My corner in an old steel mill town

I get up early and pay bills while doing the multitasking version of yoga.  I guess it's more like focused stretching than anything as I try to get the kinks out to be able to stand up straight without saying ouchie out loud.

I finally found my voice at work, guiding them through whatever expertise I have gained in growing and making fancy grape juice turned to alcohol. Growing grapes is not that hard. I can't believe how many different ways you can not understand basic plant biology. But here I am, explaining leaf mass to fruit ratios and why the plant can't ripen clusters if it keeps getting defoliated. It's odd, but a stable income and I keep hoping to eventually get paid more and do less grunt work. But don't we all.

I bought a house. It's a crazy feeling and I love the quiet of having my own space, even if I do share it with my mate. It's a late 1800s house set back in trees on a half acre in the corner of an old Ohio steel mill town. I can see a few houses but only have one neighbor right next door that I can hear his conversations if I listen hard. I have a front porch swing and gardens that are filling up with all kinds of perennials and fruits because now, whatever I plant will stay with me.
I still keep succulents on my porch in pots and most of my furniture is hand me downs from people trying to help make this new house a home. The walls have swatches of different paint colors trialed on the walls. The carpet is brand new and the driveway needs fixed. I bought a push mower, although the yard is just one big hill and pretty well impossible to mow. I'm working my way across it with red raspberries and squash and shasta daisies, wondering if it will help or hurt the resale value to have such extensive landscaping.
My back porch has a little concrete patio with weeds poking up that I have designs to make an arbor turned makeshift greenhouse for the winter. The kitchen is a cheery yellow that I have come to accept and I wonder why the toilet is leaning a little towards the outer wall, which causes it to run all the time.

My coworkers seek me out for advice and guidance at both my jobs, even though I'm not a manager at either. I never really noticed how easy some things are that I take for granted, but how difficult they are when someone else isn't planning and thinking ahead. Everyone's job goes more smoothly when management plans ahead. So now my manager looks to me to plot the week, although I'm starting to get annoyed at the lack of salary increase in exchange for my assistance.

Sigh. I guess the time has come to get up and go to work.