My parents came for the day on Thursday to help me work in the backyard. We concentrated on staining the fence, and the new color has made a HUGE difference.
Of course we ran out of stain with about 20 feet left, but what can ya do? It was getting late and my parents had to get back to Burlington. Hopefully we can officially wrap this project up next time I have some helping hands.
The dark stain (Olympic's Tobacco shade, if you're wondering) has given the whole yard a more finished appearance. Of course, having the wood protected is good for the well being of the fence over time as well. There is still much to be done back there, but we are chugging right along. Here's a photo of the fence before for reference:
Over the weekend, I dedicated myself to getting the "office" cleaned out. Although there is still no furniture in the room that would cause it to be classified as an actual office, the floor is at least clean and free of the Mister's uniforms, mail that needs to be shredded, Christmas decorations, etc. I finally made myself invest in a nice paper shredder and spent hours upon hours shredding old statements and junk mail containing personal information. After a couple days spent searching consignment and discount stores for a storage chest that was in budget and nice looking, I threw in the towel (temporarily) and settled on a large plastic deck box for storing the Mister's work paraphernalia. In the end, I'm glad I went with something so large because I filled it to the brim. However, I still plan to keep my eyes open for something wooden or upholstered to look a little more "classy" and masculine for the room that will be primarily Chris's space.
The room is still pretty boring and nothing special, but I am thrilled that I can now walk from the doorway to the far wall without tripping over anything. Even better, I wouldn't be morbidly embarrassed for company to sleep on the futon in there if the guest room was full. Now I just can't wait to start painting, purchasing furniture, and all together making this space into a real, functional, furnished room!
The pups assume the new room is for them, naturally. There have been quite a few doggie wrestling matches already in the newly open space.
Speaking of the dogs, here is Hank posing on the yellow comforter I decided on last week to brighten up our room for spring/summer. I don't think Chris would be a fan of the yellow, but I figured I can get away with it while he's gone. Hank doesn't seem to have a problem with it, although I'm sure I will find him trying to gnaw holes in it sometime soon, 'cause that's just what he does to every comforter I like.
On Saturday, I had even more assistance when Chris's parents came by for an afternoon. We concentrated on the front yard, but my father-in-law did mostly necessary work that isn't as exciting to show in photos (mowing the lawn, fixing a gutter drainage problem, etc.) Even though there's no evidence of it yet, Chris's mom and I spread some new soil and planted seeds in my flower bed in the side/front yard. I can't wait to see those first little sunflower seedlings start poking through! And I am so grateful that Chris and I have parents that are willing to come help me with all of these tasks that would be much tougher (or practically impossible) on my own.
After working all day on Monday, I headed to my family's house in Burlington. I was totally in awe of how beautiful the scenery was during my drive. I was riding on the edge of a rain storm and the sun was going down in front of me, so when I looked in my rear view, it was dark as night - but up ahead it was still day time lit by the warm colors of the sunset. When this perfect country road drive was paired with new music on my iPhone, it created one of those moments that makes time stand still and reminds you to take a deep breath. I promised my dad I wouldn't take any more photos while I was driving, but I had to capture this calming moment. Don't worry Dad, I didn't even look at the phone. I kept my eyes on the road, held my phone out to the side, and hoped I was pressing the right button to take the picture.
I'm heading back to my house soon for a veterinarian appointment for the doggies and a dentist appointment for me this afternoon. I was able to talk to Chris for a long time yesterday and am happy to report he is doing just fine. Although he is a little bored, I will take that every day of the week over him being in harm's way. We are at six weeks now (whoop, whoop!) and April seems to be flying by so far. I am digging a Kacey Musgraves song right now called, "I Miss You," and there is one line at the very end of the song that seems to sum up my feelings about the entire world right now - "I'm as happy as half a heart can be." I miss Chris every second, but other than that I have practically nothing to complain about. And having someone who loves you, no matter where he is, is actually nothing to complain about either. Life is good.
I got the sunshine on my shoulders,
got a fistful of four leaf clovers.
My cup runneth over.
My sky is blue.
Been kissed by Lady Luck,
the stars are all lined up.
Every arrow that I aim is true,
but I miss you.
Don't you love it when a song describes exactly how you're feeling at the moment you're listening to it? I'm working on focusing on how lucky I am to have someone to miss and on all the other tidbits of wonderfulness in my life every day.
Happy hump day! Talk to you again soon.
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