In The Eye of The Beholder

Has it been cold enough for you, lately?  Apparently, no one has bothered to ask us that question, here a Blooming Hill, lately, since I found myself outside this weekend  participating in the art or science, whichever way you look at it, of surveying.  This is the penance I pay for being married to someone who always has to be doing something.  I'm not complaining, mind you, but could he have picked just a tad warmer day to prepare for concrete footings that need to be poured, set and approved by the County no later than the middle of next month?  Oh, that's right, last week, I was wondering when February would be here.  But, this weekend...this weekend was just too cold to be outside.  It was, and still is, bone-chilling, neck-aching, nose endlessly-running too cold to be outside!

Although I do have to admit that the spot for our forthcoming studio/showroom is taking shape, from the ground up...literally!   Peter came home from his office, Friday evening, with a survey tripod and level in hand saying, "Don't plan on going anywhere until we've set the height of the footings on the sight.  It will only take 15 or twenty minutes and then you are free to go and do whatever you please."  Sounded easy enough--in my mind' eye, picturing a sunny 70 degree day with a light wind gently tousling my hair and birds twittering their melodious songs in the background, but not on a sub-freezing day with an icy wind piercing my eyes and forcibly freezing my fingers and toes.  I said to Peter, "Oh, what a wonderful idea.  I'm only too happy to help you do this," all of the while thinking, "Fifteen minutes!...and then I'm outta there!  Regardless!"

In spite of the weather, it was an educational opportunity to once again see and appreciate what exactly goes into the planning and installing of a building and parking lot on even the most simple and straightforward of sites, in order to make it look at the very least, right, if not pretty.  Even Tucker's interest was peaked by the sight of surveying equipment pointed in his direction.  What can it all mean? Something beyond the arrangement of items, it is the arrangement of the holder of the items so it doesn't fall down onto your head while you are enjoying arranging the pretty items inside of it...well, you know what I mean...right?!

So, there I stood, holding a measuring stick, recording numbers as they were called out to me and counting the minutes as they slowly dragged by.  Yet, in the end, it actually did take only 15 minutes to record and double check these measurements and then I high-tailed it back inside and left the chief contractor, surveyor, architect and builder, all wrapped up into one, to do whatever else he needed to do in order to ready the footings for concrete on the next warm day.  Loosely translated, that means the next day when the weather will be and will stay above freezing (32 degrees-Fahrenheit, that is) for a reasonable amount of time.

In the mean time, I'm watching, preferably, from some distance away, or better still, from a window inside of the house and venturing out only to sneak in a few pictures I can take here and there from behind trees.  If  I'm seen, I may be recruited to stay and hold a hammer, plum-bob or maybe even a saw...horrors!  I prefer to ooohhh and aaahhh from a distance, like inside of the house, and gazing down at the site, my head filled with visions of gardening delights...coming soon, very soon, indeed.