Progress...

I am making progress, though not as much as I'd hoped.  I'm not quite done with the living room, but close.  Still have some tidying to do.  Also have to deal with getting all the wires policed up.  This house is over a 100 years old, so there are only two outlets in the living room, which of course means power strips connected to power strips, etc.  We won't even mention the knob and tube wiring in the basement, okay...  Hopefully I'll get the living room finished tonight.

Today was a nice day on the weather, so I took advantage of it to work in the yard.  I've inspected with a critical eye and there is only one escape spot, which I just stuffed a board in and used zipties to keep it there.  The rest of my day was spent tidying and beginning winterizing the yard (last of the year cleanup).  I didn't get as far as I hoped, but far enough for now. 

While I was working this young gal (with the most adorable New Zealand accent) stops to ask if she can pick up the deadfall apples if I'm not going to use them.  Sure I said.  She picked up a box full and I noticed she had another empty box, so I made her fill it too.  Then she picked up all the rotten ones and put them in the yardwaste bin after I commented that Michael likes to eat them, get tipsy and pee in his sleep.  Then came over to help me turn over the tarp I was trying to shovel the dirt and grass off of - which saved me about an hour of back breaking work.  And then went on to shovel the dirt out smoothly to fill a depression in the ground, so all I have to do is toss some grass seed on it.  On top of that she promised to bring me some homemade apple sauce and apple cider.  Given that I have the best tasting apples on the planet (if you ever add an apple tree - make it a Liberty, they are that old fashioned flavor that I adore), I am really looking forward to tasting her apple sauce and cider.    [this story comes after a stranger stopped the week before to help me hoist a monstrous huge TV into the back of the car]

So I've just been rolling in good fortune.  And did I tell you next week I get to pick up the most wonderful puppy on the planet?  Woohoo...

So back to the yard work... got the space cleared where the puppy expens went up.  Then got that tarp cleaned off.  Then used PVC and zipties to fix the tarp across two-thirds of the expens.  I wanted to give her a place she could be out of the weather, since this is Washington and it does rain here - a LOT.  Its not a handsome structure, but its certainly functional - you really can build almost anything with PVC and zipties. 

There is more to do in the yard, but I can putter away at it.  I have some plants that need to go in the ground and will probably get my house sitter to do them on the day I pick him up.  That will give him something to do while I'm whirling around the house at the last minute - lathering about things.

Soon, very very soon...