Jon, I think you described the arc of many technical tasks we do around our houses. It starts out a simple changeout, then you realize there are other moving parts that need attention if you're going to do it correctly. When I put in the new set of shelves it wasn't just moving a couple of things and loading stuff on the shelves, I had every piece of computer equipment and peripheral unplugged, dusted, repositioned, and put back into service by the time I finished. It took hours and there was some cursing.

This morning I texted my handyman about tilling the garden (I called him about 10 days ago to suggest we do it this week after some rain softened the soil). He said he'll text when he's ready to come over - meaning I have today to mow and scalp the area with the string trimmer.

When they call or text, especially with the supply of materials and available time, it's important to make that work in your schedule! Good work on the windows, Charmion! I'd love new windows here, but they're several items down on the "to do" list. Wasn't the position of your air conditioner/heater unit moved because of the proximity to one of these windows?

I filled that new tarp with the remnants of my once wonderful woody rosemary bush, and I also cut down my dead bay tree. I'm thinking I'll keep the bay trimmed down shrub sized so it doesn't shade part of the garden so much. This is assuming something sprouts back from the roots. There are a couple of pups around the rosemary plant that I'll nudge to life. Those should grow much faster than buying a new plant and putting it in.

I found two keeper-style containers at the Container Store that will store flat. I also picked up a small bin to put potatoes or onions in, then realized I already had a couple of plastic bins I'd evicted from the fridge recently. But as summer progresses I'll use those for produce so they are in limbo now, but not excess.

More people died from the February freeze than in Hurricane Harvey. That just came over the radio on Texas Standard radio show. As a participant in that exercise, I can say that I'm not surprised—too many people simply wouldn't have been equipped to stay safely in their homes, yet in their homes they stayed.

Research time: my sister told me about a compost-turning auger she got from the Garden Tool Company down here in Texas. I have to figure out what that is and where she got it. Apparently it's a screw thing that really does a good job of turning the compost pile contents. Something any of the gardeners in this running conversation might be interested in. I'll report back on what I find (I'm looking at a note I made to myself during a conversation and sharing it here so I don't lose track of that garden project).