Update and Upkeep

My grandson Aaron runs track, ran the 200 meter high hurdles Thursday.  He didn't win, but I love it that he keeps running.  I mean, that he keeps going out for track and football and so on.

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Fun private birthday dinner Thursday night with Paul, the birthday boy, and his family. Private except that we were at P F Chang. Thursday night and the place was full; good thing we had reservations. One of the most noticeable things: Peter is getting an appetite. He ate a lot. Did my heart good.

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How much is a yard worth?

• I will have the big ash tree in front of the house taken out--$200. That's hard to do. We planted it, you know. But I'm doing it.
• I hired a guy to spray the lawns and try to bring them back--$218 (that's with the $12 discount). 
• The mowing guy will charge $30 per. 
• I must try to plant something back in that corner where the neighbor's pine tree--only one of four pine trees--has killed the grass, something that will grow without sun and in spite of the pine needle acid. Cost? I don't know yet.

I have told myself, again this morning, I'll give these guys one year.
 
Next year? Certainly my yard upkeep will not be free, but perhaps I'll find a better way.

I do want to keep living here, so don't tell me to move into a place where they do all this for me. People who recommend such a move seem to forget the fees charged in such arrangements, in such places.

Then, there's the other part of moving to a new place. I won't go into it, but it has much to do with my age and how others perceive an older woman and how they treat her. Just ask my mother.