The very existence of the possibility of a “honey do” list astounded me. You mean, you can make a list of things that need to be done around the house and really expect the hubby to start doing them? Wow!!! Well, it didn’t really work out that way. Both hubby and myself are… well, we’re basically intellectuals, which means that our skill set is often less than practical. And – of course – we’re both working full-time and not getting any younger. We’re tired!

Still, the tasks need to be done. Lately, I’ve been tackling some of the list myself. It’s not as difficult as I thought, but getting materials is sometimes expensive, so I need to parcel it out.

Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

1. Weed-whack the back yard
2. Get more fish for the pond
3. Replace the light bulbs on the back yard landscape lights and move them near the pond
4. Cut back the overgrown shrubs, especially the azaleas at the front steps
5. Get the leaves out from the sunken entrance to the basement
6. Cut back the fig tree where it’s taking over the deck
7. Start levelling off the back yard where sinkholes are making it wavy (with shovel!) – about halfway done
8. Blow the yard leaves into reasonable areas
9. Put up a new hammock where the other one had rotted out
10. Start cleaning out the junk in the garage – about halfway done
11. Replace the old lampshades in the living room
12. Treat the old wood fireplace mantel with lemon oil
13. Treat the perimeter of the house with insect killer
14. Clean out the mysterious objects buried under the back deck

Here’s what remains to be done:

1. Research, bid and pay for better house insulation
2. Storage for comforters – hope chest or cabinet
3. Get a bedroom suite – or at least a headboard
4. Get 25′ of hose, dig a trench, and hook up the pond pump to the waterfall
5. Buy butcherblock or granite island for kitchen
6. Repair or replace hot tub
7. Replace rugs throughout
8. Get a conversation couch with recliners for tv room
9. Replace/install garbage disposal
10. Replace the kitchen floor
11. Replace the broken parts of kitchen cabinets
12. Attempt to stain the good kitchen cabinets
13. Tile area around bathroom sinks
14. Replace back deck lights
15. Get electrical work done, and replace ceiling lights in living room
16. Finish basement stairs
17. Replace outside basement door area wood slats with metal
18. Ventilation fan in basement
19. Update/replace important windows
20. Weatherstrip the leaking windows
21. Pressure-wash the back deck and the front stair area
22. Sand and stain the front stairs
23. Stain the deck
24. Decide color, and paint the wall around the fireplace
25. Paint the kitchen
26. Set up basement playroom
27. Reorganize the kid’s bedroom
28. Reorganize laundry room
29. Reorganize my office
30. Move basement microwave upstairs
31. Move rarely-used kitchen items into the basement
32. Finish cleaning/reorg of garage
33. Finish levelling the back yard
34. Get 12 bags of pebbles for back area
35. Throw down soil/manure for the spring
36. Plant some bulbs now for the spring
37. Collect clothes for donation
38. Collect books for resale or donation
39. Replace furnace filter

What a lot of work… time… money….!