Ode to my mower

The alarm woke me up but I stayed in bed, not feeling like getting up. But by 8:30 I was at my laptop, reading e-mail and swishing. I was out of distilled water so I filled the pitcher from the shower filter. I looked up nocturnal spiders. Mine is probably an orb weaver, since they eat their web at daylight and re-spin it at night. To be certain, I would have to examine it closely, and that is not going to happen.
I unstacked the dishwasher. There were not enough recyclables to make it worth taking to the street, so I skipped that. I came across a pic of American Ginseng. I thought I had some growing in the back yard, but when I checked, it was a different plant. I juiced and meditated. It was almost noon so I skipped breakfast and went down to cut fabric to take to quilting. In my mind I wrote an ode to my lawn mower (with apologies to Terry Jacks):

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend
We’ve known each other since 2010,
Together we’ve mowed hills and trees.
Learned of blades and batteries,
Shunned wet grass and bumble bees.

We had joy,
We had fun,
We had seasons in the sun
But the root that you hit
Made your parts no longer fit.

Goodbye my friend, it’s hard to die
When grass is reaching to the sky.
Now that fall is in the air,
Weeds are everywhere.
I think of you, but you’re not there.

The phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. When I got upstairs, I called Jennifer back. She talked about making dark chocolate and stuff she bought from Swansons, and the hydroponic farm. I finished cutting the fabric, and took the pieces to Stitch-Its to sew. Rhonda said what I bought was not an ace bandage and she showed me how to wrap my foot with one she had. She recommended wearing it at night. William called to talk about mower parts. Christie showed me a funny video about a class of boys acting like they were synchronized swimmers. Marjory gave out muskadines from her yard.
It was almost three when I went home, made and ate breakfast. I looked at dark chocolate recipes, wondering what could substitute for cocoa butter. I tried the recipe that Jennifer did, but ground up cacao nibs, added honey, and then discovered we had no vanilla. So I added orange oil, but it was too much. Then I added some butter, but it was too hard. So I ate the rest of the watermelon while sitting in the sun and letting the butter melt. I mixed it again, and added lo han for extra sweetness. It was still not satisfactory. But I ate it with dates and it was ok then.
I listened to an audio and did today’s Sudoku puzzle. I cleared more e-mail and watched an audio on making acne gel with marigold flowers. I did tomorrow’s Sudoku puzzle. I went outside to trim the grass by the driveway. Then I hooked up the weedeater and mowed as much grass by the ditch as the cord would allow. I wrapped up the cord and put it away. Dusk was upon me, so I came in, checking the doorway for signs of spider web. I read an article about decluttering with the quote “Life is too short to be bossed around by dusty appliances.” I put the indoor plants outside for a breath of fresh air. I read over the map to the hydroponic farm. I took a stab at distilling water in a pot on the stove. I saw a light in my neighbor’s window so I went over there to ask about his mower, but he wasn’t home. As long as I was out there, I watered my plants for tomorrow since I have an early appointment. I laid out the large quilt blocks on the bed. I gathered them in order and went down to sew the first three seams. Then I brought them up to pin on the last set. I sewed them into rows and left it until tomorrow. I need to line up a longarmer if I want to enter it in the quilt show. I started watching X-Files. They dug up Mulder and he started breathing or something but still looked dead. Then Chris skyped me for the last time before traveling to DC. We talked about coco butter and his travel arrangements. I finished the episode and checked on my distilled water. I decided to leave it on the stove until tomorrow. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.