This is Spring?

Spring has officially sprung here in Kentucky, but I have seen very little evidence of it so far. We had a couple of warm days last week, but it is cold again with highs in the 40-degree range. There is even a chance of sleet and snow today and tomorrow!

I did get to work outside for a bit yesterday morning. Believe it or not, four years after our massive ice storm I am still using a chainsaw to remove damaged limbs from trees. Although the main portion of our lawn has been in pretty good shape since we moved here three years ago, the trees and undergrowth lining our wooded area is another story. Due to the threat of snakes and poison ivy, there is a very short window of opportunity each year for me to get in there and remove downed limbs, dead trees, etc. This time of year seems to work best for that; too cold for snakes, but not too cold for me.

Even so, I am about to die for warmer weather. As I was perusing some of my springtime photos from last year, I noticed they were dated March 15th. The photos showed blooming trees, bushes, flowers, and green grass. It is now almost April, but there is barely anything blooming outdoors. The jonquils are making a valiant effort, but the frosty mornings haven’t done them any favors. I do see the promising sight of buds on many of our trees though, so I know the beautiful blossoms are just around the corner.

We recently had our front porch jack-hammered out, our back deck removed, and a new front porch and large back patio poured along with three new sets of steps. We are currently in the early stages of getting a roof added over our back patio so we can enjoy it regardless of the weather. Maybe by the time the roof is finished, it will actually be warm enough to BBQ.

One more thing… that groundhog in Pennsylvania is a liar.

Goals for 2012

A friend of mine recommends making a to-do list at the beginning of each year. I think it’s a great way to visualize goals and help bring them to fruition. Here are a few of the things I want to accomplish this year.

  • Visit the Grand Canyon New York and Washington, DC
  • Tear off the deck and replace it with a covered patio
  • Remodel the master bathroom and finish various other home improvement projects
  • Plant more trees
  • Read, read, read

Nothing too exciting, but it helps to have a game plan!

2011 in review

My obligatory end-of-year post.

  • We went to Chicago to see Dolly Parton.
  • We got new windows installed (twice).
  • We went to Kings Island in Cincinnati.
  • I ditched Facebook for Google+.
  • My favorite album turned 20 years old.
  • We wrecked both of our vehicles.
  • Honey bought me a Kindle – which means I have read more books this year than I probably have in the last ten years combined.
  • We saw Beth Hart in Nashville.
  • We planted 12 trees.
  • I observed Lent for the first time.
  • We lost John.
  • I was included in professionally-taken photos with Honey’s family.
  • We saw Maya Angelou live.
  • We celebrated our 6th anniversary.
  • I stopped drinking sodas.
  • We went to the top of the Willis Tower.

Happy New Year, kiddos!

Blogbits

DDoS – My website has been incredibly slow or completely unresponsive over the past couple of days. I contacted my host (BlueHost) and they informed me that the server where my site resides (and several other sites) was under a DDoS attack. They recommended that I look it up on Wikipedia for more information. Basically, some computer geek out there is getting his jollies by attacking random computer servers in an attempt to shut them down. Everything seems to be back to normal now.

Deconstruction/Construction – We spent the holiday weekend dismantling the built-in, homemade cabinets that lined two walls of our over-sized utility room. We decided that a large closet in one corner of the room would be the best use for the space, so Honey built one. He amazes me with his ability to do almost anything around the house; plumbing, drywall finishing, electrical work, you name it.

Potential New Neighbors – I met the elderly couple who plan on building a new home in the wooded area behind our barn. I’ll probably write a proper blog post about that situation later, but for now let’s just say I’m not too happy about it. Even more so after looking them up on Facebook and discovering their overzealous political leanings. That kind of thing might not matter to most people, but you think about it when you’re a gay couple living in a rural area of the Bible Belt.

Blogbits

Windowgate 2011 – The newest set of windows are installed and look fantastic! This installer seemed to really know what he was doing, and even though we went with the same window brand the second time around, they were sized correctly and the house is even quieter.

Kindle – Honey gave me a Kindle e-reader for my birthday last week, and he was really happy to actually be able to surprise me for once. I absolutely adore the thing. The first book I chose to download is currently in the top spot on Amazon – Water for Elephants. The writing is brilliant, so I’m wondering how the recently-released movie bearing the same name will compare. Books are typically much better, aren’t they?

Birthday – We celebrated my birthday so many times over the past week that I’m a little scared to get on the scales, but I felt very loved throughout the various lunches, dinners, and parties. I am fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

A bright, sunshiny day

I loved today. It was one of those extravagantly beautiful days where the temperature is just perfect and there is nary a cloud in the sky. To make it even more sublime, I was given the day off with pay by my superiors. In case that sounds like the result of disciplinary action for misbehavior, it was actually a gesture of appreciation. Knowing today’s weather forecast, I certainly didn’t argue when it was offered.

For some reason, when I don’t have to get up with an alarm, I tend to wake up earlier than normal. My eyes pop open and my mind begins to ponder all the things that I should be up doing. I’m extra-tired this evening because of that, and also because I stayed up late last night thinking I would be sleeping in this morning. No such luck.

Anyway, I spent most of my day working out in the yard. It’s my form of therapy, and (depressing thought ahead) one of the few things in my life that I actually enjoy doing. I’m thrilled to report that some of the flowers I worried about surviving the frigid winter are beginning to poke their heads above ground. Seeing them feeds my spirit and I often take a moment to send a “Thank you” to the nice guy in the sky.

My sister and her kids stopped by this afternoon, and I sent them home with day lilies, irises, surprise lilies, and forsythia. Bessie smiled so brightly that I got a tan.

We are still trying to get our window problems resolved. Right now, we have plastic covering the outside of the windows that leaked during last week’s storm. The installers admitted that they covered the drain holes on the windows, so we no longer trust that they know what they are doing or that they won’t only make things worse if we allow them to try to fix the various problems. It looks like we will be having these windows removed and new ones installed by a different company. Wish us luck.

Regardless of the home improvement problems, I feel happy and content. I love this house, this land, and my wonderful partner. One year here, six years with him. I am a blessed man.