Pick me up

It hasn't just been months and months since we have blogged about our Hurricane Katrina repairs and/or home improvement projects.  It has been months and months since we have done anything.  We experienced and are experiencing burnout in a major way.

Out of money.  Out of energy.  Out of time.

It will be six years since Hurricane Katrina wrecked our house and our two sets of French doors are still fused shut from rust.  (Out of money.)  We still haven't put that final coat of paint on the living room walls.  (Out of energy.)  We never got around to finishing repairs to the back porch columns, replacing the crumbling ceiling fans, or replacing the fascia that has fallen off in subsequent storms. (Out of time.)

A snapshot of our lives right now:

There are five children.  Two are teenagers.  One is three years old.  We have school events, sporting events, projects, fundraisers, and constant expenses.  That's for two of them.  The other three are still taught - by me - at home.  We have eleven animals.  Eleven.  Eleven.  Dave does have a full time job.  I volunteer many hours a week.  We also clean the school cafeteria on Saturdays.  Milk is just over $5 per gallon.  Gas is a little less.  Our house is insured for over half a million dollars - but it doesn't appraise for nearly as much.  That costs a lot of money.  Teenage boys eat a lot.

Don't get me wrong.  I love my life.  I don't think Dave would complain either.

But I'm feeling a little overwhelmed... and a little down in the dumps.  We have been so used to making progress on the house that it seems like - despite all we do in a day - we aren't actually doing anything.  Add to this the fact that seven people in a house for a few years causes some inevitable wear and tear - and watching the things that we DID manage to fix slowly get old and worn and it's downright depressing.

And so.. It's time for a major project.  It really really is.  Yes - we'll be replacing those french doors soon and I have a couple painting projects to work on.  We'll be replacing the light fixtures in the kitchen and eventually finishing the back porch columns...  But I mean a major project.

Yesterday we had someone come over to give us an estimate for a backyard renovation.  I'm waiting breathlessly for the quote.  I'm wanting a stone retaining wall and a nice, new patio.  This is the pick-me-up I think we all need.  I'm sure of it.