Time to shore up the retaining wall and brick walkway.

We realized it was time to strengthen and straighten the low retaining wall and walkway along the side of our house, so we retained (get it?) a landscaper acquaintance to handle it for us.

Brian, who happens also to be an excellent singer, and his employee, Ryan, did a wonderful job to extend the functionality of these yard features for probably 10 more years. Guess I'd be 75 by then.

Next I asked Ron, our longtime friend and remodeler to install handrails on the deck steps to help me in my sometimes wobbly navigation.

I had torn down the original view-obstructing railings years ago to improve our enjoyment of the shady back yard....but this year a Fall fall loomed as an unnecessary possibility absent something to grab.

I was happy to learn that my long-term care insurance will most likely cover the cost of the new railings.

Comments

Hilary said…

Everything looks nice. I'm glad to hear that insurance might cover some costs!

November 5, 2009 at 6:57 PM

lil' mama said…

That's cool that insurance might cover it. I can't wait to see the new fixin's at Christmas time :)

November 14, 2009 at 8:33 PM

bmoors said…

I'm excited to see the finished product.

November 19, 2009 at 2:28 PM

The Gentle Smith Matriarch

We met in 1966 when she was 18 and I was 22. We began dating soon afterward, and as I recall never disagreed on much. Our childhood homes were 3000 miles apart and we loved Minnesota and each other, so we got engaged in July 67, married in December and moved into a house with a teenage foster daughter. This was followed by , Daughter 1 the following September, Daughter 2 three years later, Daughter 3, a year and a half later, ..and eventually Son, 3 years later. There were also about 15 different short-term teen-foster boys in those years. The gentle matriarch has worked her whole life, hard. I went to college nights for a few years, she worked outside the home part-time while the kids were growing. She spent frugally, loved lavishly, and has always cared first and foremost about her family. She is a gentle giant who has brought love, fun, discipline, imagination, good food, and artistic, creative homemaking to our big family....and as I write this she's preparing for Easter Dinner...

Spring in a bottle

Sal and I both like tulips, so while winter still has a loose grip on Minnesota, we're enjoying some "bottled freshness". I remember planting tulip bulbs with my Mom when I was a kid growing up in Massachsetts I can still recall the frangrance of the bone meal that we always poured into the hole before pressing the bulb gently into place. I think they might be my favorite flower.

I was invited back to Paragon for a day of fun

On a gorgeous August 13 morning, Sandie picked me up at home so that I could tour the new Paragon office and hang out with lots of great work friends for lunch on a river cruise aboard the Mississippi Queen. Jesper and Bill Lunch was a banquet of fine food, drinks, and desserts, which we enjoyed while leisurely cruising the vital Mississippi, including a couple of the locks, and a great view of the Stone Arch Bridge near downtown Minneapolis. Martin met me with a huge cucumber, which made it seem just like the old days for me. Paragon occupies a bright new suite with terrific views in all directions. Mid- morning I got called into Martin's office. When I stepped in, there were already people there, and they presented me with a handsomely-framed collage capturing many of my fondest days with this extraordinary collection of work-friends. I am a blessed and lucky man!

PTCPapa

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