We're progressing

Checking many things off this Summer list:
Swim in Big Lake? Check
Swim in the river? Check
Make ice cream? Check, check
Eat ice cream? Check, check, check, check
Eat blues and hucks? Check

And even though we're making progress on some of the areas of the house, we are generally letting the construction to-do list slip by the wayside. (check)
Some small accomplishments:
Unpacking the last of the boxes in the dining room = finding the dining room floor

Hanging art and nesting just a bit

Finishing the only bed landscaping we allowed ourselves this season. (ok, well, it did get away from me a little. The bed ended up curving around the east side of the house and having a small wildflower outcropping on the driveway bump. But otherwise it was contained and manageable.) The construction zone blank slate was too overwhelming and focusing on this small area made it do-able and fun.

Random extra:I'm so glad I signed up for the flower share with our CSA. It brings a bright spot to our otherwise color- and flower-less construction zone.

Please Pardon Our Mess

Welcome! Step on in. No no, don't use the front door (blocked, ironically, with items to be purged/freecycled/sold). Come on in, now sit down and take a load off (oh, sorry, not over there, that bench isn't done yet - but here, this one is!). Don't mind the sand on the rug, that's just summer on the Great Lakes. Feel free to rinse off in the foot shower, if you like. Ahhhh, progress.

Darling and Pap-pap built the mudroom lockers back in May. But they weren't finished finished. And you know how we work around here. So in-between naps and dinosaur movies and Chase!, we got the rest of the closets up and finally got some hooks in there. Darling is working on finishing the west side bench, we still need to pare down a recycling scheme, and that empty closet on the end will get a door and some baskets and will be filled to the brim with cleaning supplies. [Despite the fact that our home can be a sandy, sticky mess, we seem to maintain a great supply of cleaning products and accessories. The irony is not lost on me.]

We also had a ridiculous (because of me) switcheroo on the bathroom and mudroom Hoosiers. The one intended for here ended up having a shelf on the lower section that prevented our file box from fitting properly. I couldn't hardly sort mail properly without a file box, right? Well, I decided they needed to be swapped. Which of course meant they had to be repainted to match the other room. This, an hour or so before dinner guests. At any rate, it's done. The mail Hoosier is still in need of some sorting itself and I intend to make one of those gizmo charging stations for it. But it's serving its purpose very well in the meantime.

This organization fills me with a sigh of relief. Some place to plop when we come in. Some room for unloading cumbersome bags and parcels. Spots for all those sandy shoes we trip on as we un-shoe at the door. A place for everything and everything in its place. How Victorian, eh?

Summer

Me and lists. They make me feel good. Happy. Accomplished. Now that summer feels like it has (finally) arrived, here is our my summer wish list:
:: Set up a mud-pie kitchen. This is pretty much perfect for the kind of play O is doing right now.
          examples One, Two, Three, Four and Five
          Pap-pap or Grandpa want to help with that one?
:: Make ice cream. Heaps and heaps of ice cream. Eat said ice cream.
:: Hang the hammocks. Sleep in the hammocks. Sleep when the mood strikes.

:: Visit the lake frequently. The Big Lake. Any lake. Frequently.
:: Jump in the river, more frequently.

:: Eat blueberries and huckleberries til our teeth are purple.
:: Finish the beach blanket.

:: Make cheese. Oh sweet creamy cheese.
:: Swim, bike, run, repeat.

:: Let the summer breeze blow that construction to-do list away.
:: Embrace the sand, accept the mess.
:: Limit the job site to Tonka size.

:: Take O&E for a canoe ride.
:: Read! Put down the Spider Solitaire. Put down the phone, period.
:: Ride some roller coasters.
:: Hang with friends and family.

I know, I stand solo on the list making in the family. But feel free to humor me: What's your summer list look like?