When It Rains...

Old Rodan at the Old Leaksville Cotton Mill Dam in Eden, NC

Well, you know the old adage. An interesting weekend, to say the least. I had intended to make my customary weekly trip to Pleasant Hill in Martinsville on Friday, but friends Joe & Suzy invited us to dinner, so I decided to push Martinsville back a day. It was definitely worthwhile — Suzy made pasta é fagioli, which we found incredible. There were Campari spritzes, Negronis, Ouzo, and plenty of vino (not all at once, or anything, haha). In remembrance of David Crosby, we rocked out to lots of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & (sometimes) Young. A lovely evening with good friends.

Saturday, I hit the road early to hunt a passel of new geocaches in Eden, which is right on my way to Martinsville. I got in a good bit of hiking — about three miles — and found all the caches. A very satisfying start to the day. However, Allison had forewarned me there was a plumbing issue at Pleasant Hill: the kitchen sink was totally stopped up. I gave it a couple of treatments with Drano, to no avail. So, being that plumbing work and I are not good friends, I feared a call to our regular plumbers in Martinsville was inevitable.

As it was, I had made plans for a late lunch with old friends Bob & Yvonne at Forest Park Country Club, so I decided that I’d call the plumbers when we were done. Allison and I met them at the grille and enjoyed an excellent lunch. Back in my old golfing/swimming days in Martinsville, I spent uncountable hours at Forest Park, so it was mighty pleasant to visit again. During our conversation, I mentioned our little plumbing issue, whereupon Bob indicated that he was skilled in the plumbing trade, thanks to his father. So, being true heroes of the day, Bob & Yvonne took it upon themselves to set our problem to right, which they did. They also invited us to spend the evening at their place for drinks and light hors d’oeuvres.

Those aren’t saplings that toppled
into the yard.

However, going back to the title of this blog entry, after lunch, upon our arrival at Pleasant Hill, I discovered that all our recent rain had taken a toll on a couple of trees on the wooded hillside behind the house. Boom! Two huge trees had just fallen into the yard, one fully uprooted. Thankfully, they missed the house, but there are now two big trees lying more or less horizontally in the yard, as opposed to standing vertically in the woods where they belong. I have been planning to buy a chainsaw, as in relatively recent days, there have been several situations where one would have come in handy. Well, now’s the time because I’d rather just get the chainsaw and cut those fuckers down to size than pay someone else an arm and a leg to do the job. It’ll take considerable work, but I would say both Allison and I can use the exercise. Again, we were truly fortunate that the trees did not hit the house. That could have been very, very bad news.

Anyway, for the evening, Allison and I enjoyed refreshments of many varieties at Casa di Bob & Yvonne — and, once again, lots of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & (sometimes) Young filled the evening. Plenty of other great tunes as well. Much like our old next-door neighbors Paul & Jamie, Bob & Yvonne are masters of the magically refilling drink glass. One could not look away for a minute or so to find that, upon turning around, one’s glass was again completely full. And Yvonne’s guacamole is probably the best I’ve ever tasted anywhere. That’s not hyperbole.

So, another lovely evening with friends. At least our plumbing problem was solved, and without having to engage expensive plumbers. So many many thanks to Bob & Yvonne. I hope I can return the favor in some fashion.

I did have considerable difficulty getting out of bed this morning, courtesy of Allison’s little terror, Cannoli. He had me pinned for a good hour or more after I woke up. Then, during a spell of zoomies, he knocked off a whole shelf full of items in the den. And then had the audacity to gaze sweetly at me so I wouldn’t fuss at him.

I reckon the next order of business is getting that chainsaw. What a job I’ll have coming up soon...

A view of the bar in Bob & Yvonne’s basement. A thing of beauty, I would say.

 A lovely spread

Why getting out of bed at Pleasant Hill is problematic