Nectar Hills - Chapter 6

As the weeks passed, I was finally able to get much of the brush cleared away – with the help of the twins after school and on weekends. I had always wondered why the builders had wasted the space in the foundation...



…until the day the last bit of brush was cleared away and we discovered a door in the wall under the deck.



A little oil on the hinges and the doors creaked open after a lot of pushing and colorful language. These doors were meant to last, that’s for sure. Pushing on the door, I felt as if it might not be easier to move the rest of the structure instead.





I entered into a cavernous room which must have been originally used as a stable. The construction sure looked old enough to have been anyway. The room was now filled with debris; rotted furniture; cracked dishes; old wooden crates; rusted buckets and other metal objects; and a huge pile of junk in the back corner.

This entry room would be a perfect place to set up a couple nectar making machines, with room for a desk and some work benches. Once we move all of that from the shed, we can then use it for storage, as was intended.



Again, more work ahead, clearing this room out. El and the boys pitched in and did what they could, and in no time the room was clear of debris. As we moved the old crates out, we discovered an adjoining room. It would be perfect for storing and aging the nectar. I will get some racks built along the walls, and there will still be plenty of room to store the fruit we harvest from the garden.

I found an electrician who was willing to do some wiring for a small fee and some nectar. You gotta love the barter system. He did an exceptional job; first rate.

Now that there was some light in the place, we began moving the nectar machine and benches down from the shed. Val dragged Rum and Windsor along to help out when they could. The move seemed to take no time at all.



With the machine in place, it was time to get to work. Unfortunately, moving it in pieces and reassembling down here, made it inoperable. I quickly got to work trying to find the problem and get it operational. This wasted some precious time and resulted in the loss of production.



After several days, I was able to locate and correct the problems and got the machine running. We were back in business.

After one of my deliveries to the Consignment Shop, I swung by the junk yard on a whim and discovered someone had tossed some perfectly serviceable windows out. I gathered them up and dragged them home. Of course I had to get some help from someone who knew carpentry and windows.



I’ve noticed El’s attitude has changed since the windows have been installed. The light has made all the difference. I must admit; I don’t mind staying indoors more myself.

A delivery arrived from my parents a few days later. It was a child-safe stove for the boys. There were some baking mixes and a cookbook included, so, of course Dusty had to make some muffins.



I happened to be out, but El said they weren’t half bad. Personally, I think she wanted me to think that so I would be willing to be his guinea pig next time.



On a bright note, we’re on the waning side of potty training the triplets. At least they can make it to the potty, even though they still need help.





It seemed like we just celebrated birthdays for the twins when the triplets’ big day rolled around. It will be nice to have some more little helpers around the house – or will it? I could have two and half times the do-overs that I have now; but it’s a small price to pay to see the bright smiles on their faces when they help.

First up is Onyx! He seems to be the most jovial of all the boys! His crazy antics always get me to smile. I hope they only increase as he gets older. He is such a joy to have around.







Why am I not surprised at the faces he makes now? El was not amused; and this made it even funnier. I think she wanted to knock him into next Tuesday.



Next was Coal. He did much better with the candles than Onyx. Dang their so cute, I don’t want them to grow up now.









And last, Grey! I kinda feel for El; not one of the boys wanted her to bring them to their cake – not even once.









Ah! My boys; it’s always a great feeling to see them get along with each other. Considering each one of them has his own interests, I’m surprised. Dusty is the consummate gamer; Smoky is everything mechanical; Onyx is into music; Coal loves the arts; and Grey is all athlete.



El bought a couple board games and was able to coax the triplets into playing. They had such a fun time, they made a regular habit of playing at least a couple time a week.





With all of the birthdays we have in this house; each person getting their own cake, it seems there’s little room for any other food in the refrigerator. I am really beginning to despise cake; sweets in general, for that matter. Perhaps I should learn from the boys and make myself some muffins in their stove. Ssh; that’ll be our secret.

Now that the triplets are grown, we’ve been able to remodel the kitchen and replace the high chairs with a bigger table. Every time someone has a birthday, the house goes through physical changes in concert with them.



Time, once again, for MORE birthdays! Guess I can look forward to more cake piled up in the refrigerator. The twins are up; and I believe they are ready for the higher grades in school; well, Dusty is at least.





Although older by birth, Dusty ceded to Smoky and let him blow out his candles first.





Then Dusty’s turn; he thought long and hard on his wish. I can only imagine it had something to do with Star Raiders (or whatever that sci-fi show is) and holodecks! Anything that sounds geek or gamer, it’s up his alley. The twins could probably make a name for themselves; with Dusty’s flare for mathematics and gaming and Smoky’s penchant for building anything mechanical; they could do great things in the Science Fiction world.







Dusty’s as big a fan of the cake as I am! I’m sure you can note the sarcasm there.





More birthdays out of the way and more cake to fill the frig. Cake! Cake! CAKe! CAKE! Anyway you say it, it’s sweet and we have way too much of it.

I had once asked El why we couldn’t just save the whole cakes and reuse them instead of buying new ones. If looks could kill, I’d have pushed up a mountain of daisies by now.