Can you believe it’s already August? It seems that summer took a long time to get here because it didn’t stop raining and it also stayed cold. Now August is here, which is the midway point of summer. Fall is just around the corner and my backyard is filled with all my “brilliant ideas, yet unfinished” outdoor projects.
Fortunately, one or two of those outdoor projects must get finished before the weather changes, so I am on a definitive mission to see that happens. But time seems to be going so fast that if I don’t monitor my activities and force myself to get things done, it’ll be Christmas.
How many others are like me with a plethora of half-finished and unfinished projects sitting about? Finance is always a contributing factor as to why some things don’t get done. If I had an endless supply of money, I could pay to get everything done and be through. But that’s not how it works in the real world.
Also time is an important factor. Many of the unfinished and incomplete projects are ones I want to personally accomplish. But I have to work, I have to rest, and I just can’t seem to find enough hours in the day. I won’t deny that there is an aspect of laziness on my part. All that cold and muggy weather put a damper on my spirit. I’ve always been the kind of person motivated by hot weather. My neighbor used to tell me I would always wait until the hottest day of the year to go out and start working in the yard. And she’s right.
In 2017, I was in a store that had a closeout sale on rain barrels. Unlike the big blue monstrosity so often seen, this was a square-shaped beige one that would fit perfectly on the side of my house near an available gutter. I lugged it home, found all the retaining wall bricks for it to sit on to make it the correct height, yet to date I still haven’t connected it. When my handyman comes over, I’m going to make sure he takes care of that. Such a small project but one I have been putting off.
Another is my desire to redo my one-piece slingback barstool chairs. I think I’ve watched every YouTube video on how to do it. I doubt I’ll get to it this summer, so it’ll become another item on my list for 2020. But at least I can attempt to do that indoors in the basement over the winter. The bar set was once a very nice piece of outdoor furniture that I drove all the way to Rockford to purchase. It’s not something I can easily throw away. However I’m going to give myself a timetable to get it done. If I don’t get it done by next year, I’m going to have to consider getting rid of the set. That’s my mental motivation to get things accomplished.
