I have a yard!

We severely neglected our backyard over the winter, and because it was such a mild one, the grass and weeds continued to grow rather than go dormant. Most of the yard was three feet high. So last week I decided to tackle it a section at a time. This also meant weed whacking since the grass--and I do use that term lightly--was so tall. Weed whack first, then mow over it to pickup what was whacked down and cut the rest. I've been using the bag, too, because that's just too much to leave lying on the lawn.

We've had a terrible habit of leaving the lawn and leaf bags (the paper kind) out and inevitably we forget to drag them to the curb and then it rains leaving them soggy on the bottom. Then they tear and we still have piles of yard waste. But not this time. Thank goodness--we hauled all the bags to the shed. And thank goodness we had the foresight. It rained for over 12 straight hours Monday night. And after all the rain we've had recently, our yard is saturated. Anyway--the point is our yard bags are still dry and intact for hauling to the curb this evening or tomorrow morning.

We actually have our patio back as well. It all still needs some work, but at least it looks like a yard should. The best part is that DH has taken over some of that work and I haven't had to carry the load on my own.

I also finally have new outlets with outlet covers in my writing room. Of course, my writing room may well become my Brown Eyed Girl's bedroom again, but that's okay. At least it's all fixed up and looks nice should she decide to come live at home for a while.

The quest for new words continues. But it's getting harder. I'm running out of story, which means the story's almost finished. Which means revisions. Which, actually, I don't mind all that much. As far as my writing incentive goes (the charm bracelet from my writing group) I have earned the bracelet and the first charm. This next month (from meeting to meeting) will be adding the last scenes and the rest of the words, and the month after that will be hard core revisions. After that, I don't know. Either another month of revisions, along with new words on the companion story, or submission time (along with new words on the next book).

Along with all of the above, is dealing with the issues of a recovering drug addict (my aforementioned Brown Eyed Girl). DH and I will be going to see her tonight to discuss her wants/needs/expectations about her living arrangements once she's released from the halfway house.

But we're halfway through the week and that's a very good thing. Hope your week is going well!