"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

I used this pic a couple of years ago but it deserves an encore. I originally got it from our most excellent financial guru, Chad.

At 7 a.m. it's sunny and 32 degrees but we'll hit 64 before the day is done. We haven't had a 70 degree day since last October so this will feel very good. It's a short sleeve day, and after a wet and cold Oregon winter (never mind the frigid month I spent on Long Island) this is going to feel very good.

The new (used) fridge required a new base cabinet and countertop between it and the stove because the old unit, original to MoHo, was too wide. Pam likes her new fridge and the drawer configuration of this base cabinet (actually two cabinets I connected together) better than the 4-drawer unit I took out using a 2 lb. sledge.
What's interesting is the "feel" that corner of the kitchen now has. I stained the legit wood cabinet with a light stain and finished it with tung oil. The "butcher block" countertop got only three coats of mineral oil. But though it's a cheap and temporary solution it looks totally legit  compared to the cheap and dated rest of the kitchen with it's particle board cabinets and orange formica countertops. It gives me hope that if/when the time comes for a total makeover I can make it look like a decent kitchen.

Marta told us that Cogburn (nee Sam) didn't crow much. Ha! He starts about 3 a.m. and continues most of the morning. And he's as loud as he is big.
At the Heidt's he was one of three roosters. I think now that he's the one-and-only man in the coop he's feeling pretty cocky.
In the next day or two I think I'm going to start letting them out of the pen during the day. That runs the risk that a hawk will snag one of the hens like happened with the last flock but it's so much better for the chickens.

It's now 4:15 p.m. and my body is screaming. After almost three weeks back at the gym I decided I couldn't duck them any longer. It's time for burpees.
After almost three years away from those violations of the Geneva Convention it turns out my body is NOT eager to go back to them. I was totally winded after a dozen and three rounds of 15 left me nearer death than I've been in a long time.

This is what five tons of gravel looks like. Tomorrow I start putting on the paths I've created one wheel barrow load at a time. Gravel is identified by it's size and whether or not it's been washed of the dust that is created when it's crushed. This is "inch and a quarter fines" which means the rocks are crushed to 1.25 inches and the fines, the dust, is left in the load.
It's going to be difficult to shovel because the relatively large rock size means the shovel nose isn't going to go into the pile easily.
So why did I join a gym??