To sweep, perchance to dream

Ok. Yes, it's a horribly corny title. But that's what I did today. The weather today was LOVELY. Perfect. Not too hot. Not too sunny. Not too windy. Just a fantastic around 7o degree day. I knew ahead of time that it would probably be nice today, and I wanted to take advantage of the weather. This week is Spring Cleanup week, so anything we put out on the tree lawn (devil strip...whatever you call that swatch of land between the sidewalk and the street that the city claims) the trash man will take next week, though much of it gets picked through before the garbage truck ever goes past at 7 am.

Today we cleaned off our back patio. It's really more of a carport attached to the garage, but I can't imagine having the driving skills required to actually put a car under it and get it back out without putting it into the kitchen or taking out the side porch. It does have a decent light in the center ceiling and a two-plug outlet, so I could bring out the laptop when it's low on juice or tunes if I wanted. Anyway, we had accumulated some junk and trash since last fall (old lawnmower that no longer works, kids' toys that never should have made the trip outside, and tons of organic debris). I set about mowing the lawn first, always with my trusty helpers, and then to clearing the porch. Once we got the porch cleared off, I pulled out all the lawn furniture and the Little Tikes slide jungle gym thingie (technical term, ya know) from the shed, and the kids and I scrubbed and sprayed them all off. Then I swept. And swept. And swept. There was so much dirt and leaves and muck on the porch that it took several wheelbarrowfuls to get it all cleared out. Now that it's done, I can think of all sorts of things I'd like to do to make it a little more inviting. Roll up mosquito netting so I can convince hubby to hang out with me in the evenings or have a bug-free supper outside, a firepit for the firebug in me, some fun string lights to set the ambience, a hammock for reading or knitting, new annuals to put in the flower boxes...ooh...I'm getting twitchy just thinking about it all!

Once we got the porch all set...the kids were bent to have a picnic. And picnic we did. Hubby got hot dogs and cheddar brats and potato salad and baked beans and mixed veggies, and we ate it all outside on the back patio. So nice. The neighbor girl came to play this afternoon, and the boys were insistent that she stay for the picnic, which I didn't mind at all. After a good meal and some more play, two dirty boys and one dirty momma decided to call it a night and come in for a bath. I couldn't believe the dirt that came off the boys. Then I washed my feet, and, well, they were worse yet!

We were so busy working that I neglected to take any pictures, but I did snap this one of J-rock yesterday sporting his freshly-trimmed locks while chomping into a candied sugar egg that he got for Easter...he decided after a few crunches of the hard frosting on the outside that he was more into the chocolate coins that he got in the plastic eggs.

Tomorrow will be spent tilling up the garden and hopefully laying the timbers for the raised bed!! I'll probably also try to snap some pics of the work outside. Unfortunately (well...or maybe fortunately, as it would be a bit embarassing), we didn't get any before pics.