It's a long weekend here in Oh Canada. What that usually means is a trip to the cottage. Today, I'd normally be hopping in my car to run to the grocery store to stock up on cottage food. Things I only buy when we're going to the cottage, like those miniature boxes of cereal and packages of bologny (I refuse to spell it bologna). The cottage is the only time I eat a bologny sandwich. On white bread no less. I crave it other times, but I only ever eat it at the cottage.
After making sure we had enough food, I'd pack our clothes. Tee shirts and shorts mainly. Maybe my "good" sweat pants in case we decided to have Leslie and Dale over for dinner.
After getting the food and packing the clothes I'd get our toiletries together. Toothpaste, floss, moisturizer, bug repellant ... that sort of thing.
After getting the food, packing the clothes, and organizing the toiletries I'd try to find someone to watch the animals here on Green Fakers. There's the chickens, the fish, the cats and the frog. The frog mainly takes care of himself, but still ... I like to know he's O.K.
After getting the food, packing the clothes, organizing the toiletries and finding someone to look after the animals I need to tidy the house. Vacuum, put things away, generally make things presentable so that when we come home it isn't a mess. Nobody likes to come home to a mess.
So, after getting the food, packing the clothes, organizing the toiletries, finding someone to look after the animals and tidying the house I need to write lists. What not to forget, what books need to be returned to the cottage, notes for whoever is feeding the animals on what to feed them and when to clean their poop. That sort of thing.
After getting the food, packing the clothes, organizing the toiletries, finding someone to look after the animals, tidying the house and writing the lists I no longer want to go to the cottage.
It's a hell of a lot of work going to the cottage. And there isn't even room service or a swim up bar.
So I'm not going. We're not going. I refused. I crossed my little arms over my chest, stamped my foot and said no.
Why you ask? Well other than the aforementioned several sentances ... I'm not going to the cottage this weekend because of my backyard. It's making my eye twitch. I have been building a chicken coop for 2 months. Because of that, things have gotten a little out of hand.
Behold ... my backyard ...
Last Year
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And as little as I've done to clean up the backyard, I've done even less in the house. The thought of leaving this mess and then having to come home to it makes me vomit. Not just feel like I'm going to vomit, but actually vomit. O.K., I don't actually vomit but if I were writing a script for a movie about this, the character of "me" would vomit. All over the place.
I'm one coat of paint away from completing the chicken coop. One coat of paint. I simply cannot, will not leave, when I am so close to being done. We haven't had a single dinner outside because of the mess. We haven't smoked a single rack of ribs, because of the mess. We haven't had a Friday night disco dance party outside in our p'jamas because we never do that and never will. But even if we wanted to, we couldn't ... because of the mess.
So we're staying home to turn this junkpile into a place to live again.
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Hopefully the weekend won't be a complete bust just because we're staying home and cleaning up. The good news is I have a plan. If things start to get grim, I'm gonna break out the bologny.
Is it easy to keep weeds away from between the pavers?
http://www.decorellaknox.com/2012/05/backyard-update.html
Yup. They don't really like to grow in the sand that's brushed in between the pavers. And if they do grow there, they're very easy to pull out. ~ k
Karen,
please destroy the before photos.
along with the evidence that there was bologny.
pve
Buy all of the non perisables and leave them at the cottage. Clothes to. also? too? I don't know. Life is too short not to go too or to the cottage if you have one girl.
Linda -If I were the type of person to drop everything to go to the cottage the website would be called The Art of Lounging Around. ;) ~ karen
Oh God if only we were all as organized as Susan...We;ve had our beach place for 10 years and each time it's like starting all over again, except that I do usually leave some toiletries and nonperishables there...Just arrived for a month's stay and my car looked like I was headed for Borneo or something....Thank you Karen for being honest and funny and making the rest of us real folks feel better about our crazy lives!
Karen,
I'd be tempted to encourage you by saying, "It's really coming along!", but I once ruined a friendship by saying that. Life lesson #783: Some people interpret that remark to mean, "It's really sucking a lot less."
And although you probably feel that way right now, you're almost done, so yay!!! (And insert whatever remark is most personally uplifting to you here.)
Very sweet that The Fella reads your blog!
Lol, is he commenting from another room in the house???
Karen J - The fella reads the blog every day at 9:30 from work. He's my biggest support next to my mother who thinks you're in a wheelchair. ~ karen
Some helpful suggestions:
1. If you or the fella own the cottage, stock it with clothes and toiletries at the beginning of the summer and leave them there. That takes two items off the list for every trip after the first one.
2. The lists of animal To-dos for the animal sitters should only need to be written once on a computer, and then just amended, in the event one of the animals needs special attention for some reason, or there have been additions/removals to the menagerie. That takes a third item from the list.
3. Place a box somewhere centralized where any item that needs to be returned to the cottage can be placed. Then you just have to pick up the box and put it into the vehicle. That's a fourth item removed from list.
Now you're left with food, and if, as you think of them, you put non-perishable items into the Return to Cottage box, then you only have to deal with perishables.
So, clean the house, arrange for animal sitters, print out animal To-do lists, put one box in the vehicle, stop for perishables, and you're off to the cottage.
I'd have stayed home to finish the coop and clean up, also. Completing it will lift so much tension off, that it will seem like you're on a permanent vacation for awhile! Thanks, once again, for brightening our day.
I always thought the alternate spelling was baloney.
If this was my weekend I think I would feel as good about finishing the coop and cleaning the yard as if I had gone to the cottage. But my boyfriend probably would not agree.
Emily - You could be right! About the bologny boloney. But I thought boloney spelt that was was the alternative for hooey. I'm so confused. ~ karen
I'm pretty sure you could not possibly be more fabulous. I am in awe of your writing ability (and your ability to tie together a post with a big freakin' bow at the very end). Loved it.
Good luck with your working weekend!
Thank you Kristin! I would be more fabulous if I didn't need highlights by the way. ~ karen
LOL - I remember making the list, thinking, oh it's too much trouble/hassle to go, going anyway (after all it's unCanadian not to go) the weather being perfect, having a great time.
BUT I'm not one coat of paint away from being done a chicken coop and I don't have a beautiful backyard to enjoy so really it's a no brainer for me.
Have a great long weekend!