“Remoted” – Workday 62 / Day 84 (Monday)

Car tail light bulb replaced – check! Oil changed – check! Vehicle inspected with new sticker to replace the one that originally expired March 30 then was extended to May 31 due to the pandemic – check! The old defective phone sent back to Verizon via UPS drop box – check!  Once I remembered the garage two streets over from the house, everything fell into place. It was like downtown when I drop my car for an oil change and walk a couple blocks to work. It also means I left the house twice today. And walked a little. I feel like such an accomplished grownup today.

Chuck and the Iris clusters.

The back yard view is splashed with purple as the rest of the Irises are opening, and the peonies are not too far behind, so the view from the desk is a bit different each day. Chuck likes to hang out by the Iris clumps and take cover behind them and generally be cute. 

The Irises need thinning, and there is a plan, I just hope I don’t lose interest before it can happen. There are two big clusters in the back yard and one in the front yard. After the thinning, there will also be some along the chain link fence. The new flower space will require some prep work. It’s mostly a dust bowl because I ripped all the weeds out and Moose likes to pee there, so the soil will need help. I’ll also need some fencing or barrier to keep the dogs out of it. If it works like I imagine, the 30(ish)-foot long fence separating my yard from the neighbor’s will have a flower bed for about 20 of those feet before it gets too close to the shed to continue. There are hostas that can also go there, so if I get the work done, it could look nice and it won’t cost anything more than the flower bed edging fence and some labor on my part. I wish I could do it now, but the Irises need to finish blooming before I go ripping them apart.

The neighbor’s side of the fence currently hosts a red Audi festooned with stickers proclaiming “Karbon Kings” and “NV US” on the windshield and a forest’s worth of pine tree air fresheners hanging from the mirror with a graduation tassle. The mid-twenties aged guy next door who owns the car didn’t have it very long last year before it was parked at the end of the street with the front grill missing. There were a few attempts involving various guys and tools and tinkering under the hood and at the back end, then last fall, it disappeared on a flatbed. A few weeks later it returned via flatbed and was planted in the side yard. It has since gathered a growing assortment of plastic bits and tools scattered on the ground around it after random bouts of tinkering.

About a month ago, as he came out of the house to sit in his car, I asked Neighbor Guy if it was his living room. He laughed and said it might soon also be his apartment. He told me the engine was blown and he’s stuck with a car he owes money on that he can’t afford to fix and also can’t get rid of. He blamed it being on an Audi, but I’m willing to bet there are probably a few more interesting details to the story. Either way, it stinks. He managed to get rid of the very fancy, shiny and expensive-looking rims and tires recently, so now it looks even more sad. I feel for Neighbor Guy. My brother was plagued with a series of cars with expensive problems when he was that age. There were a few that seemed to spend more time in the shop than on the road. Never fun.