I am SUCH a delinquent

Do you forgive me for being away for so long?

I have no good excuse.  I've been busy, but you already knew that.  I've also been inexplicably tired.  Going to sleep at 8:30/9:00 pm every night and sleeping right through 'til 6:00 every day.  Not exactly sure why, but I figure a lack of exercise is to blame.  This past two weeks, I've been focusing on making sure I walk regularly (the 3 hours of yoga per week are not enough) and my energy levels have been improving.

A couple of weeks ago, we got some company - a couple that my husband works with decided to come by with their dog and offered to give us a helping hand outside for the afternoon.  Holy cow, people!  Did you know that 2 people + 2 people does NOT = 4 people?!?!  No.  In this case, 2+2=6.  We got so much work done and it was FUN!  It's like they brought us a dose of motivation and energy, in addition to the offer of help.

This is what my husband was doing that morning, before they arrived:

(he's cutting out part of the front lawn to form a new walkway... so we stop mucking up the lawn)

It had taken him a good hour and a half to do what you see, there.

This is where he was at after 2 hours, with his friend helping:

Yup, like I said, 2+2=6.

I'm really glad we got that little kick in the pants, because it got me moving.  I decided to take this upcoming Monday off and drew up a pretty extensive to-do list for myself.  I've got all sorts of things on there, like "finish pile of sewing" and "finish @%$#ing sweater", but also more pressing/less fun things like "wash car, inside and out" and "clean and organize basement" and "rig up sump pump hose connection" (that's a big one).  Not to mention the standard "do the laundry - all of it" and "cook meals for the week".

So, I got up bright and early this morning, went to get my haircut and made a stop at the hardware store.  'Cause MAMA'S GETTING A NEW DECK, BABY!

This is something we've been dragging our feet on for almost 4 years.  It's not exactly like we've been sitting on our laurels, but a new front deck was much less pressing than say, a new roof.  Or painting the exterior of the house.  Or installing a wood stove.  All of those things were expensive and extremely time-consuming.  So, our little front deck has remained much as it looked the first day we moved in:

Well, actually, this is what it looked like the day we moved in:

(kinda scary, eh?)

That original front door was actually TAPED SHUT, when we took possession of the house.  There was an vestibule addition on the far side of the house which was used as the main entrance.  We tore down the rotten addition, replaced the front door, painted the exterior (thanks to the Hubbie, who is a teacher and gets his summers off).

Anyway, I digress (gee, quelle surprise).  This was a post about a deck.

Before you make fun of his awesome head-wear, you should know that he's wearing it so as to avoid going insane.  The black flies are out and they are rabid.  If you have the good fortune of not knowing what I mean by "black flies" (some people call them midges or no-see-ums), count your blessings.  They are absolutely, mind-blowingly, excruciatingly horrid.  And nothing (NOTHING!) keeps them away.  Netting is the only way to go.  I was wearing a full bee-keeper's shirt, 'cause they like me 'specially well and they like to bite me through my clothing.  Good times.

At the last minute, we decided that we would close in the risers, so we ran out of decking, but that will be remedied on Monday, while I am enjoying a well-deserved day off.

So by the end of this weekend, we will have the walkway finished and filled and I *may* even have the planters built.  We'll see.  The front door also needs to be cleaned and painted (that's just a factory-primed finish you see there - it's going to be butternut squash orange/yellow before long), but I can't do that until we get slightly warmer weather.

I am exhausted in a way that feels delicious.

Good night, friends.  Have a good evening and a good Sunday.