Yard work and more waiting

We are pretty much in a holding pattern waiting for the new contractor to start. So much hinges on getting this permit closed. It reminds me of the saying that MBA's use (I am one, so I am familiar with all the trite phrases they use): Just because one woman can have a baby in 9 months, it doesn't mean that 9 women can have a baby in one month. Remodeling is truly a process, and things have to be done in order.

I did do some yard work today. The very back of our backyard is overgrown with ivy, which I spend about an hour a week cutting down. That's about how long it takes me to fill the jumbo yard waste bin I have for weekly trash pickup. I am making progress, and it is quite gratifying. I actually enjoy cutting the ivy. It is slow work, and not too difficult but with immediate gratification. There's no wrong way to do it - I just grab a handful and start cutting until I can remove that handful. Sometimes I do have to strategize to remove certain large, well-rooted pieces. Then it become a mildly fun, not too difficult, brain teaser kind of thing. I also mowed and edged the median strip between the sidewalk and the street. Since it is all weeds, it may seem futile, but if I don't mow periodically the weeds grow to over 2 feet tall and start to encroach the sidewalk. Plus the edging takes time. Each week I can clean up what I did last week and go a little further. Over time, I'll get the whole thing done and that will make it look better right now and it will make life easier when we go to plant grass or plants out there.