A bitsa day here too, GZ

 Gz described it over at her blog: "One of those days where you feel as if you haven't done much...but you actually have."

That could describe my day as well. Our plan was to head over to the renovation. We are tearing off the rotten clapboard siding. It is a dirty job and so I wore my oldest clothes. I figured that I would have my shower after we got the job done. I put some venison in the crockpot and I stripped the beds and got the sheets in the washer before leaving. 

The job was just as tedious and dirty as I expected, and damn, those boards were put up with an eye towards making sure they didn't go anywhere. 100 years later, they were still holding on. But, we got it done and the felt paper ripped off, and we threw it all on the dump truck to be hauled to the burn pile down on the retirement property. 

Except...the ratchet strap was stuck. We dumbed around with it for a half hour, but it stayed stuck. We hooked multiple bungees together, to secure the load long enough to get us to the nearest hardware store for a new ratchet strap. 

We set off once again. It was then that I noticed my phone wasn't working. I'd just added my minutes on that very morning and received my customary text saying that I was good until May 3rd. After that, the phone simply quit working. No mobile data, no text, no phone service. Ugh!

Tim was hungry. He wanted to get a bite to eat. I died a little. Remember, I was unshowered and dirty. "You're fine,' he said, in a hangry (hungry and angry) sort of way. So. We ate. 

When we got to the property, we were surprised to see pieces of roof all over the place. The property has an old house, but we use it for storage, due to the fact that the place provides homes for many critters, to include snakes. We once had a woodchuck in the attic, and I'm not even kidding. So. We don't stay in the house, because my husband has a wuss for a wife. But we do use it for storage. We collect the things for the new build and store them inside. The damaged roof was not good news. We do not need more work to do, but we also need that house to last until the new house is built.

We could see that we had part of a very large pine tree in the garden. Another tree was down next to the house (but not on it, so hey...bonus. A couple years ago, two pine trees did fall on the house.) This tree lay across the creek. It even missed the bridge.

 We drove down to the burn pile a little dispiritedly. The last thing we need is more to do. I pointed out two more trees down in the woods. 

"Yeah," Tim said. 

While he was dumping, I crossed the bridge to take a closer took. These were some pretty big trees. As I investigated those, I saw more downed trees. I walked deeper into the woods. The wind must have been intense. At least 15 more large trees were down, all in a big tangle. I walked back up to tell Tim. 

"Yeah," Tim said. 

Amazingly, for all that wind, the camper was fine. 

He wanted to stake out the new house. We've got our excavator lined up and the fellows who are going to pour the basement. He's getting the permit paperwork together. Once we get the permits, it's go time on that project. He needed to talk to my nephew, who's the township supervisor, but Jim was not home. 

We stopped in at my sister's and I helped her stuff Easter eggs for the big Easter egg hunt for a little bit, but we had to get home. It was nearly time to pick up William from school. 

I threw the sheets in the dryer and I got supper while trying to sort out the phone situation. I was escalated twice, and was told that someone would have to call me back. "Do you have an approximate time?" I asked, because the phone call would have to come via the landline. "One hour," she assured me. "4:45 eastern time."

I slapped supper on the table and got the dishes done. 

That phone call never came. 

Of course. 

About 8 PM, I remembered that I still had beds to make. I got the sheets from the dryer, and headed upstairs. 

Somehow magically, my phone began to work.

It felt like we were spinning our wheels for most of the day (Rejoice...I didn't even trouble you with the truck problem!) but somehow, at the end of it, we managed to get a decent amount of stuff accomplished. 

'A bitsa day.' That sounds much better than what I was calling it in my head. 

I am sure I'll feel better after I get that shower. 

~Morgan Freeman's voice~ "But she did NOT in fact feel better after her shower."

I found a tick on my person in the shower. We've been warned it will be a bad year for them. I know better. I was so distracted by the downed trees that I marched across the field into the woods without repellant. Didn't even think about it. 

Also: Serious weather threat on Wednesday, calling for severe thunder and lightning. 

No drinking or raccoons, but I am considering my options.