Happy Anniversary to me!

Yup - signed my life away - two years ago today. I can hardly believe it. But I sure don't regret it. I love this house. Love living here - and slowly, very slowly things are falling into place. I'm getting some important things done, and some things I want to get done. Things are good.
The first update is the 3rd floor. Time for before and after pictures:
The ugly green room before: and after: It looks beautiful. I just have to put the molding in. But first I have to finish painting the baseboards in the bedroom and the hall, and put the molding into the bedroom. That required another trip to that orange do-it-yourself store I am single-handedly keeping in the black. I bought ANOTHER 5 gallons of white eggshell paint. Hopefully this will do me for a while. Lugging 5 gallons up to the 3rd floor is a different matter all together. 5 gallons isn't exactly light! I also had to purchase a few miles of blue tape to do the baseboards, and an electrical cover. I'm starting to do pretty well at my local store. I can find almost everything without having to ask an orange apron.
This past week I worked really hard on the 3rd floor. Finished that front room, painted the hallway and prepped the molding.
On Friday I was able to get out in the yard and finally finish that back part. I had to go out there in full regalia, since I couldn't track down a hazmat suit. Jeans tucked into my socks, longs leave shirt head scarf and hope that I didn't encounter any more poison ivy, although I'm beginning to suspect it was actually poison sumac. I found some of that back there. I'm on my third day of prednezone and it seems to be working. I'm not itching as much as I was before. But my friend was telling me she had the same thing and that it had entered her blood stream and she was getting the mirror image on both sides of her body. Well, I definitely have that! Ugh. I'm also slathering on the Benadryl cream and following up with Tea Tree salve. It's working pretty well. But, well, in the mean time, ...
Jacques is thrilled that I cleared all of that brush from the back there. Can you guess why?
It is the perfect place to take lots of dust baths. Lots of them.
And... my kitty has decided he can climb chain link fences. I discovered this when I wasn't paying enough attention to him because I was talking to my neighbor through her chain link fence. So he went to the back area, and as though it was a ladder, just stuck his paws in between the links and "walked" up to the top. Then he had to show off is balancing act of walking around on the top pole. !!! I'm not making this up.
So what's next? I get to re-clear the other side of the back because it's all growing back again. Yay me. I planted a bunch of seedlings yesterday as well. Let's hope they take.

For all of you mothers out there - happy mother's day. :)