Temo is putting the…

Temo is putting the final trim painting touches on the garage, and, clearly appalled by the massive pile of cardboard boxes and garden trash (plastic containers and the like) sitting in there, asked if we'd like them broken down and taken out. I said yes, please, because despite all of Jed's earlier efforts, there remained enough recycling and bags of garden trash to cause my soul to despair. But then I didn't know how to thank him. I bemoaned the lack of homemade cookies in our house. Damn you, healthy eating.

I took out a glass of iced lemonade, and a twenty, not quite sure if he wanted a tip, esp. given that it's 85 degrees out, which is not the kind of weather I'd want to be breaking down boxes in. Temo took the lemonade and slightly indignantly (but with a laugh), refused the money, explaining to me that I was a nice person and he was happy to help out a nice person. (A nice person who clearly is disastrously incapable of maintaining a clean garage, although he didn't say that out loud.) All of which has made me feel slightly abashed, but also still wishing I had homemade cookies of some kind to press on him.

I feel that I must note that I have a well-established relationship with Temo at this point, given how long he worked on our house renovation (almost two years!), and I did knit him a very nice cap that winter. So I'm not completely hopeless on the thank-you gift front. I was just not quite sure if our relationship had shifted, given that it's been some months since he's done any work over here. I guess not. :-)

P.S. I am damn well going to make some homemade cookies before I return my neighbor's lawnmower. I asked him if they liked sweets, and he laughed, and said of course they like sweets. The children will be pleased.