Rick Hadley: 5/4/15 Time to relax a little

hadley website photoIf you listen to these commentaries on a regular basis, you know that Veronica and I bought a house not so long ago. And we haven’t rested since.

The place was built in 1925 and for a home that is 90 years old, it’s in very good shape. However, a lot of what was left by the previous owner was not to our liking. As a result, we have spent almost every spare moment since moving in working on one project or another.

Before we ever moved in we hired contractors to repaint most of the interior. And we hired people to refinish the hardwood floor and put in some hardwoods where there were none.

We have hung light fixtures and ceiling fans. We have put in blinds and put up curtains. We have changed out plumbing fixtures. We have hung wall art. We have mobilized a major assault on the yard, which was a mess of crazy, random plantings. I’ve never seen a yard where you have out of control bamboo, asparagus growing randomly in one spot with mint popping up with no rhyme or reason and plain old weeds being left to flourish. There was English ivy growing wild that had to be trimmed, strange flower beds planted around the front and back yard and weird mixings of landscaping materials from sandstone to wooden beams to endless amounts of steel edging waiting to slice open toes.

We’ve dug, raked, pulled, planted grass seed, watered, weeded and more. And there was a carport rain gutter that must not have been cleaned out in a decade. It was full of dirt and weeds growing up tall and healthy. That was a nearly two hour job.

After our custom living room blinds came in – they are those fancy kind that you can pull down from the top or up from the bottom – and I installed them, Veronica told me that the house is finally good enough. That meant it’s in a place where we can tackle a project down the road. That mulch that needs to be spread can wait. Those vines on the fence can be cut down later. The tons of pea gravel in an old driveway area can be removed next year. It’s time to relax.

It only took nearly two months.

That’s what I’m thinking.

Rick Hadley
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