Almost Caught Up

Generally, there is only two times a year that I get the cleaning bug...

Spring...

And Fall...

It seems a little early to have the Fall cleaning urge hit, but it has.

I just have a couple of areas left to get after, but if I keep up this pace...by the time real Fall hits...I won't have anything to do but a little winterization. I can ride to my heart's content when the weather gets beautiful again.

I think I will even get a couple of projects I had planned on waiting 'til next Spring done. A friend's husband has had a lot of time off lately and I asked if he would be interested in some day labor work. I just don't have a clue when it comes to getting my irrigation in order...well, I have a clue, but I'm not that enthused about having to do it all by myself...so he will be coming over next week to take a look at everything. Hopefully, we will get the drainage trenches dug out and new pipe installed so I can properly irrigate these last couple of months. If that be the case, then I am going to have another friend come over, tear most of the pasture up and have it reseeded. I do plan on leaving 5 acres alone so I have a place to turn horses out this winter While they are at it, I am going to have them leave an arena sized area unplanted. I'm not all that concerned about getting an actual arena put up...it's not like I actually need a fence around my riding area. I just need a decent place to set my patterns up and work my horses.

It took the contractor we hired...TWO....months to get the roof replaced and doors on my little 2-stall barn...but he finally got it done. Now I just need to get the rest of the junk out of there, pack some dirt in the stalls and around the foundation and get my pens set up so the horses I put in there can have indoor/outdoor access.

I am hoping my friend's husband is going to put a loafing shed up for me as well. The aforementioned...slow as molasses...contractor was supposed to build it, but I was so irritated by his lack of work ethic by the time he got my barn done...I ixnayed having him do any other work. Slow might not have been so bad...but my husband TOLD the guy it was MY barn and to do whatever *I* wanted done on it. Every time the guy had a question, he would hang around until MH showed up and beeline it to him to see if it was 'okay' to do what I asked him to do. MH finally got mad at the guy and told him to, "Stop It. The barn was none of his (my husband's) business." The guy got the hint and stopped bothering MH. He must have known he messed up badly because he didn't even bother to ask about the other work we had initially asked him if he was interested in doing. Not very smart in this economy to screw yourself out of about $10,000 worth of work (shakes head in disgust).

Instead, I have another contractor lined up to do the repairs on the exterior of the house. New windows, screen doors, trim and gutters, along with replacing some shingles on the house and reshingling my storage shed. I really, really want to get that work done this year as well as get the house sprayed with stucco and painted before another winter. Our heating costs weren't horrible last year, but they could be improved on.

Sometimes I don't think we have even made a dent in the to-do list around here, but the other night we ran into one our neighbors and he praised us on how much better this place looks. I guess this place used to be quite beautiful. We have not come close to restoring it to it's former glory, but I guess we have made a noticeable dent.

(Sorry...I keep meaning to take pictures...but really not that interesting...just piles of weeds I have pulled, cleaning pens, watering trees and getting the mowing all done up.)