Alan,
I wish I could have attended the All British Field Meet and if I had,
I would have taken my (1968-ish) Carlton English 10-speed and put it in the
for-sale section. Do you know anyone interested in buying an old English bike
with lightweight Reynolds 531 tubing?? Its very light for its day and its in
good condition.
However, I've been doing a rockery project in my front yard and over
the last several weeks and my girlfriend and I have been carrying dirt from my
(lower level) back yard, up a flight of stairs to the front, to fill the area.
I live on a steep sidehill and it has been brutal, exhausting work and now
my back yard is about 10 inches lower than before. My front yard is finally
level! We did this two buckets at a time, because of the staircase and the
terrain ... all manually (obviously).
I had a surprise phone call from a neighbor who was contacted by a land
developer and he just sold his home. His back yard will shortly be paved
with concrete and he has offered his entire back yard (like Buchart Gardens) to
me, FREE! This includes his beyond perfect "golf-course-like" lawn. We have
already moved eight types of plants to my front yard and they seem very happy
here. Others have to wait at least until late September to have a chance to
survive and the new construction is scheduled to begin October 1.
Two years ago I helped him build a beautiful 12 x 12 deck on the rear
of his home using (very expensive) Cedar and we built it using stainless steel
screws. It is simply drop-dead gorgeous.
So ... he says to me: Hey Jim! ... Do you want the deck? Take it!
It will be bulldozed anyway. So I will!
Now, Julie and I are in the process of skimming-off the top 4 inches
of my ENTIRE front yard and carrying it all (back) down the stairs to my back
yard where it originally came from!
Two buckets at a time.
Now, can anyone argue with me that God doesn't have a marvelous sense
of humor?
Look above ... I told ya in the subject line this reply was off-topic!
Jim and Julie
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