Happy Father’s Day to all the daddies out there, and happy summer to everyone! Hubby and I rode our bikes to Leesburg this morning for breakfast at Shoes Cup and Cork. Summer is definitely here, hot and sticky all day. When we got back from the bike ride, we headed to Home Depot. I miscalculated the size of the HVAC filter I needed for the upstairs, so back I went to get the correct size. I was also asked to see whether there were any decent weed whackers, Hubby having lost his temper with the piece of crap one we had; ’nough said there. The short answer to his question was no; the long answer is HD doesn’t really carry quality materials since most Americans want things cheap. Cheap is as cheap does. We’ll be ordering a new one online.

I spent the better part of the day deep cleaning the upstairs in preparation for our tenant coming back next week (windows inside and out; baseboards vacuumed and wiped; door and window frames dusted on top, etc.). There is still a lot to do, including potentially moving the furniture to prepare for having the carpet stretched. The contractors still have put the tub and shower hardware back in after the tilers had to retile some errors. I will be so glad when this project is over—just in time for them to get started in the basement.

I’ve been wanting to get out in the garden with Hubby to do some other little projects, but I’m now thinking maybe I should just stay focused on the house this year. It’s not like I already don’t have enough to do, including getting rid of stuff we no longer want in prep for the remodel. For me that doesn’t mean dumping it in the trash; it means putting ads on Craigslist and Freecycle. I can’t stand seeing perfectly usable items trashed, and I believe charity shops are overwhelmed with stuff, that either ends up in the trash anyway or becomes damaged in handling. I’ve had good luck with the two websites and been amazed at some of the stuff people will take.

I’m going to sleep well tonight.