Wanted to do a post of this and that catch up probably more for me than any of you will care!  Oh wait and my Mom!  LOL   I promise tomorrow back to flowers and birds!

I've been doing less computer time (not a bad thing) and spending more time getting things around home done while we have such lovely spring weather.  I'm happy to say things are actually getting done and I'm trying hard to stick to my goal of starting something and finishing it before starting something else.  See I'm a serial multi-tasker (as most women are) and was finding that I was starting a lot of "projects" and not actually finishing them.  Go figure.   Now I say that keeping in mind that not all projects are quick finishes and are long term.

With the warm weather continuing I did decide to bite the bullet and remove the blanket of leaves from the front flower bed.  As you saw earlier the crocus are blooming like crazy and I was seeing so many things poking up through and starting to see a bit of mold on the bottom layer of leaves.  I was astounded by the amount of new growth out there.   Of course I then remembered that I have relegated most of the flower bed to bulbs (easier to take care of) so YAY!   Now of course it is inevitable that we will either get a heavy snow or a hard freeze.  Oh well!

Another big accomplishment was finishing some serious cleaning in the garage.   I had, 2 years ago done a massive cleaning and built my shop bench but as with all serial multi-taskers I still had pegboard to hang and really wanted to get some things put away that were cluttering the bench so that I could get back out and work with my scroll saw again (it has been years!).   Already had gotten lovely little containers to hang on the pegboard and put all those little nuts and bolts and nails in and now they are actually hung up.  Another plastic container with things in it I didn't even realize were there then was emptied and things are now out in plain sight hanging where I can see them and get to them.  THAT my friends makes me feel VERY good!   I see some scrolling in my future finally.     Cleaning also meant sweeping and moving out a bunch of lumber that friends are planning to take off my hands soon - as well as the very old band saw.   What they don't use they promised to take to the ReStore for Habitat for Humanity (which has already gotten one load from me this Spring).   Win win there too.

After receiving a lovely small portable gas grill from my amazing brother for my birthday (no that hasn't happened yet), I was also able to find a friend that has a big deck and wanted the super large gas grill I had.  Best of all I got a big juicy steak and the cutest teeny tomato plant that I'm now tasked with not killing till my Mom gets here!   That left this weekend as well.   Another win!   Now to deliver the bike trailer/stroller to another friend in Bozeman and that will move on to a new home!   Another win!  How lucky am I?

The trailer is creeping ever closer to being ready to roll and I am hoping to get it out soon....if not guess maybe we'll do a test camp in my yard.  haha    Got the generator last week, got the propane tanks filled, and outfitted an arm for the TV/computer screen this past weekend (kind of a disaster and what could have been a wonderful mount ended up kind of ticking me off actually - 2 stars on Amazon for that one).  While I got it to work it isn't as advertised but was the only one I could find that would work.   Still it will allow me to remove the TV and stash it in a dog crate to ride and hang it out of the way otherwise.  Also got the new shower head mounted.   I took 5 of the dogs and let them hang out in the trailer with me while I worked and surprise to me - Teddy was the one that was anxious.  Magic and Bandit who I thought would balk at it were fine.  Ever closer and boy do I have itchy feet and want to get it out a couple times before my big trip in June just to work out the kinks and the space.

My other project has been putting up a backsplash in the newly painted kitchen.   I had wanted to get this really nice peel and stick tile (real tile wouldn't work as it was going on wallboard with a paper covering that would have absorbed the moisture in the mastic and peeled off) called Aspect until I did the calculations and found it would cost $600!   Yeah, with plans in the next 10 years to remodel the kitchen that didn't seem realistic so I found these things called Smart Tiles.   I ordered a couple of single samples from Wayfair and was really glad I did since the one I "thought" I'd like I didn't.   One did work really well so spent a couple evenings last week putting those up.   SUPER EASY and you can cut them with an Xacto blade or scissors.   Honestly, you can't really tell they aren't glass tiles.   The picture doesn't do it justice so you'll have to trust me on that.   I am very happy with the results and it makes the kitchen so much lighter.   Finished putting on new base plates for the outlets and I can say that project is done.  Check!

Sterling and I went and did therapy this past weekend as well - which as you all know means bath and groom for him.  He looks so very handsome with his hair all groomed.    The ladies at Son Heaven are all healthy again (last month we skipped an entire building because they had a flu and bronchitis outbreak) and very happy to see him.  Apparently there is now one more resident dog (who we didn't see) and another lady has a son staying with her who has a therapy Chihuahua.   We did run into that dog and I have a hard time with it being a "therapy" dog when Dad lets the dog run loose all through the facility and bark and yap and he's not there.   She was totally freaked by Sterling once she wasn't able to sniff him incognito and went into a lovely chi barking fit.  Dad said she was just scared and get this, picks her up and tries to stick her in Sterling's face!  WTH!   I very politely (it is hard but I can do it) told him she was just fine on the floor, Sterling was attached to me and to let her continue to figure it out on her own.   He politely hauled her back to his Mom's room.   Okay.    Apparently he missed some of the actual therapy dog handler classes/rules.  <eye roll>    We also got to go visit Sterling's favorite buddy Virginia, who has moved to a new facility.   We've been once before and it was wonderful to see her.  She adores him and he adores her.   Again, on the way out - the people that own the house/facility had a loose dog there (not sure who/what it was) that decided running up on Sterling was okay, so I just put my hand down to break the eye contact (was some kind of herding dog cross) and keep him from charging into Sterling's face and the dog skittered away like it had been beaten.   Wow really!!!!   Not exactly a dog I would say belongs in a facility for seniors with dementia but okay.    Will just remember that next time we go.   Sterling ROCKED the house on both counts and even though he isn't a fan of strange dogs he didn't react and was very polite - even in the face of adversity!   Good boy!

Another busy week ahead....Epic poodle needs a bath and groom (time for summer haircuts and he's spending way too much time rolling in the dead grass and hauling it in the house), Bandit is having dental work done, truck is getting it's 100K tuneup, deck time (hey a girl has to pause once and a while) and well more wood hauling.   I see more chainsaw work in my future - it's been two years since I ran the chainsaw so hope I remember how to start it!

Sorry to all on the East Coast and Mid West that I hear are STILL getting winter, while we are seeing spring (although on the flip side we are so dry it is scary).   Have a good week regardless peeps!!!