Happy 2009!

Hello, friends and family. Happy 2009! The Pilgrims are back for another eight or ten months of posting proof of adventures in home ownership, (with any luck) professional progress in puh-sychology, pointless Pop Quizzes, poignant pics, fun with fungus, micro-farming, New England weather watching, and other debatably worthwhile stuff for your pleasurable perusal.

First things first, our winter breaks were pretty great. Sue had to work on Monday the 29th, so she had a bit less of a break than I, but overall, seeing the peoples, eating lots of good food, and the like was superbly enjoyable for us both.

One of the highlights of my trip was spending a couple restful days with Marge, Sarah, Uncle Lou and Aunt Sally in Bethlehem, PA. We were exposed to canine agility training. Though we didn't get to see the tunnels and seesaws and other obstacles, Lou and Sally's Irish Setter, Duffy...


...went over a bunch of hurdles with equanimity and ease.


And while I was in DC, Sue and her mom were up in Providence experiencing Providence's Bright Night. One of the performances is pictured below. Check it out. Woah.


But now we're getting back in a regular, post-holiday rhythm. So, as promised in the old year, we have resolved to undertake some major household improvement projects. The list is long, but we think we can hack it a ton of it, plus other things as they arise. These are in a loose priority order as determined by Senora Sue.

1. Paint upstairs interior
2. Install front screen/glass door
   
3. Fix dining room table (we got it from Craigslist and is very wobbly)
   
4. Install light on side of house (contract)
   
5. Weather stripping for front and side doors
   
6. Grading land around house
   
7. Install backyard fencing
   
8. Repair/replace front stoop (contract likely)
9. Strip and finish front, side, back and garage doors
   
10. Install porch door and stairs to backyard
    
11. Paint exterior, install shutters (contract under consideration)
    
12. Replace/remove doorbell switches and chime
13. Plant creeping bushes in the backest part of the backyard
14. Install attic pulldown
15. Install additional storage space/flooring in attic
    
16. Ceiling patching
17. Redo/finish basement
    
18. Redo kitchen
    
19. Refinish/repair wood floors on main and upper levels (contract likely)
    

Numbers 17, 18 and 19 perhaps won't get done in the next ten months, and who knows, probably a couple of the others won't either. That said, we're going to do our best to complete as many as we can before the clock strikes November 1st.

We actually made some progress on our list this weekend, so there are already some posts for this week in the works. Keep an eye out.

PS
If you want to add a little friendly peer pressure to your will and resolve, share your 2009 resolutions as comments. Today is my second consecutive day with no caffeine (if I remember correctly) in the past 6-7-8-or-so years!