I was so glad to see cooler temperatures last week, even though it's much cooler here than elsewhere in the state.

For instance, I go to North Wilkesboro once a week to pick up the printed newspapers and the temperature there is always several degrees hotter than here. In fact, sometimes it nearly takes my breath as I try to load the truck with the newspapers to bring them back to the office.

It's sort of like going to Florida in the winter and spotting the tourists by their apparel. They're the ones wearing sandals and shorts, while the natives are wearing jackets and long pants. Of course, the tourists also have that ghostly glow that gives them away even when the natives are scantily clad.

Anyway, I took advantage of the 70s last Wednesday evening to try and mow the grass at the house in Piney Creek. The yard there leaves quite a bit to be desired in the ‘smoothness' department. However, given the fact that I just had most of it graded and seeded, it's little wonder.

Other than a few little tree stumps, uneven places and rocks, there is also the unfamiliarity with the yard to deal with. I have places on my own lawn in Sparta that could easily damage my mower if I didn't already know how to handle those. However, I usually can raise the deck or avoid the obstacle without incident. Notice I said "usually."

This last time I accidentally hit a large rock and bent one of my blades into the deck. I had to stop before getting done and bring the mower back home for repairs.

After checking the local hardware store, which was out of stock for my blades, I stopped at a repair shop. Luckily the owner had a used blade that he sold me for under $5 and I went home to fix the mower that evening.

However, the mowing had to wait until Saturday, since I had plans with my family on my day off Friday.

It was my (oldest) sister's 50th birthday and we decided to surprise her by getting the entire family together. Without much thought on the subject, we decided to cook hot dogs and serve them with chili, slaw, onions and the other usual condiments. I ate three or four that day, but might have taken it easier had I known what was to come.

My mother helped plan what everyone would bring and urged me to take along at least 60 hot dog buns. I opted to bring 48 and, all told, only about 20 were used. That left me with 24 hot dog buns to take home and eat sometime in the next week or so.

At any rate, it's always good to take a day off, but not when you decide to wear shorts and sandals, which isn't the norm. The place we went was along the river, but had a sandy beach area that we all enjoyed. By the end of the day, I had a red head, red neck and two red stripes on top of my feet where the sandals didn't cover. Despite the discomfort, I have, thus far, managed to keep going and mostly ignore the occasional pain.

Then I had to go back to Piney Creek to mow on Saturday, which of course meant more time in the sun. After getting that done, I then had to put the bottom layer of siding on the house and reattach a loose piece of siding near the gable. After pulling it back, I nearly fell off the ladder when I saw something large move behind the loose siding about a foot from my face. It was a big brown bat. Well, it really wasn't that big, but it looked very big that close to my face. It had its teeth bared and didn't look happy to have been awakened in the middle of the late afternoon. I gathered my composure and went back to the house to get some gloves before evicting my non-paying tenant behind the siding. I reached in with the gloves and picked him up, but couldn't get a good grip on him without hurting him. I actually like bats, since they make most of their diet on insects. Insects are a much bigger problem for me than bats.

Meanwhile, I dropped the bat and it flew off into the woods after fluttering suspended near my head for just a split second, apparently just as happy as I was to have the whole encounter over with.

Later I also hung a few curtains, trimmed up the lawn and took a few pictures. It is never an easy decision when one tries to figure the best thing to do with a house, but in this case I've opted to try and sell it. So, after doing a little more work, I decided to take a few pictures before calling it a day.

Later that night, I went to a comedy show at the church and ate more hot dogs with really good homemade chili. However, they were still hot dogs.

The following day, my family, including my sister, gathered at my mother's house for lunch. Realizing that there were still leftovers from the party, someone decided to serve hot dogs. I stopped off at the grocery store and picked up a pack of hamburger patties and buns. While I still ate them with the same toppings, I figured enough was enough. Just to be consistent, I ate a hot dog as well.

I'm really hoping to have something else for the rest of this week. I don't think I could stomach anymore hot dogs.
 

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