With early-week rain followed by abundant sun, it was no wonder the grass had gone shaggy by the time we got back from three days away. We all know grass grows, but I'd almost swear that, in a cat's-away-the-mice-will-play fashion, anything with roots in soil grows extra-wild when we're not looking. Time to make short work out of long. With each in turn on the mower in a divide and conquer strategy, we soon got the place looking freshly clipped and cared for without any one of us spending hours going in circles. Much appreciated because we all had things we'd rather do with our long Sunday afternoon.
Like plan the raspberry patch.
Like read a book and take a nap.
Like edit photos from the weekend.
Like push the rough-running motorscooter to the old man's shop down the road; the man who is bow-legged and slightly bent; the man who, by all accounts, loves nothing more than tinkering on motors. Up until three weeks ago, this very scooter had been living in the jumble of his garage, forlorn and lacking a boy. Lucky thing, a boy we know walks by that open-door shop on his way to the bus stop every morning. A boy who'd been, all winter, pondering on how he was going to make anything with wheels and motor his very own.
He'd walked right up to the old man's door, and knocked right loud. Then and there began a friendship of old and young, of nuts and bolts, of knowledge and need. After a tug of the mustache and a hat in hand to scratch the head, a deal was made: The motorized scooter for a fraction of the boy's cat-sitting money. The only thing was, the scooter needed work, he said, and he'd want to sell it in good shape.
The following weekend afternoons came to find the boy and the old man, together in the shop, surrounded by tools and machines. They took things apart; they put them back together. When a part was broken, they made a new one. When the mixture was too rich, they leaned it. When the boy had a question, the old man had the answer.
The boy's grin bounced down the driveway ahead of him the day he drove that scooter home. Five times that same day, he pushed it back down the road to the old man's shop. Fix another thing. Tighten this. Bang on that.
He bought oil with his own money, mixed it with gas in the old white jug, topped off the tank and wondered how far he could go on the gravel back roads before running out; wondered how long it would take him to drive 20 miles to the big town south if ever there was the need. And he couldn't help but think about the next ride he'd like to buy.
You start thinking big when you're moving along on gas-powered wheels.
Especially when you have an old friend down the road who helps keep them turning.
Have you been looking for a tastefully designed, small house plan that lives large? You may just find what you've been seeking in the Shelter Collection - four small floor plans, based on our little house, designed for gracious living in 900-1400 square feet. Find the study plans & building plans here.
