An Update to Our "To Do" List

The arbor looking like it did 4 years ago!

AJ had this weekend off, so we spent some time working on the "to do" list.  We would like to complete this before Aidan's arrival, but we shall see.  There's a lot left to do, and with this hot weather, we are working slowly, but surely.  I do know that some of the big items will be taken care of, and if we don't paint any more rooms, it won't matter.  They have been the same ugly, sloppy paint for 4.5 years, what's another?

• Refresh paint on Arbor and swing
• On Sunday, I finished painting the arbor, bought new post caps and painted them, and rehung the swing.  Now to weed the area around the pavers.  AJ already sprayed a chemical to kill the weeds - they just need to be pulled!
• Finish the chairs for the dining room
• Finish the china cabinet for the dining room
• Bring stuff to Goodwill
• Replace carpet in living room and hallway
• Flooring 360 out of Augusta was able to find an exact match for our engineered hardwood floor currently installed in the dining room.  We couldn't find the original store that supplied the builder, but Flooring 360 knew how to find them and our floor!  So AJ went to Augusta to pay for the material and pick up some delicious Bojangles chicken!
• Straighten up the office
• Consider this done!  Though it does get paperwork dumped on the desk, between AJ and I each straightening up our area, we completely overhauled the mess!
• Repaint the front door frame
• It's amazing the difference it makes to sand and repaint something, but the front door frame looks great!  It took a few hours on Sunday, but it was well worth the effort.  Plus, I did this work in the early AM, so it wasn't hot.  Afterwards, I cooled off in the neighbor's pool (showered off first, of course!)
• Caulk the concrete brick joints/cracks due to settlement
• After painting the front door frame and letting it dry, I vacuumed up all the paint chips and dirt out of the brick joint where the cracks occurred.  Then I applied the caulk and did my best to make it neat.  Oh well, at least water can't get into the crack and make it worse.
• Weed the mulch beds and add new mulch
• We bought mulch, which is a start!  AJ began weeding the front yard's mulch bed and added mulch, but there are two mulch beds in the backyard and plenty around the trees that need work.  Lots left to do.  I also forgot the sides of the house have mulch beds.  Argh, lots more to do than I realized.
• Plant the elephant ear
• My neighbor gave me an elephant ear that I had wanted for years...I've had it in a pot on the sidewalk for months.  Ever since the UPS guy warned me of a 4' black snake in the mulch beds, I have been weary of planting anything.  Good excuse to not plant it. :(
• Paint the remainder of the rooms
• The guest bathroom was completed two weeks ago so I could hang a cabinet to store baby towels and wash clothes.  AJ bought a paint sprayer to use with his compressor, so I think he's going to tackle the garage soon.  This will leave the master bedroom, master bathroom, and the office.  The office will be the most difficult since there's a lot of furniture and a heavy gun safe!  We'll see if it gets painted...