... because summer's here and the time is right...

... for getting some projects done... or what I did on my Sunday:

boxes for built-in shelves

Also, because the above is pretty boring for everyone but me (and maybe M), it's berry season!

... it takes two...

or, How I Spent My 2014 Father's Day.

I may not think much about Father's Day, the holiday, but I sure do think a lot about being a father. And it's these two that matter when it comes to me being a father. They're out of town for a couple of weeks, so I had the day to myself, to focus on projects around the house.

Which I did. But I missed my family too and thought about how well (or poorly) I manage as a dad and where I fail and where I maybe am doing ok or slightly better than that. I thought about my own dad and my relationship to him and how I was grateful that I grew up enough to appreciate who he was and what he did for me before he died. And I know that at some point my girls will become teenagers and not want to hold my hand when we walk to the store, or sit with me when they wake up in the morning, or come running to greet me when I get home, but right now they both still do want to do those things, L will snuggle close and let me put my arm around her as I read her a bedtime story and K has taken to whispering "You're the best daddy in the whole world" (or mommy, when she's telling this to M) as we tuck her into bed, and I realize that being a father to these two young women is a pretty damn good gig.

Happy Father's Day, girls! I love you.

... just tack down the black, jack...

M and the girls left for Alabama this morning to spend 12 days with M's mother. In the time they're gone, I have approximately 50 projects I'm hoping to "finish up," some dating from before K was born, which, according to my rough math, was a bit over 8 years ago (who really needs complete molding in the second bathroom, anyway?). It's been gorgeous for most of the spring here, very unlike our usual spring, which means that I haven't gotten to the various outside projects and it's about to rain tonight for the first time in weeks.

Which means I needed to get project 1 under way:

Adding tar paper over the plywood I put up to replace the 5 year old "temporary" plywood I tacked up in the middle of a rain/snow storm to keep the basement from flooding.... it's a long story...

And I did it. I got it up before the first rain drops fell. Mission accomplished!