Restaurant Time and More Adaptations

My husband has gotten a new job, working at a restaurant 6 nights per week. As a consequence, we have switched over to 'restaurant time.' Anyone who has worked at a full-service restaurant knows what I mean by that. In the real world, people work all day and relax and sleep at night. And sometimes that relaxation takes 'real people' to a restaurant to have dinner and drinks and talk. Other people have to be there to prepare, serve and clean-up after, hence 'restaurant time.'

My husband goes into work around 4 pm each day and is there until closing and final clean-up, which means most nights he does not get home until midnight - and this is the off-season yet! Once the season starts, I probably will not see him until 1 or 2 am. I understand that, as we both worked in restaurants when we first met - in fact, I got him hired as one of the cooks for the chain that we both worked for. (I got the job immediately after we met, so I had them hire him.) As a manager, I often walked out of the restaurant at 2 am and drove the 45 minutes home; I know what it is like to get home so late, so I prefer to wait up in case he is too tired to drive, or so I can see him for a little while before we go to sleep.

So we sleep in a little later now, and try to get the appointments and necessary matters done in the late morning/early afternoon. Now if Mother Nature would adjust her clock - the cats want to be fed, the birds get noisy at sunrise, deliveries arrive - we are not ready! The cute little woodpecker certainly did not get the memo - he is still trying to peck a home into our metal antenna - go Woody! (pictured below) - but metal pinging at sunrise! Naps are becoming an important aspect of our day.

One day off per week now, so we try to pack a bunch of stuff into that one day - visits, shopping expeditions, intense yard work, etc. Last week we did some shopping for yard stuff, then came home and tried to get yard work done. I thought a nice big lunch was in order, so I went inside to cook while my husband did some yard clearing and burning of the wood cleared. Next thing I see is him running back towards the faucet (you see where this going, don't you?), then running to the garage, then running to the faucet - all the while with expletives being quietly mumbled! I know he did not want me to know, and did not want me to get involved, as there is an element of embarrassment involved here. So I waited until the running and cursing stopped, walked quietly out the backdoor to 'announce lunch was ready' and feigned surprise that the brush in our back yard was blackened and, now, non-existent. No harm done, really - he contained the fire before it spread too far or progressed into the woods. Really, this will probably help the grasses and ferns that grow there, and that area is greening up already after a week. But the prospect can very be scary - fire in our woods and all.

Oh, yes, it snowed yesterday. I think this makes 7 months of snow now? Supposed to be near 80 this weekend.