The First Rose...

 My wife spotted them first, two rose bush starters at Costco...not necessarily known for its vegetation. Maybe it is for some, but when I think "Costco," I'm usually not thinking about plants.

But there they were.

And later, they were planted in front of our porch.

Yesterday, I snapped a picture of our first rose bud.

If you've read previous blogs, you know me and yard work don't mix. I am, however, finding myself doing more yard work this spring than I have possibly ever done before in my life. Okay...that may be an exaggeration, but it sure feels that way.

I'm never sure if what we plant is going to survive. The first fruit tree we planted didn't. Then again, we've learned a lot since then. We planted three more trees and they seem to be doing well--I mean, they're still alive after a few months, so I'd say they're doing well (much better than the first tree...).

We have plans for more, more trees, more plants, more flowers. It's only our first spring here. Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll get more green at the Eggnog House.

Sometimes...We Wish We Could Have Chickens

 Back where we used to live, we could have raised chickens. We had enough land to have chickens, but we never pulled the trigger. There were times we thought about raising goats or other animals. We did not have enough land for that.

When we found the area where we wanted to move, we revisited the "maybe we should get chickens" idea. The new area is even more of a rural area than where we lived. Lots of chickens, horses, goats, sheep, even llamas up here. We found a house with enough land to put up a chicken coop (maybe one similar to that found in the picture...).

Problem...

One of the rules for the subdivision is: no chickens.

Raising chickens is like other things that require time and effort. Before, I kept thinking about what would be do with the chickens if we were to go out of town for a week. We'd need to get someone to take care of the animals when we were gone. The funny thing is, if we had gotten chickens at the old house, we'd never have to get anyone to watch the chickens because we really never left for any extended period of time. Now, that chance is over.

No more chickens.

New Year's Resolutions...One We Might Just Do

 Many make new year's resolutions, myself included. Many have failed to follow through on those resolutions, myself included. There are several things that I do on a regular basis I would describe as positive. I suppose at some point--either consciously or subconsciously--I made a resolution to do these things (I wonder if the same could be said for the negative things I do...). 

In my fifty-five years on this planet, I know that making resolutions in no way guarantees success. In order for me to adopt a positive habit, I need to want to do it, want to make it part of me, want me to be a better person by doing it.

This morning we set up the beginnings of a home gym. We found a house that has a HUGE garage, something we're unaccustomed to having. This thing could house multiple VW beetles, or four normal-sized cars. One section of the garage is deep, more than the width of the house. When my wife first saw it, she envisioned that space to be perfect for a home gym.

I agreed.

We're starting small. We have a not-overly-used treadmill and I have a stationary bike apparatus that allows me to convert and use a normal bike inside. We're looking for an elliptical machine (if you have one that works and you would like it gone from your house, let us know...). We're even going to set up a Nintendo Wii unit and pretend to play tennis and such.

For the past week, we've been de-cluttering and organizing. We have a ways to go until we're finished, but little by little, things are coming together. We've worn ourselves out by all the work we've put in. Interestingly enough, we'll now try and wear ourselves out in other ways. I hope this resolution sticks. After all, we've already done a lot of work to get this far--might as well keep it going.

Hence, one way to make a resolution successful.

The Cardboard Mountain...The Sequel

 When you have annual to burn and no where to go, really, what is there to do? If you've got a basement and garage full of boxes and those boxes are full of stuff, the time off can be used to de-box, de-clutter, and de-disorganize.

So that's what we've been doing.

There's a mountain of cardboard boxes in our garage that stands as a testament to how much we've done so far.

Oh, why do we have all this stuff? I've got many many boxes to still to go through that have the words, "Scott's Office" on them. How did I manage to fill so many boxes full of office supplies? I think the fact that I previously worked in a basement storage room and there was no shortage of space for me to accumulate office items.

We still have a long way to go until everything is in its rightful place. We may, of course, need to buy new places for all those things. Interesting thing about buying new places, they usually come in cardboard boxes, so when we buy new shelves and other things for all our stuff still stored in our boxes, we'll be generating more cardboard to add to our already large cardboard mountains.

 Vicious circle.

What Am I Going To Do With All These Clothes...And Shoes?

 A few years ago my work decided to send me home and I became a telecommuter. I was. ahead of the curve. I distinctly remember thinking, "I'm never going to need to buy another pair of dress shoes in my life."

A few years before they sent me home I discovered Dr. Martens Shoes. And I discovered they last a really long time--thick soles. I had purchased a new pair of Dr. Martens a few months earlier (because my old pair finally bit the dust...) and because I was working from home and didn't need to wear those shoes, I thought that I would most likely never wear out my new pair.

That was then. Looks like there's more things I will most likely not wear out than shoes.

We moved my daughter out of one bedroom and into another last week. This means I was able to utilize the bedroom's closet space. I think I am by nature a hoarder. Must be something I picked up from my parents who both grew up in the Great Depression. It something has value--whether or not you particularly need it--you keep it. I moved a bunch of my clothes I no longer wear into the closest, which includes a lot of shoes. I filled it up, actually. 

After I finished, I snapped a picture. It was strange looking at clothes that have miles of wear in them, but I just don't need them, at least, not like I once did. There may be one day in the future when I'll need to wear suits every day, or even business casual on Fridays. Maybe...

I can't be the only one who is experiencing this. For many, I'm sure they expect to put on the suit and tie, shine the black leather shoes, and return to the office. I hope they do, if that's what they want. As for me in my house, I'll be happy with a closet full of not the best, but well-maintained clothing while I happily work from home.

When You Have Two Cats...You Might as Well Have Ten

 At our old house, we had six people living with three pets. And because the animals all had different personalities, we had perfected a system that kept them all separated. It required shifts and a series of gates that must be opened and closed at specific times (think The Others, but different...). 

And it worked.

But then, we moved.

And the whole thing had to be re-established.

Add to the fact that we're in the process of finishing the basement and things get even more complicated. Hopefully, when everything's done, we'll set up a new system to accommodate the three pets--I'm sure we'll perfect that system, too.

But now, it's kind of crazy.

When the dog goes to bed, the cats come out and play. We believe the dog would love to play with the cats, but the cats think the dog would like to eat them, so they haven't had a chance to place nice together. Since they're all set in their ways, they most like never will play together. That's okay--we've lived with gates and separation for years. We can keep going. What's been interesting is seeing the cats get together.

Not what we expected.

The cats don't fight. Sure, they hiss a little and paw at each other, but if they truly hated each other, it would be a different story. It's been fun to watch them walk around together when the dog is gone. Keeping things under control when a single cat's around is one thing. When there's two...that increases the  problems exponentially. We might as well have ten of them running around.

We love our pets--can't imagine life without them. Sure, they're a pain at times. I guess that's what makes us love them so much...all that work.