Winter Projects vs Summer Projects

I know its been slow around the ol' blog lately.  I've been working on OxfordHandmade and doing a lot of deep thinking about my future, oh and a lot of watching the entire series of How I Met Your Mother, but I digress...

The truth is, this warm winter weather has really upset our winter project schedule.  When Marco and I first moved into this house we had a lot of projects that we knew we needed/wanted to accomplish.  But to not be so overwhelmed and to help budget them out we put them in order of preference (or logic) and then ordered them again for each season. Until our list looked like this:

Summer projects:
Raised bed garden
French Drains
Deck
Workshop
Fence
Paint front door
Stain and seal porch/new deck
Flowerbeds
Update big bathroom

Winter projects:
Painting the living room, dining room, bed room, guest room, hallway, bathroom, kitchen
Remodel kitchen and laundry room/guest bathroom
Install built in bookshelves
Update light fixtures in dining room and hallway
Add ceiling fan in living room and/or update light
Add insulation to attic and winterize other areas in need
Have an energy audit
Install organization to kitchen cabinets


Now why would we want to separate the list into two parts for winter and summer?  That's easy.  No one wants to dig post holes for a fence when the ground is frozen and why would you want to be working inside on bookshelves when it's so nice and pretty outside?  Plus, this helps us prioritize and buy supplies bits at a time so we're not always storing loads of wood and materials.

Ok, that last part was a lie.  I'd take a picture of my backyard to prove we're still hoarding materials, but I'm too embarrassed, so you'll just have to trust me.

Anyhoo- the warm weather during winter working time is really messing up our schedule.  We're trying to accomplish more "summer" projects like working on our flower beds or finishing projects floating in our back yard instead of focusing on our built in bookshelves which are next on the list.  But the time has come the walrus said!  So here is an official before picture:

I just snapped it and uploaded it- no lighting, no care to clean up or move the cat out of the mirror.  That's a legit picture.  My best?  Nope.  But isn't that how before/afters work?  You take a really bad before and then a really, really nice after.

Here's hoping we can finish before it turns warm again- I have a lot of books that need new homes and a tv that needs to move out of the bedroom.  Who's up for painting 300 feet of shelving??

What I Read: June 2012

People think that working behind the desk at a library would be a piece of cake- and they often tell me so.  Those 3 minutes I get between crazy pants patrons complaining about things I can't control when suddenly someone comes up and casually mentions that a child has pooped on the carpet?  The patron who curses at children during story time or burps in my face?  The 25 boxes of materials that come in each day that need to be scanned, sorted and called before anyone can take a lunch break or else we'll drown in books? That last minute rush to get an item that "I need to read in the next 30 minutes!  What do you mean you don't have in in stock!?" Or the patron who I repeatedly confess my personal hatred of who keeps coming back, each week, and gets in my face to tell me that I, personally, am pathetic, like this whole damn place?

Those people don't make it easy.  But the books- oh the books- they help.

Here was my list for June 2012

1.  Gypsy Boy:  My life in the secret world of Romany Gypsies by Mikey Walsh.  (288 pages)  Whoa.  This book was intense.  I was fascinated and moved and angry and so so so glad that Walsh wrote this book.  Wonderful read, but I would not consider it a "light, summer read."  

2.  The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric.  (425 pages)  A historical ficition meets science fiction novel in the juvenile section!  Sign me up!  Smart, funny, and with an index!!  A strong female character who doesn't sit around waiting for something to happen or someone to save her- a first novel for this author but a strong one.

3.  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (320 pages).  I picked this up for my cousin who stayed with me one night but I ended up reading it myself.  I loved the movie (flashback anyone?) and the book deserves to be a classic.

4.  Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (208 pages).  An award winner and a classic.  I picked this up with Harriet the Spy.

5.  The Maze Runner

6.  The Scorch Trials 

7.  The Death Cure- all by James Dashner (1120 pages total).  This trilogy is a tough one to stay on our shelves so I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about.  Was not my thing really- made the Hunger Games look like a chess tournament, but I did finish all three books in three days... so I couldn't have disliked it too much...

8.  The Discovery of Witches by Debrah Harkness (592 pages).  This was my second time reading this book but it still counts.  The sequel comes out on July 10th- I'm taking the day off to read it because I ordered it months ago and it gets delivered on that day... so I needed a refresher on the story.

9.  Bloom by Kelle Hampton (288 pages).  A wonderful memoir about loving your children and learning to enjoy the small things.  Kelle has a wonderful blog that I've read for a while now and her book was equally as charming.

10.  Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (336 pages).  I cried I laughed so hard and I cried I felt so strongly for her.  I loved this book so much I went out and bought a signed copy at Square Books.  

11.  The Moneyless Man: A year of freeconomic living by Mark Doyle (199 pages).  Exactly what it sounds like.  Eye opening and well told- this memior was well told and had an index.  This girl loves an index.

12.  Becoming Sisterwives:  The Story of an Unconventional Marriage by the Brown Family (288 pages).  Eh.  There are pologymist families I like better.  I've never seen the show, but I did not love this family on a personal level and so everything they said I had a hard time with.  Just like my opinion man.

And that's it.  Just 12 books this month and 4064 pages.  Looking back now that I've typed out my list, I'm not as impressed with myself as I was when I started this post.  But I will feel much better when all of this stuff gets turned back in on Monday.  

And that's all.  I know, I know