Mowing the lawn

Wow, over a week since my last post! I'll forgo the apologies, this time. I only post when I have something to report or update, and honestly, this week there's been nothing happening. It's been the same routine. I think I've figured the schedule - following the chemo on Wed, 1 week of feeling generally very ill,  and then another week and a half of worry about  my white blood cell count.By Friday of week 2 I'm good to go, except for the aches and pains that accompany this condition. This week was especially tense while my counts were low, since the family was a little sick- just a couple of colds - nothing to for them to worry about. But enough to drive me into the basement and the comfort of my new futon. :) It's nice to have a safe place  to sleep.

The oatmeal stout I described  a few posts back is about to be kegged. I'll make that happen this week and give a report on that. I sampled it on Sunday, and it's good - though a lighter body than I might have hoped for. 5.5% abv. Details will follow in a couple of weeks when the beer is kegged, cold, and ready for consumption.

This weekend was fun. On Saturday, we took the girls to a race at Panorama farms. While neither of them placed, they both did great. Margaret was the youngest in her race, but ran like a champ. She was barely winded after the 1/2 mile run, though she had a cramp in her side.  I think she's got the endurance genes. See the attached video for her takeoff - she's the girl in pink at the far right.

Madeline was super-excited, and did a great  job, coming in 3rd in the race - an impressive feat for such little legs. She's the pigtailed girl. I love watching her run. Her enthusiasm is incredible.

My feat for this week was getting the lawn mowed. With the rain from a few weeks ago, I was a  little daunted - the grass has grown high. I'd planned to use the riding mower this afternoon, but lately I've found that I can't hear my podcasts while I'm mowing on the riding mower. So I thought I'd make a change. 

Before Jane and I were married, we bought a push mower of the old-timey type - I think they're called reel mowers. Well, we never were able to use it in Kensington, MD, because the yard was full of twigs, sticks, and acorns which jam up the mower. Well, this mower has followed us for years, and finally it's found a home...

So I mowed... and mowed... and mowed...

After about an hour an a half, the back yard was mowed. This type of mower doesn't devastate the grass like a regular bladed mower does. It presses down and then shaves the grass like a razor. It's fun to watch it in action, and it produces a clean flat-cut on the lawn. But I'm not so sure how clean the cut is in the long run. It seems to mash the grass a lot. It's also very hard to work on hills and temperamental if there are any solid objects in the way - e.g., bark, twigs, etc. 

But, after about 3 and a half hours, I had a mowed lawn. The picture below is of my back yard...

In the final analysis, its  a tough road to take - using this eco-friendly mower. But, if you don't mind the effort -  and it is excellent exercise - especially on those hills, this mower may be the way to go. 

Final note -I'll have some more tests this week, and possibly an update on my status. Thanks again to all for your prayers and positive wishes.