things to do ...

The furniture I purchased in Kansas City in late May was delivered today. I finally have the TV in the living room up high enough to see it from the kitchen (over the kitchen bar & living room built-in bookcases). I also purchased a couple of small side tables for chairs in the living room and a "butler" for the kitchen. The butler has "some assembly required" so it is still in the box. I will try to get it put together this weekend, if I can do it without having to get someone to help.

I look at my "to do" list and wonder what to tackle first. I need to:

• put together the kitchen butler;
• do some yardwork in the beds at my new home, including some weeding and creating a bed between the front wall and where I had the sidewalk poured (the other landscaping will have to wait until next year);
• do some yardwork at the house on Stoneborough, including weeding and trimming those 6' high junipers (again!);
• trim trees both at the house on Stoneborough and at the new one on Glenmoor;
• finish unpacking & straightening all the storage areas at the new home, including the garage;
• put knobs or handles on all the cabinets & drawers (in the kitchen, all three bathrooms, and the utility room for a total of 54 knobs & 15 drawer handles); and
• stain or paint several pieces of furniture.

The weather will have to cooperate for the yardwork. It's either been thunderstorms or wind advisory conditions for the past week or more. We've had 3 or 4 hailstorms since Memorial Day weekend. The last couple of days, there has been severe damage from the wind - gusting at times between 80 and 120 mph in places. (Seriously.) The "straight line wind" took the roof all of some houses and other buildings and even topppled two 75' grain elevators this past week.

Brief bunny trail: I will always remember the first time I saw a straight line wind. I had never even heard the term that I could recall. I watched it coming towards our house on Stoneborough Court late one Saturday afternoon. I had been working in the yard and was just to the point of putting things away when the wind picked up suddenly and viciously. I could see the storm in the distance, but it was different than anything I could ever remember seeing. I quickly put things away, including moving the grill into the garage, and headed in the house just as it was approaching. There was no rain; just a ferocious wind & lots of dust. From inside I watched various neighbors' lawn furniture and a kids swimming pool go flying down the street. I was glad I had pulled the grill around and put it up. The only sight I could remember seeing that looked similar was when the dust storms would roll in off the desert ahead of the rain in Phoenix.

So, we'll see how the weekend shapes up and what I really do. I am also still going to the hospital daily to see my friend's brother ... and staying in touch with Dean's wife to keep the blog on his condition updated.

I do have a little "fun" planned for the weekend as well. I have an appointment tomorrow (Friday) at Beau Monde - a spa. Friends gave me a gift package there LAST year for my birthday and I have never slowed down long enough to use it. After finally scheduling it and then rescheduling it twice, I am going tomorrow. It's a 4-hour treatment, including a massage, facial, manicure & pedicure. Then on Sunday, we are having a baby dedication and a fellowship lunch afterwards to celebrate it. (Hopefully, the weather will cooperate since it is to be outdoors.)