It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

....And I'm going to take full advantage by heading outside to clean the decks. The Man and his friend are installing our air conditioning unit tomorrow. He laid the concrete pad for the unit with another friend a couple of weekends ago, so it's all ready to install. Last year, just as our families were coming to celebrate The Boy's graduation and Eagle ceremony, the old a/c decided to stop working. My stepdad and The Man were on the deck when it blew. Literally. Fun times. 'Blew' as in there is a hole in the ozone above our house. Talk about inconvenient (for us and for the environment). Of course, the weather decided to turn hot so we had to scramble by purchasing and installing a window unit. The Man, The Boy and my stepdad all did a great job. Mom and I sat back and supervised. :)

So, thanks to my Mom and stepdad for helping us out...and thanks to The Man and his friends for their know-how, we are saving a boatload of cash by putting in a new furnace (did that in October and reaped the tax rewards for that) and new a/c unit because we can do it ourselves. And I use the term 'we' very loosely. I'll be cooking and entertaining...what I do best...while the men are working.