On this day …

Abraham Lincoln died, the Titanic sank and it's tax day here in the United States.

Additionally, the articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War were ratified on this day, insulin was made widely available for the treatment of diabetes, Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball, the B-52 took its maiden flight and McDonald's opened.

Aaaannnddd, it's Monday and that means a date with the scale. I stayed the same, which is pretty remarkable considering last week's five-pound dip. My mid-week check showed a slight gain, so staying the same is fine with me.

(Let's be honest, it's actually not fine, but that seems like what I'm supposed to say. Sigh. I really want to be at my goal TOMORROW. Heh.)

On this day I will well and truly take a rest day. I have some computer work to do and organizing the yarn closet has been on the to-do list for a long time. It's raining, and even though the rain is supposed to move out this afternoon, I'll keep on resting.

Yesterday, you see, was brutal.

I walked less than a mile and a half, to the water pump and back again. (The electric meter reading is back in line with normal usage. THANK YOU, DEITY!)

And lo, the garden has begun.

I took that walk after I had worked for five FREAKING hours in the garden. First I dumped three wheelbarrows full of mulch around the blackberry bushes. Which meant moving three wheelbarrows of mulch from one end of the yard (where the mulch pile is) to the other (where the blackberries are).

Then I couldn't get the tiller started so I hand-dug/hoed/raked rows for the lettuce, kale, cabbage and broccoli. I then tried the tiller one more time and it fired right up. OF COURSE. I tilled a section for onions before I put all the equipment away. And I also put up the fence, which is not a small chore.

I will be 62 years old in May, and I was dead-dog-tired when I got back to the house. I almost couldn't fix dinner. I almost didn't even care about dinner. But I worked right through lunch, so I was also famished. I do so envy those of you whose husbands know how to cook. Mine never learned, and is not interested. And I knew that when I married him, so I have no room to complain.

There have been Sundays when I've walked especially long distances and thought I deserved a Monday of rest. But it's been a long time since I've done so much hard physical labor on a Sunday. There's no doubt in my mind that I deserve a day off.

And an Aleve.

I hope your weekend was productive, and I also hope it didn't hurt as much as mine did!