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My nephew bought an acreage a few years ago and has been fixing up and remodeling the old farmhouse. His original intent was to move in and make it a home for him and his wife and their preschool-aged twins, Brody and Ella. We visited yesterday to view their progress and I had fun snapping a few pictures of the beautiful old barn situated there.

The twins were running around, laughing and playing in the sun, and I was dismayed to hear that my nephew and his wife have decided to sell the place instead. While their reasons for doing so are practical and sound, I was still saddened to think of how these beautiful young ones won’t enjoy a childhood growing up on this incredible spread of land.

I love the weathered look of this door and its rusty hinges. I wanted to explore the inside of the barn but wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion and can only hope they change their mind about living there so that one day I may be able to do just that.

Thursday Doors: September 10

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On my walk this morning, in an attempt to get it over and done with before the heat and humidity set in for the day (but apparently not early enough!), I saw a young woman out mowing her lawn. My first thought was that of being thankful we’d already completed that chore ourselves – Bill normally does the front yard while I do the back but sometimes, I mow it all – and then it occurred to me that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen another woman in our neighborhood mowing the grass, aside from my rock star neighbor, Angi, and me.

Cue back a few years ago: Angi and I enjoyed a friendly mowing pattern competition one summer where we’d post our most recent lawn art on Facebook with a ‘top that’ throw-down challenge. It was fun and a little zany but after a while, we either ran out of ideas or motivation to continue. In any case, the point here, is that Angi mows their lawn the majority of the time and when my RA (last summer) or fractured toe (this year) hasn’t prevented me from getting out there, I actually like mowing.

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I think mowing one’s lawn is great exercise, allows for your daily dose of Vitamin D and provides relative solitude for some serious think time. And I got to thinking – do most women prefer that their husbands or boyfriends handle this chore? Or are there any – like Angi and me – who don’t mind it at all?

How about a show of (feminine) hands: Who likes (or at least doesn’t mind) mowing the lawn? Who wears the mowing pants in your family? Is this something you enjoy? Why or why not? I’d love to hear from you!