The new male roommate - Donnie - is in very poor health.  He is getting a lot of encouragement to get up off his rear and get to a gym and get some exercise.  He's on a large listed cocktail of drugs.  He was out talking to my neighbor today and he was having trouble standing there talking to her, even showing his hands shaking from the pain.  I'm not judging him, at all. I just wish the best for him and really the only way to stay healthy especially in older age is to make sure you stay active.

My neighbor suggested a gym that is half a mile away that has an exercise pool that almost virtually elminates any stress on joints.

I have watched people over the decades in their old age become inactive and I have watched them grow increasingly in ill health and I have watched them die. Genes obviously play a role in your health and longevity, but still you can take steps to live a good life until the day you exit life on this earth.

Whatever the case, my 3 day marathon is over.  I went until around - 2 pm - and then quit.  Loaned the pressure washer to the neighbors.  They also want to improve their property but finances are an obstacle.  Well, the black driveway created from years of no cleaning is gone.  They did the entire length of it and it looks spectacularly better. Literally, it was black.

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Interlude. Just got done eating a spectacular dinner.  Literally.  Smokes brisket.  Donny (I had his name mispelled earlier) started early this morning thinking it would take longer than it did.  It was done around noon and he brought it in. But it's almost 6 and we just now got done eating including BBQ'ed onions and squash and salad.  No potatoes.  Thought there was going to be some but no.  No biggies but it was utterly delicious.  Ended with a homemade blackberry cobbler.  I eat sweets infrequently, but this I had to try.  Unbelievably awesome.  The lady here - Rene - is a very good cook.  I spent 5 hours in unrelenting work outside, they gave me a pass.

I'm very happy with what I accomplished this weekend.  Pressure washed the walls on the entire house.  Both porches. The sidewalk leading to the front porch and the rear concrete below the back porch.  Fixed the drainage probem on the AC and primered and painted the front porch.  Around 17 hours of work and knocked out a good dent of what needs to be done.

But there is so much more. They really let this place go.  At least the outside.   Well I can only do make-up maintenance and repairs as I can get to it, which is mostly the weekends.  I'm not fretting about it, I don't own this place, I didnt let it go. Whenever my landlords tell me there is something wrong at my house I have them have it fixed immediately.  When I was there I - well - it's here on this blog, several years ago and maybe on another blog.  Nothing I want to go into again.

Meanwhile, the invite to go to Hawaii is still there and I am seriously thinking to go on that trip.  January, during MLK holiday week. I'm planning a visit to mom's in the next month or so, I'll skip Christmas because of the contention my middle brother brought up several weeks ago. My oldest brother sort of chimed in on it as well but I have come to the conclusion that both of them are very insecure people and they are very uncomfortable with the fact that I am not an insecure person and I don't really need all of this s*** in my life.  If what appears to be happening continues, these new folks will be here and I will suffice and be happy to spend it with them.

I have never flown over the ocean.  I really, really want to make a trip to Ireland now that I have my passport.  $600 and change round trip to Dublin.  I actually want to go there more than Hawaii. However, Hawaii is one of 2 states I have never been two and I would be in very good company.

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Well, here we are, Monday morning. Blah.  Glad I stopped early afternoon yesterday with all that working stuff.  The bright side is it's a 4 day work week versus 5.  I guess I'm going to try and grow grass out there before the end of the season, apparently there is enough warm weather left that it can be done.  Which is fine, it doesn't look good out there.  It has been let go as other things and I really would prefer to have a nice coverage out there before fall/winter.  THe landlord did try to start gorwing grass in some of the bare sports, but she got the wrong kind of grass, for one thing and she wasn't diligent enough to water it at least twice a day.

I mean, grownig graas, lol, you have to keep it well watered.  I'm actually glad much of it didn't come up because it isn't the St. Augustne grass that is out there already - which looks far better than
Bermuda.  It grows thick and tight and chokes out weeds and anything else that might try to grow in there.

Time for work.