Baby Steps

Nope, not yet another post about how wonderful my two little boys are, though they are.

This one is about putting thought into action by taking those first little steps to start a project. You see, we've been talking about yard work for a long time, plans to move a whole pile of dirt from the end of the yard up closer to the main yard, to make some space near the fence and to keep Nande from scaring the bejezeesus out of people by sticking her head over the fence to bark at them as they walk up the hill.

And all it had been was talk because it always felt like it was too much to try and do without powertools.

But we put the shovel out near the fence with the intention of just doing a little bit when we were outside to get it underway. Well, both boys love to play in the dirt, of course and it gives me something tangible to get into at the end of the day.

The funny thing about starting projects is that they tend to get done. In the span of a few short days, I've relocated a reasonably good sized pile of dirt from near the fence to up under the bushes. The job isn't done but it is substantially far enough along to all but guarantee completion.

And it serves as an excellent lesson that projects that never get started will never get done. And it feels pretty damned awesome to make headway on projects that have been awaiting attention for so long.

Soon we'll be able to start putting in the retaining wall to protect the slope a bit, recapture some lost yard space and prevent the dog from scaring walkers. All good things. And we'll also have learned that projects that don't get started are very unlikely to ever get finished.

Lessons from the Cat

I almost forgot to post this from last night. We've been having a minor mouse problem in the house and the cat has started to step up her hunting to compensate, or something.

So she's been pawing at the cabinets in order to get in and see if she can catch one. I let her into the cabinet that has our appliances and then forgot she was in there.

A few minutes lter she decided she wanted out and didn't feel like waiting for us to open the door (all the cabinets have safety latches on them to keep the little boys out).

Instead of making noise to get our attention she took the bull by the horns and got herself out, almost. The drawer above the appliances is where we keep our silverware and it was open a few inches. She figured it was enough and worked her way up and into the drawer.

And got herself good and stuck. Imagine my surprise when I saw her head poking out from among the spoons! With a little extra help, she extricated herself and got out.

The lesson I learned is: Where there is a will, there is a way.