were ready for our porch roof on Monday. Last year we asked him if he would put the shingles on the new porch. He had roofed the rest of the house and we didn’t want to mess up anything so it wouldn’t look “all together.” Then, suddenly, we were in OMG mode. The building center where we got our shingles doesn’t carry that brand anymore. Tom thought Lowes did, so I called. Sure enough, they did. So Will and I set out at 7 p.m. to go get shingles. Unfortunately, when I called I didn’t ask what color they had. Well, it was brown, brown, and more brown — our shingles are green. We’d already traveled 35 miles, and it was getting late, so I called Home Depot in Grand Rapids, another 35 miles away. Yep, they did have the brand and the color. (Very helpful, friendly folks there.) We drove like crazy and got there 20 minutes before closing. We found that not only had the Home Depot employee, Eric, personally gone to check on the availability of the shingles but he had also loaded them on a flat cart and set out the ice and water shield by the contractor checkout desk. And he helped load them into our car. Thank you, Eric. There still are friendly, nice folks out there.
Oh, and if you didn’t know it, both Lowes and Home Depot give a 10% discount to veterans. You just have to have a photo identification card. That really helps us out on large purchases. A big thumbs up to both companies!
Our wild plum trees are blooming this morning and the Manchurian apricots are right with them. It’s sure pretty with all those blooms after a drab winter. I love spring! — Jackie
Susan Ingle,
Wow, I remember the little orange capsule in the margarine containers and my sisters and I also used to fight over who got to squeeze it into the margarine and turn it yellow. Memories…… We also did a lot of camping and fishing all during my childhood; something I never grew out of.
I too love hearing about all the goings on at your homestead. I especially enjoy Hondo and his antics. you guys have sooo much energy and strength it amazes me! Thank you for sharing your lives.
Always a treat to see the latest projects at your place Jackie and Will. Great story about the shingles adventure. Love those apricot blooms! Still waiting for our orchard to bloom here in Gregory.
I too love Spring. It’s a time for renewal and the joys of rebirth. I feel privileged to watch the transformation of your homestead. You are constantly moving forward and it’s a wonder to see.
I seem to remember that you live in Minnesota, and today you mentioned Grand Rapids. Our family lived in Illinois, but every summer we took off for Itasca County and Spider Lake, outside of Grand Rapids, where Bass, Crappie, Muskie, and Walleye were waiting for my Dad. First we stopped in Grand Rapids to get groceries before heading out to the Lake and the cabin waiting there for us. Us kids fought over who got to massage the little dye dot into the margarine…it was very foreign to us and quite exotic! LOL You live in a wonderful corner of the world and I have the fondest memories of our time spent there.
I know this is probably the busiest time of year for you,but you need more time for your blog. I have missed it.
Comments are closed.