Cleaning!!

Purging, cleaning, straightening, organizing; it can be really rewarding, but, at the same time, tiring.  I started tackling our bedroom today.  It needs to be presentable for the inspector for when we finally get the permit to have it.  That's a good thing since it's been there for 14 years.  Our bedroom is huge so I moved a big bookcase today to partition it off somewhat.  Tomorrow, I'll try to go through the stuff that belongs in the shelves and make it look better than it does now.  Unfortunately, what it ends up looking like and what I envision in my head rarely ever match.  Maybe someday.

Some to-do's for tomorrow:

Cards in month folders

upload photos from camera

switch big desk with tall bookcase (BIG job, LOTS of stuff in both)

pay bills

vacuum living room

put covers on chairs and couch

figure out what to put in which storage areas

put the rest of the Christmas stuff in the attic

start posting photos on the blog

get photos transferred to Aperture Library (since we're talking 100,000+ photos, this is another big job)

Off to bed so I can get a fresh start tomorrow.

Deer

You know, most people think of deer as those wonderful little Bambis that frolic through the woods and look so cute, wonderful and . . . natural. Me? They drive me up the wall! Not only have they been eating my garden for the last 13 years but lately they've taken to knocking down the fence around my chicken pen. Turns out they REALLY like egg layer crumbles. THIS time they knocked down an adjacent fence and gate along with the chickenyard fence. I spent the last hour and a half making a new gate, digging a hole for a new fence post, reattaching the wire, making a new entry for the yard and then reattaching the bamboo panels I have around one side of the chickenyard. Staple guns are wonderful little inventions. I used that because I have no idea where any of our nails would be. We have one doe in particular who seems to enjoy making this her nightly meal spot. I feel bad restricting her diet but . . . oh well. She's kind of funny. I saw her laying down (lying?) under a redwood tree yesterday. We were all outside doing things and she just stayed there and hung out. Usually they run at the slightest noise. Ah well, she must like us. (Or our layer crumbles!)

My day so far

I liked Jon's most recent post about his trip to Seattle. Let's see what my day today would look like . . .

7:00 got up quietly so I didn't wake anyone else because it's the only time when NO ONE else is up to ask me to do something for them. check.
7:10 go let the chickens out of their coop. check.
7:12 look at the fence again and wonder what animal keeps pulling it down. check.
7:15 fill the chickens water can. check.
7:20 water the flowers and plants in the upper garden. check.
7:30 water the flowers by the rock wall, paying close attention to the scattered sunflower seeds I'm hoping will sprout and grow up to be a beautiful sunflower border next to the rock wall, but know chances are slim because of the damn deer. check.
7:35 fill up pond number one and marvel that there are still fish alive. water that bed and again get ticked off because the damn deer ate most of the morning glories and nasturtiums and the ones left are doing nothing. check.
7:40 move to the plants in front of our room and water them. check.
7:45 fill pond #2 and try to get the pump unclogged. check.
7:50 water front beds. check.
7:52 water front cecile brunner and see that it's getting some leaves back from when the damn deer stripped it to the bones. check.
7:55 water front planters, hoping that the seeds scattered there will come up, but not holding my breath because the damn deer already decimated the violets. water moss in back yard and aerate back pond, count 3 fish. check.
8:00 top off pond #3, finish watering, pull hose back up to front garden, check out fence again, shake dirt off muddy pajama pants and go inside. check.
8:10 turn on Little Einsteins for Emma and sit with her while she bemoans her owie, check out said owie and marvel at giant blister that's formed on top of the giant swollen lump on her arm. check.
8:30 start eggs for Emma and I. check.
8:45 check out news online, peruse a couple of blogs, sing with Little Einsteins, check on eggs, remind Katie of stuff to be picked up, change Emma, check on eggs and turn down burner, add more eggs so they're not so well done, add ham and portabellas. check.
8:50 Mike calling me to look at big bucks in the garden. take pictures of two big bucks 20 feet away from me. sight a third one. check.
9:00 eat eggs. give eggs to Emma who promptly ignores them. hold Emma. turn on Wonder Pets and sing with them. check.
9:30 switch to Go Diego Go and learn about kinkajus in the rain forest. check.
10:00 switch to Backyardigans and ride the range. more singing. check.
10:20 Emma tired of Backyardigans and wants to watch trains so put on Thomas. Emma starts to nibble at eggs. straighten up around the house. check.
11:00 dress Emma. she's tired of Thomas so find the fish dvd and take it downstairs to put it on so I can take a shower. check.
11:30 name all the sea creatures with Emma. check.
12:00 Mike in the shower and getting ready for work. give Emma numerous necklaces to play with. check.
12:30 Emma pulls apart puka shell necklace. check.
12:45 Mike leaves for work. check.
1:00 straighten up more, watch fish, watch Thomas. check.
1:30 put Emma down for nap and lay with her til she falls asleep. check
1:50 Emma asleep. play on computer and then make plans to clean up and catch up on correspondence.
2:15 not started correspondence yet because I've been wasting my time recapping my oh-so-nothing-is-happening day. vow to get correspondence done TODAY. check.