That Lawn is MOWED!

 Between issues with the John Deere and all the rain we've been having, it was super tough to get in and get that giant lawn mowed.  But we did it!  It is all mowed up, at least for now.  

Bryan has come to the conclusion that we have to use John Deere belts, and not an aftermarket one.  But he's still having issues.  It's all the safety switches.  There are bunches of them!  To get the tractor to work (AND WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS) Bryan hardwired past the safety switch on the seat.  Unfortunately there are several more and it's hard to tell which one is failing.  So, we are back to tractor not starting again.  

So, news in general: 

I forgot to report on the GIANT snapping turtle in the Wildlife Report!  We saw that sucker on the 3rd day we were here!  Coming back from our first house showing, which was east of Park Falls, it was in our lane of the county road.  It was about the size of a large pizza, and it had a foot long tail.  Holey Crap!  I shudder to think what it would have done to the car, had we hit it.  Our real estate lady was following behind, and we asked her the next day if she saw that thing.  She said, "I know, right?!?"  She said it was big enough to drag off a small child.  Yikes.  I don't want to meet up with one of those again. 

We had our first BBQ on the deck.  Well, not exactly on the deck.  More on the asphalt driveway while we sat on the lowest part of the deck and watched the fire.  The good big BBQ grill rattled itself apart on the trip from Colorado to Wisconsin.  It needs major fixing as a couple of welds came undone.  (That's how bad the roads in Iowa were!).  So we had a charcoal fire....in an old hibachi.....in the lower part of our fire pit that is still not assembled yet.....on the asphalt.   

However, even though I still have no electric can opener, and I have only a few spatulas, I think we had a lovely meal:  hamburgers with all the fixings, home made potato salad, my famous macaroni salad, and cherry brownie dump cake for dessert. 

We didn't stay on the deck.  The breeze came up and it was cold.  So we ate inside.  

You would think we would be unpacked by now, but we are not.  We are old and slow and sore, and it's hard to do.  We do a lot of box staging.  Boxes from trailer to garage.  Boxes from garage to the back of the laundry room.  Boxes dispersed from the laundry room to office, kitchen, and at the bottom of the stairs to do up.  Boxes at the bottom of the stairs carried up and placed in the hall. Boxes from the hall to the bedrooms.  Who's got time to unpack any of them with all this staging going on?

Job news:  So far Bryan's schedule is Wednesday through Sunday, 11am-7pm.  He's working with a trainer, so the schedule is bound to change once they turn him loose on his own.  He's pretty happy, tired and a little sore, but happy.  I went shopping on Thursday and met some of the guys he's working with.  The all seem nice.  Bryan likes them all so far.    

I am had 5 interviews in 3 days.  Hoping SOMETHING hits!  I have likely 2 interviews next week.  I am all interviewed out!  But they keep coming and I keep knocking them down.  360Bookkeeper, remote, and I heard from them, and it's a no.  Northern State Bank, bank manager, in Mellen.  I will hear next week.  Saunders, office assistant, here in Park Falls.  I really want this one.  I will hear next week on it.  Phone interview with Manpower, bookkeeper in Medford.  Waiting on the next level interview with the client.  Custom Care Taking and Landscaping, office assistant, in Arbor Vitae.  Probably hear on that one next week sometime.  I have an interview Monday for the Presbyterian Church in Manitoish Waters for an office assistant.  I have a bunch to follow up on.  Lots to do.  Something is going to hit.  I can feel it!  Oh, plus I'm supposed to follow up as of Monday for Barry-Weymiller.  Urgh, so many to keep track of.   

You are probably wondering about Poor Kittie.  He's fine.  He looks for his daddy a lot, especially in the early evenings when Daddy is supposed to be home.  But he has settled into home very well, and he is back to his old self now that his trauma is long over. 

I launched my website for my coaching business.  As you may remember, I finished the coaching class right at the time we closed on the house in Colorado.  The class is done, but I have 6 months to complete all the practice coaching to get certified.  So I've been working through that.  I took another class, the LEAP class, to help get the business off the ground.  I will be sharing my website and social media with you all in the coming days. Yes, I would like to do this full time, but it needs to PAY first.  Hence the "real" job hunt to do until my coaching business goes viral...or something.

https://www.rhondaleighservices.com/  

Still too wet for rototilling, but we think we will take a crack at it on Bryan's next weekend.  Can't wait to get planting.  We are not the only ones behind.  Farmers Market people said it was a wet year.  So, we don't feel too bad.  If it's still too wet by Monday, we are going to start working on the greenhouse.  

Oh, and I have lilac bushes!  They are small, and actually, I'm not sure they are technically mine.  They border our neighbor's land to the north.  I picked some but only on my side of the yard, and there's plenty left, so I didn't make a huge hole.  But they smell amazing, and I am loving them!

And...I've been thinking about a location for my birdfeeders.  I want them near a window, where I can see them, but also accessible during the winter months.  In Colorado, I had a nice spot in front of the window, but the snow was too deep where I had them, and I could not really keep feed in them easily.  We are thinking of putting them right in front of the front door, just off the porch, so I can fill them from the porch.  Watching the birds on the railing already kind of gave me the idea.  

That's all for now.  Be sure to share and comment, and thank you for reading!