High Maintenance

Two days ago one of my friends and I were discussing being high maintenance. She said she knew she was, and stated that I was too. I said no, I am very self-reliant. But I decided to ask Mike, who agreed. Once again, I pointed out my preference for doing everything for myself. He said that was definitely true, and sometimes to a fault. Then he said it was more high speed. He went on to say that I am not much for sitting around and I have high standards.  I gave that about 2 seconds of thought and I must say I do agree with that, but I think he is right there enabling me.  We are busy doing everything ourselves at high speed. Take this week for instance....

The girls are away and we have unprecedented relaxation time. We've taken it and loved it.  But we've also done lots of yard work, cleaned the house and done a lot of cooking. This week Mike made yogurt, cheese and bread.  I've been cooking lots everyday - yesterday I made cherry bars and granola, in addition to scones and a variety of garden meals. I picked enough cucumbers we'll be making pickles tomorrow.  That sounds really busy, but it was mostly really fun. We love to do things together and we've had so much time to do that.

Sometimes, like my Mom and Dad, I do get too much projecting. This week we also roofed the garage and took down a large tree in the front. Each one was a big, full-day project.

You can see from this before picture of the garage that it really needed it. When I point this out, Mike agrees with me. He also notes that some people pay other people to do these things.  I guess that it true, but those people are working over the summer. Mike is half time and I have 6 weeks off.  I wonder what I would do if I just sat around and watched TV. I'd be rounder and apathetic.

The yard is a lot of work, and I could not do it all if I worked full time in July and August. It (and

maybe me) are high maintenance, but really worth it. The yard is beautiful and always teaching me new skills. I eat great food, and get exercise all the time.  I have colleagues who are paying lot of money to eat organic and train in a functional fitness gym.  I say, "Get a yard and high octane wife. You'll spend less and be highly maintained."


Also, the garage looks great.