How I Spent My Winter "Vacation"

On Day 1, after failing to get neither the Roto-tiller nor lawn tractor started, I wielded a pick and shovel and humped dirt on a wheel barrow. I didn't get very far. After a few days off for rain, Thanksgiving, then a hard-frozen ground, I attacked the lawn again when it thawed, this time armed with the 5 hp tiller (my Lil Bro discovered the trick to starting it). Somehow, one of my aiming stakes disappeared, so I pressed on using the Mark I Eyeball to keep it straight. Hindsight says I should have dug a few inches wider and used more sand, but hindsight didn't see the obstacle course in the barn through I had to lug buckets of sand. At least I had my truck to haul the buckets and paving stones. It's not perfectly level and some of the pavers wobble a bit, but a few rain showers and a bucket or two of sand swept around into the cracks should fix that. I'll be back in the Spring to finish the stretch that reaches to the driveway.

Aside from the aerobic weightlifting, I greatly enjoyed my visit home, even though I never got to drag Lil Bro to the Gun Club Range to make him practice. I got to help Mom babysit the Binker, who no longer is afraid of me, and hung around with my sisters and their SOs. I did step off the wagon while I was home; "Hey, I'm on vacation!" I enjoyed a few beers at Lil Bro's house as we watched football or played cards and I had a few nightcaps at Mom's to ensure my body didn't get too used to Eastern Time.