Assistance in an Apron

It’s a good thing the Haralson bag is on hold for a few days because I discovered I had the wrong size hardware for it. I know the correct size will be impossible to find locally, so I ordered it. Some bags sew themselves. The Haralson has not been that bag.

I ran errands yesterday morning and stopped in to see the accountant. I was in the middle of making a batch of zucchini bread after lunch when the husband called to tell me that the freight driver was 20 minutes out. The husband had ordered a rock bucket for the skidsteer and I needed to sign for it.

Sure enough, about 20 minutes later, a semi pulled into the driveway. Freight drivers hate residential deliveries because they never know if they will have enough room to get in and out. Fortunately, we have a big driveway. I went out, signed the paperwork, and returned to my batch of zucchini bread. About five minutes later, the driver knocked on the screen door.

“We need some equipment. I can’t get the rock bucket off the lift gate; it’s too heavy.”

This poor driver looked miserable. Not only was he making residential deliveries, he was stuck with an immovable rock bucket and his only salvation was covered in flour and wearing an apron.

I walked out with him, asking some questions along the way. What kind of equipment? Did we need the forklift or would the plow truck serve? Tow rope or chain?

[I have lived with a man for 37 years who believes I can read his mind and that verbal communication is superfluous, so I’ve learned that the more information I get up front, the less likely I am to get into trouble.]

After assessing the situation, I went back and grabbed the keys to the plow truck. I also called the husband just to have him bless this plan. He told me where the chains were stored. The plow truck has hooks on the front. Initially, the driver tried hooking the chain onto a hook but the hooks were too big. I turned the truck around and he hooked the chain to the trailer hitch. I very slowly and carefully eased the truck forward and pulled that rock bucket off the lift gate.

That was a first for me, although I told the husband I have no plans to quit my day job. The freight driver was obviously relieved that he wouldn’t have to spend the rest of the day stuck in our driveway.

********

My friend JC sent me a quilt top to donate to the Ritzville yard sale.

I love this—totally my aesthetic. If I can eke out enough time between now and the first Saturday in October, I’d like to turn this into a finished quilt and donate it to the auction. JC does the most wonderful improv quilts—you can check out her work on her Instagram account.

********

Painting class is this morning. We got rain yesterday morning and more is in the forecast for tomorrow and Friday, but today is supposed to be dry and overcast. This has been a very pleasant August. We are not being plagued by excessive smoke, we’ve had rain every few days, and the temps are staying in the high 70s and low 80s.

The guy at the farm store told me a funny story the other day while he was loading bales of wood shavings into my car. A lady came in and mentioned that she had just moved to Kalispell. He asked her if she was getting ready for winter and she looked at him blankly and said, “What?” He repeated the question. She responded that she wasn’t expecting it to get cold because the average high temperature here was 50F. 🙄