We bought a weed whacker this weekend, a $50 Black and Decker special from Home Depot.

I am the King of Weed Whacking.

And edging. I edged my whole lawn, front and back.

I’m telling you, more weeds were whacked than I can explain. There’s a whole section in our back yard that is/was a veritable weed forest, and that’s gone. Grass along the fence line - gone. And the edge of the lawn makes it look nice and crisp. First time we did that since we moved in.

Next up, a whole line of home improvements: The weed forest area (which is also, coincidentally, a drainage problem) is getting killed off and rototilled so we can put some wet-ground-friendly plants in there; the house is getting pressure washed and the trim will be repainted; and a sprinkler system will get put in to make sure we’re actually getting the thing watered correctly. Of course, none of that is cheap (particularly not the sprinkler system, and no, I’m not doing it myself, nor am I getting that friend of a neighbor’s buddy who happens to install sprinklers on the side).