Spring is Coming, Projects Beckon!

There's something about the time of year that determines my energy level. For the months after Christmas, it seems to drop--and this year I don't think it's because the holidays were so exhausting; I restrained my shopping like never before, and kept everything at a quieter pace. It's something about the wet, the cold, the wind that (even though we don't necessarily subject ourselves to it much) affects my outlook and subdues the force of my attack on projects. (Maybe it's also that the early months are the season in which I do our taxes, which are finally finished!) Spring is springing, the green is a little greener (not so brown and tamped down), and the brown is a little greener (the little buds in the trees). Things are coming to life, and I'm feeling much more motivated to paint and clean and sort and get rid of stuff.
Gary used to go on trips for a week every month with his work. When he was gone, I'd often attack a project and see how much of it could be done before he returned. It was good to have something to do, and to get something accomplished, and to have a time frame to encapsulate it. Now our church has a team of people going on a missions trip. I'm using that as my time frame, seeing what can be done while they're gone.
Last night I pulled some paint in from the garage, and started repainting our entry. Amazing how much a little paint makes things look better, covering barely noticeable marks and the plaster repair jobs at the corners! I'm resolving to paint as much of the house as I can in the next few weeks. Most rooms need it to one extent or another. That should keep me out of mischief and focused for a while. Don't stand still at our house, or you might end up with a coat of paint!
I've developed a to-do list with three columns, one for me, one for Gary, and one for us to work on together. (I guess I'm a list person. I also have a to-do list in a tiny binder, with one page for each room.) Now Gary is no longer safe. If he's horizontal, reading a paper (generally a horrible waste of time and energy), I will roust him with a project, if possible. If not, I'll threaten to paint him. Ha!
When the projects are done, we intend to sell the house and move into something smaller, something that doesn't need so much maintenance, so we can focus on more meaningful things than painting walls and the like. Maybe the housing market will improve. Our neighbor's house has been languishing on the market for months, and they keep dropping the price to no avail. Still, even if we have to sell for less than we want, we will buy for comparably cheaper as well. In spite of wanting to sell, another project to make progress on in these coming weeks is planting our vegetable garden. Never mind that we may never be able to harvest the good things that grow there. It calls as the spring grasses rise, the weeds claim their corners, the trees need pruning, and the compost beckons for stirring into the more useless Marysville soil. The ground is waiting, and I must work it.