That Time of Year

It was not a total surprise to Bob when calls for lawn mower and chain saw repair began to flood in. After all, it is that time of year when folks want to mow their lawns and, whoops, the darn thing won't start!

Some are riding lawn mowers so Bob patiently hitches up his trailer and picks them up and returns them when finished. In the midst of the calls for Mr. Fixit, our car needed repair and he spent several days on that. So far he has managed to keep up with most work, unless he has to order parts from parts far flung. Those bikes and mowers are waiting for parts to arrive.

Now the best part of this whole past few weeks of desperate calls for service, our lawn sits un-mowed and getting longer by the day. That's just like Bob to tend to customers first. I remember when we were house hunting and the realtor would tell us that a house for sale had been owned by an electrician or a plumber, etc. In no time we discovered that the houses needing the most electrical work were for sale by an electrician and the ones with the worst plumbing were for sale by plumbers.

I remember the old story about the shoemaker. His children went barefoot while he mended shoes for clients. So much for getting our lawn mowed any time soon.

My First Day of Spring

Yesterday was the official day of Spring for me. Yesterday was the day that Bob brought out the grill from its Winter hibernation and grilled the lamb chops and baked the sweet potatoes. Ah, sweet music to me since for the next 6 months or so, I do not have to cook the meats, fish and chicken. They all taste better when cooked on the outside grill!

Now some might think that I love Bob grilling because I don't enjoy cooking. To tell the truth, I never have, never will, but for some significant reason all of the main entrees have a superior flavor to those I do in the oven, slow cooker or the frying pan. All during the cold, dark months, what I notice the most is my salmon is not as tasty. I just can't replicate the flavors of the grill even with spicing exactly the same.

So through most of the dreary winter days I put most of my effort into stews, soups and chili. On those meals I excel, and they do help to stave off the cold and dismal months of winter. But for now, hear me sing as I whip up the veggies in the kitchen. As I said, I never have enjoyed cooking. Never, never!

My thanks to whoever invented that greatest of inventions...the outside cooker. It is the best way to get the husband to be a highly valued chef.