Recovery

This is a home on the same street as the one in Saturday's post. These people are good friends with the banker and his wife. They play cards a lot. When I estimated this job, the man of the house informed me that he was scheduled for heart bypass surgery and was expecting a call at any time. As it turned out, he was in the hospital the day we arrived. We did the whole house so were there for a week. Before we were done, he was back home. He sat very gingerly in his easy chair, holding a red heart-shaped pillow against his chest. (Those were his instructions, to keep the incision from tearing open in case he coughed or laughed too hard) He gave very precise instruction to us, his wife, and his dogs as he sat there in recovery. Normally he would have done everything himself. He was younger than me and been a teacher and was used to telling others what to do.

Another thing I remember about this place was watching the squirrels defeat the home made contraptions on the bird feeders, designed to keep the squirrels out. This was a constant irritation to the man of the house, and may have even contributed to his failing heart.