Spring Stuff To Do

Well, it's Saturday. The weather is nice. And it's early Spring. But I ain't going outside...too tired.

I've been talking about a whole bunch of things that I need to get taken care of now that it's getting warm, but I'm really not in the mood to get started on that. Here's what we've got on the queue:

DIRT MOUND: I've got a giant mound of dirt, which has been nicely mulched for me by the Homeowner's Association, that I need to make look more like an actual garden. You see, the previous owners of my house put in a "British Garden" to cover most of the front yard. To those of you who don't know what a British Garden is, it's a lazyman's attempt to make a landscaped area. They have plants over here and there with no particular order of organization, and it just ends up looking like a big giant mess. Right now, about 7 different plants are popping up in clumps randomly located around the mound. Basically, it looks like shit. So I really need to do something about it. I figure I'll get myself some shrub-type plants around the back, with some color (flowers, who knows) in a row in front of it. Then Amy's been talking about getting some decorative grass...which looks like an 80's hairband wig made of straw, and putting it around. And of course, I need to get one small tree to tie it all together. Yeah, that sounds nice...Not gonna do that right now.

DECK STAIRS: Right now, I have a deck that you get to from my kitchen which sits about 10 feet above ground level. Down at ground level, I have a reasonable sized fenced-in backyard, which is presently a mine field of dog crap because I have been too lazy to clean that up as well. In either case, the two do not connect. If you want to go from the grass to the deck, you must walk into the house, through the TV room, down a hall, up the stairs, into the dining room and through the kitchen. So naturally, a stairwell leading directly from the grass to the deck would be nice so you just go up and down those stairs instead. I need to call a deck guy, have him come out here and look at the place, then give me a design that I have to take to the HOA for approval, then they can build it. Whew, that seems like a lot to do and it might be pricey. I'll pass for now.

FRONT DOOR: The front door needs a new coat of stain and sealant because it's starting to crack. But that would mean going to Home Depot, picking out the right color, sanding the front door, and then putting on at least two coats of stain. Who has the time?

FRONT STEPS: The concrete steps coming up to the house are starting to look pretty worn. Its got some pits, and you can see the stones of the concrete in some worn areas, and there are some cracks all around which have apparently been caulked...poorly. It sort of reminds me of Gheorge Muresan's face. Now, I am a concrete expert now, but this seems like something I don't want to look into at this point. Maybe next week I'll call somebody.

RUN WITH DOG IN PARK: Chloe could really use some quality outside time, but I could really use some quality couch time. Advantage...human.

Well, at least I got up early today and went to work to load some brick and meet with a client. I feel that's accomplishing something and there's always tomorrow. Yankee game just started, think I'll go watch TV in my basement with the blinds shut for 3 hours. Ahhh, Springtime.