Welcome to Spring

 Sigh.  Perhaps I need to make the commitment to write quarterly.  This seems to be all I am good for.  A quick update on life:
      J has lost his job, and hasn't worked since January.  While this doesn't affect our lifestyle (beyond my loss of a cleaning lady), it does affect his mental well-being.  And mine.  He needs gainful employment.  Anyone have a job he can do from our house?
     I have once again been unsuccessful in my campaign to become an elementary school principal.  There's something about my interview style that turns the committee off.  I, apparently, have "a quality".  This has made me sink back into daydreams of chucking it all and running off to make homemade preserves and sell them in a handmade stall on the side of the road...or to hie myself off to academia and get another degree...or win powerball and megamillions and spend the rest of my life travelling the world.
     Actually, I do have a small side project that I'm exploring at the moment.  If it comes to fruition, I'll share.
     Invariably what I return to when faced with disaster and a lack of control is making lists so that there's an illusion of control.  I turn to the 15 for an update as I begin to think about summer projects and what I want to do with those 10 blessed weeks that can't come soon or fast enough.
  1. Hang the garden hose mount on the side of the house and break down the large cardboard box it came in that is currently on my living room floor and has been there since April with the cordless drill that has been charging since late May.  I'm not sure this one will ever happen, despite the fact that I want the square of living room floor back.  It is now Spring.  I need to impose.
  2. Work on scrapbooking my wedding. It's been 3 years, people.  You don't honestly think I've done a thing about this, do you?
  3. Decide what to do about the laundry sink and the current plumbing problems that it has (we cannot turn the hot water tap, there are no shutoffs, the tub itself isn't particularly sturdy)Hooray!  There are shut off valves and new taps, thanks to a faulty trap.  The plumber came, and an hour later we had a working laundry sink!  I get to replace this one!!!
  4. Repaint the side door off the garage.
  5. Replace the light fixture on the patio.
  6. Research how much that front window is going to cost to replace, and then decide if it should be done before the energy reassessment is done on the house.  Oh - and get them to quote on shutters and a new storm doorThe front window has been replaced.  And the storm door.  I've decided to repaint the shutters.  I'm hoping to go nowhere for Victoria Day, and paint then.  The shutters and the garage door.  And the front door.  I've decided that it needs another coat of paint.
  7. Learn to operate the sewing machine from my mother in law, or get rid of it.
  8. Deal with the boxes on the living room floor.  I have offered to host a wedding shower for a friend in June.  I have to clean out the living room.  I have a month.  Good Lord, what have I agreed to?
  9. Buy a great carpet for the living roomAnd great curtains.  This is to come.  The curtains are hideous, but we're still going around about colour for the walls and if the living room curtains should match the dining room (note:  they should.  Don't listen to my husband.)  Then we'll talk area rug.
  10. Practice the guitar.  Ongoing.  I'm working on After the Gold Rush by Neil Young with arpeggiation at the moment.
  11. Freecycle more. 
  12. Cook at home 5 days a week, and try some of the recipes that seem to be stacking up everywhere. I should not spend time on allrecipes.com.  Ongoing.  Some weeks are better than others.  But with less income means a need to not go out so much.  I try lots of new recipes, and a friend gave me a hard time about eating out, so I've taken to taking pictures and posting my dinner on Facebook.  Accountability helps!
  13. Research and plan for getting a dog.  This is one that J and I have been rolling around with for a couple of months.  We're thinking summer.  This is currently on hold.
  14. Go swimming, or do something. I have been looking at the Summer Activity guide and have come to the conclusion that I should be doing something. Swimming has always appealed, and it's not that much.  I haven't been.  My osteopath (looong story...I should really blog about the experience and the revelation that it has been) suggests I try some yoga.  I've been looking, but haven't done anything.
  15. Read. Currently, I am rereading one of my favourite trashy romance novels.  It's all I'm good for.  I'm hoping this summer to try something a little newer, but not a lot deeper.