So, What Now ?

Being a "Clear The To Do List" person is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that you get lots of things done.  People around you begin to recognize all that hard work and usually praise your efficiency.  There is a sense of satisfaction in knowing your productivity is so high.  Any fears that you might be considered a lazy person are ridiculous.  Give the task to yourself and everyone knows it will get done, and done right!

The curse is that it becomes nearly impossible to "just relax."  Because you perform best when there is a list of things to get done, when the tables are turned and there is theoretically nothing to do (because the current list is finished) then you are lost.  This also limits your ability to stop and smell the roses or in other words, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Stole this from Google Maps ... it's a good "Before" picture of the house

And here's an "After" picture from close to the same angle
(what you can't see are the concrete walkways and tree ring)

 

Having finally *finished the landscaping for our front yard (which has been a full six-month project comprised of more steps than I have time to recount), I find myself unable to just sit and enjoy the new yard.  I'm asking myself "What's next?" and the logical answer is to create a new "To Do List."
*The sprinkler manifold and drainage area next to it still need to be covered with landscape fabric and rocked.  This includes digging some sort of french drain for the downspout.

So instead of just taking a break to enjoy our new front yard, here's a short list of projects or things I need to work on now:
 - Fix the back of the couch in the movie room
 - Fix the garage door keypad
 - Rearrange items in the garage (hang bikes and other summer items)
 - Clean out and organize the game room area in the basement
 - Switch out Josh Jr's bed (he has the extra queen sized "guest" bed and wants a regular twin bed so he doesn't have to give up his room when friends come to visit)
 - Move Brooklyn out of the Bunkhouse to her own room upstairs (she will be the recipient of the aforementioned queen-sized bed)
 - Fix the wall and carpet from Ben's room
 - Tile the floor outside the basement shower
 - Re-paint the lower wall in the office
 - Dig out the backyard sprinkler heads
 - Begin building the retaining wall in the backyard
 - Strip the old paint and re-paint the posts on the gazebo

There are probably 100 or more other projects on my long-term To Do List, but these are ones I hope to finish before the cold of winter sets in.  Looking at the list, I am beginning to rethink the value of being a 'Clear the To Do List' person.  :)


Song Of The Day:
Once again we were blessed with rain today so I have selected another rain-themed song.  It's time to get your country music on with "Rain Is A Good Thing" by Luke Bryan.  In relation to this post, rain is a good thing to force me to relax, since it limits my ability to do many of the items on my next To Do list.

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What Makes A Good Day Off ?

It has been many, many years since I have taken a true "day off" from work.  This does not mean I have worked every day straight for many years, but time off that I have scheduled away from the office has all been for a designated purpose: family vacation, scout activities, helping someone move, medical or dental appointments, etc.

Today, I was scheduled off with quite literally NO SET PLANS.

And what a glorious day it has been!  :)

Now, my version of a great day off is decidedly different from probably most people in the world.  Let me describe to you what I've done today and you can see if anything on this list fits your version of a great day with no set plans.

The day started later than normal as I was able to sleep in for about an hour (thanks to my sweet wife who made this possible).  I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, during which I read some of the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated (a pretty neat "Where Are They Now?" issue, that includes an update on all the kids from the movie "The Sandlot").

After getting ready for the day, I headed outside and completed about two dozen tasks or projects that have been calling my name for a long time.  During which time, I listened to song after song on Pandora radio on my iPhone.  That alone was very relaxing!  Here are some of the projects / tasks I got done today in just 5 or 6 hours.
 - I cleared out junk from the last junky area of my garage.
 - I insulated the panels, installed sheet rock, and filled the cracks and holes.
 - I organized the remaining sheet rock and assorted items that needed to be kept in the garage.
 - I moved wood, extra insulation, and assorted other items to the backyard shed.
 - I cleaned and folded the landscape fabric I have collected from the rock sections that have been cleared in the front yard.  This included discarding the pieces that were not worth saving to reuse, while separating the other pieces by size (for easy use later when I put rocks back down in the front yard).
 - I piled up the dead weeds, grasses, and bush trimmings on the side yard, to be burned once I have a nice fire pit in the backyard.
 - I cleared and leveled an area behind the back fence where I moved our garbage cans from the garage (this has been bugging me for a LONG time!)
 - I replaced the broken wheel on my wheelbarrow with one from my neighbor.  I plan to return my "almost new" wheelbarrow to him once the moving of rocks is done.
 - I hung camp chairs, an ironing board, two bikes, and assorted swim / snow stuff in the garage.
 - I installed heavy duty hooks to hold both new ladders I got from my parents (an older extension ladder and a 10-foot heavy duty ladder.  They look NICE on the side of the garage, if I do say so myself.
 - I connected and lightly covered with dirt the 4-inch plastic drain pipe on the front of the house ... just before it really started raining!
 - Then I stood in the pouring rain for probably 5 minutes just letting myself get soaked to the bone.  It felt so good after getting hot and sweaty all afternoon.
 - And lastly, I swept out the garage and dry portions of the front driveway.

This evening I will join up with my wife (she has been at the pool with most of our kids, after doing lots of homework for her online classes) and enjoy dinner out with some great friends.  After which, we will get kids in bed and then head over to their home to play some games and hang out.

The hanging out is the icing on the cake to a great "free" day.  It feels like a hard-earned reward for a hard day working on things that I wanted to do and not what someone else asked or told me to do.  I'm not big on sitting around very much, especially when there is stuff to be done.  But when it gets done, I love sitting back and feeling great about being good and productive.

How about you?  Anything from my "great day off" make it on your list?

Song Of The Day:
Today's song is "Great Day To Be Alive" by Travis Tritt.  I've liked this song for many years and it came to mind while writing this post.  His great day is certainly nothing like mine, but the message is that any day can be a great day to be alive.

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