I realized last night how much I have gotten done around the house this week. One of the things I let go last summer after Jonathan died was the backyard. I didn't touch it, so the last time it was mowed or weeded was summer of 09. That is a lot of growth - some of the grass and weeds were 3-4' tall and the weeds I had previously been pulling out spread happily under my neglect. It took another 4 hours to dig up blackberries, gather sticks (we have a 40' willow tree on our small lot, so there are many, many sticks) and rocks and mow one corner of the yard. Then another 4 hours to finish mowing and hand weed a bit around the raspberries that are coming out farther into the yard than I planned for. It is amazing the difference a little care makes! The yard seems quite a bit larger now that it has been cleaned up some. There is still plenty of work that needs to be done, but at least I can go outside and not feel like there is one more pressing item on my To Do list.
The other big project I worked on this week was cleaning up the garage. Our house is 1000sq ft with a full, mostly unfinished basement and a 1-car garage. The only access to the basement is through the garage. Since we are not moving any time soon (and are a family of 9), I have to utilize as much space as I can so that we don't kill each other during the long wet seasons. My current plan is to finish the garage, so that we can have a family room in addition to the living room - which will also make the basement more accessible. I am just beginning this project and figure it will take about 2 years to get it done, but it will be so nice to have it! I spent yesterday working on clearing out junk, moving things we are keeping and cleaning items so they can be used. The garage looks a lot better, though now I have to clean up, organize and condense (and possibly move) my workbench. Then I can start on the wiring, insulation, etc.
When I add in making 3 meals a day, taking a day to clean the house (that was neglected last week while the kids were in soccer camp), changing diapers, feeding the baby, taking care of the kids, spelling countless words for Elora, taking breaks to look at or research various bugs Damien caught, listen to Zachery talk about so many, many things, get Ariana a tetanus booster when she stepped on a nail (I read her the pros and cons of the vaccine our ND recommended and let her decide), go in for the follow-up ultrasound of my thyroid (still waiting for the results) and spending evenings with Jeff, I suddenly feel like my days were a bit more productive than I originally thought. We even managed to pray the rosary yesterday.
Next week we have Zachery's 10th birthday, family coming for 4th of July (which will be bittersweet because the last visit with Jonathan was for 4th of July 2 years ago and it was one of the few holidays we loved as kids growing up), grocery shopping for a good chunk of July including our big homeschool camping trip and planning for and starting to pack for that camping trip.
Sadly the only project around the house for the next week or so will be cleaning and maintaining...and eating all the perishable food.
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