To Do List

I've about had it with this excessively windy weather. It is very unpleasant, but warm today, so I could at least do a few things outside.

I'm a list person. I like to keep a to do list going all the time because some days, when I'm trying to decide what to do, I can't remember anything that needs to get done. I also like to write it on a nice clean piece of paper. A to do list on the computer just doesn't satisfy. When we had the hired guys working on the house, I kept a list for them so they could check off what they had done and wouldn't always have to ask me, "What next?"

On our to do list right now is:

Build chicken coop
Build garden shed
Weed/fertilize hay field
Finish baseboards
Paint bathroom vanity (in progress)
Build shell of barn apartment
Organize garage
Install new front door (which should arrive any day now)
Shop for drapery fabric
Mulch garden
Make tomato soup
Finish goat fencing pastures
Halter work on donkeys
Paint powder room ceiling (in progress)

I also try to prioritize the list partially. Some of the things aren't urgent and can be worked on any time, but our priority now is to build the chicken coop and my garden shed. The garden shed is partially built, since we're just going to enclose one of the loafing sheds and put shelves in it. Oh, and I'm going to use some of the saltillo tiles taken out of the house as a floor in the shed. I'm very excited about this garden shed. I think we might even reuse a couple of the windows and a door that we took out of the house when we remodeled.

I add to the list as things come up and it feels so very good to be able to cross a project off the list. This evening Tom and I are going to Lowes and I hope to find some organizational tools to use in the garage.

On another note, it has become quite easy to move Hyacinth and the kids to and from the barn/pasture. We stroll out in the morning and they graze along the way. It doesn't take much coaxing to get them to the pasture and the kids run right in the gate like they know where to go. Then in the evening, I can hardly walk fast enough to keep up with them on the way back to the barn. Seems that once they know the routine, they're happy enough to go along with it. There is no more flopping on the ground and pouting and it is an enjoyable quiet time for me in the morning. It will be interesting to see if Pansy is as agreeable to the routine as Hyacinth is.

Rose seems completely recovered and her head is finally healing. She's still quite a bit smaller than Cosmos, but she doesn't let him push her out of the way while nursing anymore. In fact, she even pushes him away sometimes.