I'm alive, I promise.

This is just a quick note to say that I haven't been doing much on the house lately.  Life is good and I've been spending time enjoying the yard rather than working in it.  I feel like I've earned a tiny break even if I do start to feel lazy at times.  All of those plans I had to replace the west fence and paint the cement slab . . . well the sun finally came out and there's all this beer to drink and friends to entertain and weekends to spend out of town.  

The last year has been crazy and fun and I've been really happy.  It's been hard sometimes, feeling like I needed to justify doing something that makes me happy (people seemed oddly fixated on the fact that I was single--it's great to buy a house but why not find a HUSBAND first?).  A lot of people hate home improvement so they regard me as a lunatic with no life.  But how often do you get to acquire a whole new skill set at your own pace?  I learned how to do basic plumbing and electrical and how to build a fence and tape drywall corners and I never once worried about getting fired.  I also love hosting and cooking for people; I'd haul out another 1900 pounds of concrete for the simple joy of splitting a bottle of wine and dinner with a friend in my newish backyard. 

Now I just have to deal with people who expect that I'm constantly in the middle of some home improvement project. 

"What are you working on now?  Gutting your kitchen?"

"Um . . . the plants have filled in?"  I also changed the lightbulb in the bathroom.  JEEZ, LAY OFF ME.

Those piles of dirt are still in front of the house . . . I'll get there eventually.