As I listen to the bluster and thunder of a storm raging outside the office window I’m consoled by the memories of a perfect weekend. My friend arrived at 8:15 Friday and we drove to Charlotte to meet with some friends at the Hendrick Motorsports race shops. My friend had built model cars for two of the guys there, he does amazing work and he builds much more quickly than I do! After eating lunch with those guys we drove out to the Wood Brothers shops by Charlotte Motor Speedway to meet another acquaintance, who is the manager of the Fab Shop and Body Shop for the #21 team in NASCAR. He gave us a tour of the shop, then we drove about a half hour north of the Speedway to the town where the model car swap meet was being held. The weather was lovely all day, with temperatures in the upper 50s and sunny. After we checked into the motel we went for dinner and then drove to the location of the swap meet to set up our tables. I drove us back to the motel and worked on some decal artwork on the computer for a short time before going to bed early.
Saturday was even more gorgeous than Friday had been. I wore a short-sleeve shirt all day, even while going outdoors periodically to put swap meet finds into the car. Temperatures were in the low 60’s all day and I was quite comfortable. The swap meet started breaking up around noon, several of us who only meet face to face once or twice a year met at a restaurant in town to spend a little more time visiting with each other before driving home. I was so exhausted from the trip and relaxed from the large meal that I fought sleep all the way through Charlotte before stopping just south of Charlotte for a caffeine and chocolate break. That held me until I arrived back home, around 7 PM Saturday evening.
Sunday was even more perfect, if such a thing is possible. I worked outside in the yard, trimming shrubbery and cutting back climbing rose bushes until time for the race to start. I managed to get my hands and arms scratched from the thorns, I had one corner of the back yard where there is an access box for our buried utilities and the previous owners had tried to cover it with shrubbery. There is a large, low shrub of some kind with wisteria climbing through it, and a rose bush growing underneath and to the left of that shrub with the rose climbing through the shrub and all the way to the fence. I pruned the shrub quite extensively and cut the rose bush completely down. I plan to pour brush killer on the roots to prevent it from returning, the location underneath the other shrub made it impossible to maintain properly and it didn’t bloom much. I was quite comfortable working outdoors in a t-shirt, in fact I had to turn on the air conditioner inside. It was almost 70°F outside all afternoon. I think this was the first nice weekend we’ve had since before Christmas, Saturday was only the third day in the 60’s since then. I’ll live with such a dreary, miserable Monday in exchange for such a gorgeous weekend. |
Loading...
