Getting ready for stucco and yard work

Today I spent over 2 hours on yard work. It was a really nice day for it - cool and overcast. The ivy is almost done up to as high as I can reach without a ladder. I have about 6 more really dense feet and then about 12 feet of dead vines to trim. I also broke out my new, fully-charged weedwacker and this immediately became my favorite tool! It is so much fun to use. I was surprised at how tire my hands got from holding it. I made mincemeat of the 2-foot tall weeds out front and used it edge that part of the median strip that I have already edged by hand with an edging wheel. I found that the weedwacker would not edge the areas that weren't already done by hand, but that's okay because I do a few feet a week and it is almost done. I also wacked and swept the driveway which severely needed it. I sprayed some weedkiller too, so hopefully the driveway will start looking a little less abandoned soon.

I also ran out this afternoon and picked up material for stucco samples that C and I are going to do this weekend. The stucco guy will do only 1 sample and in my mind that just isn't enough to make a choice I will have to live with for decades. I just can't figure out how people can choose something so prominent with a 1" cardboard chip in a brochure. I'm also not sure how people who are not willing to get dirty would manage. Find another stucco guy? Demand samples and pay for them? I suppose I could find another guy, but we are so happy to have this decent general contractor that I don't want to mess with someone new. I would rather do the sample myself than deal with another unknown entity. I bought 4 colors and 2 bags of base, (usually it is 1 bag of color to 1 bag of base, but each bag of base covers 100 square feet and that is just too much) so look for pictures after the weekend.

After doing my yard work, I had to unload the bags of base from my car. Let me tell you, 90 lb. mushy bags are heavy! There is no good way to grab them. I ended up using once again the wagon we bought for the dog. It's good to be getting use out of it now that he doesn't need it. I wanted to clear the bags because I am getting a car wash tomorrow and they do the inside as well so the car needs to be clean. It has been a real challenge to keep my car clean and I am getting tired of it being so gross. The fact is, my car has been functioning as a construction vehicle and the dog rides in there as well so it gets dirty. I am on the go most days from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and just manage to keep my head above water and make small progress every day. (We have begun taking some weekend time off). Keeping my car clean just doesn't fit in the schedule very often even though I like it clean.