Yard men...

It's a cold Saturday for us, high of 49, and slightly drizzily. But I have yard men raking my leaves, up on my roof cleaning out my gutters, and blowing leaves out of my shrubbery. One of them is wearing head to toe camoflauge coveralls, bright orange ear protectors, and has brought with him yard gloves, a leaf blower, and a tarp. There may be some other goodies in his car; I'm not sure. The other one has a willing heart, lost his yard gloves in a bag of leaves the last time we raked, and probably needs to be wearing a warmer coat. =) Any guesses which one is my husband and which one is my dad?

My parents are here for their last visit before we leave for Christmas. I'm learning that if more than a couple of weeks go by without us seeing them in some form or fashion, their tone of voice becomes increasingly dreary on the phone. "So, how are things?" "Well, we're still here... Nothing new going on... We're dying of boredom, yes sirree, but we're just fine... Don't worry about us, sweetie." "Un huh. Sure, we won't worry about you. Why don't you come for a visit? We need our yard done." I suppose some would call it a mutually beneficial relationship. Some might call it mooching.

Hey, at least I made Dad and David a big breakfast of waffles, eggs, and sausage before they went out to slave for me. And I'm very proud of the fact that I saved the leftover sausage patties from the last time they were here in the freezer. I remembered them last night and put them in the fridge to thaw. Dad was sooo pleased to have them this morning, nicely warmed up in the microwave. He's not allowed to clog his arteries at his own house. I'm glad I didn't just throw them out. Another victory for the Freezer Queen of Our Neighborhood! =)

And we learn all the time what great neighbors we have. I'm going to miss them when we leave this house. My dad decided he needed an extension ladder to get on the roof, and he needed it 5 minutes ago. Our next door neighbor didn't have one, but Dad spotted a work van in the driveway of another neighbor that we haven't met, and it had a bee-you-ti-ful ladder on top. Completely unfazed by the facts that we a) don't know this person at all, and b) it's 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday, he knocks on the door and asks to borrow it. Our neighbor put on his coat, got in his van, drove the ladder down here, took it off his truck, and put it right where Dad pointed (with great authority). And he was so cheerful about it. D, our new buddy with tools, is getting a plate of cookies very soon.

Our next door neighbor, Frank, sees a white van with a ladder pull up and a man on our roof with a leaf blower, and comes over, distressed that we've hired a professional to do our roof, all 'cause he didn't have an extension ladder for us to borrow. Nope, that's not a professional. That's just Dad, who could open his own yard service business in 5 minutes, if he felt like it. He already has most of the tools.

Tonight we're grilling steaks for my men, (courtesy of Dad, who told me to "put it on his tab" when he requested them via email without telling Mom), and David and I might even go out for donuts, courtesy of a gift card I won in a swap at MOPs. Yippee! I like when my parents come to my house and do work and babysit. Oh yeah, I like their company, too. =) Love you, Mom and Dad.