Wayne’s laboring at work today, so after organizing the closet, doing a bit of writing and some schoolwork with the kids, plans are to spend the evening at the lake.

I’m looking forward to this day!  Hope your day is equally as blessed!

If your closet is anything like mine, it’s full of stuff…  slippers from college (you know, those great big dog ones), dresses I wore on special dates with my husband while we were still married (Handel’s Messiah was such fun), shoes dyed green to match the dress (I keep it for costume parties.  The last time I wore it was about ten years ago, but sheesh, I never know when I’ll have to pull it out next!), belts that would fit around my thigh (Do belts really shrink while they’re hanging in a closet?!?)

But one of the most memorable things I uncovered was a pair of tennis shoes with ribbon for laces.  Memories of our wedding day came flooding back, for I wore those shoes with my gown!  Oh, I should have had them boxed up with the dress after I had it professionally cleaned, but I didn’t.  Hindsight is 20/20, ya know. 

Those shoes were comfortable.  No sore feet for me!  No tripping down the aisle, skipping maybe, but not tripping!  When I walked down that aisle, all the planning was done.  The cake was beautiful, the flowers gorgeous, the bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts had been purchased, the guests were assembled, and I was ready to become a MRS!  ~smile~

Ah, it’s been 18 years since that day, and it’s still one of the happiest days of my life. 

Enough memory lane.  I’ve got a few more loads of laundry to do to get that musty smell out of my clothes.  And I might as well sort the clothes while I’m at it.  What a job!  Ugh!

Of course, I’ve purchased all the books we need for school this year.  (We homeschool.)  And yes, we have started a bit.  The kids have all done a math lesson or two, just to get the feel of their books.  They know what’s expected of them in most of their subjects.  But still, I’m just not ready.

Although, I will admit, the cooler weather is helping a lot.  When it’s 90 degrees, who can concentrate on schoolwork?  But now that the weather definitely has that autumn feel, I am reminded of all the projects I wanted to get done before the snow flies.  And so, we’re not really doing school today either.  We’re washing bedding, chopping and stacking wood, gathering sticks, cleaning up the garden a bit, and making that list of things we need to get done yet before ol’ man winter comes knocking on our door.

~sigh~

Yes, I guess it is time for fall.  Good bye, summer!  ~sniff, sniff~

We went with a company that gets a good price on a good window because they buy wholesale lots of windows.  We are able to get the size we need and the color we want (the trim).  But the prices seem quite a bit cheaper than other comparable windows on the market.

And so, now we wait to hear from them to find out when their installer can come out and measure our windows exactly.  Then they’ll make the windows and install them.  Wayne’s happy because he won’t be doing the installing himself. 

I’m relieved to have the decision behind us.  Now it’s just a matter of getting them installed before the snow flies so we can stay a bit warmer this winter!

The problem is that we have two dozen window in our house (including the two garage windows). That’s a lot of windows! We don’t have enough in savings to redo them all, so it’s a matter of picking where we want to start. Decisions… decisions…

Today we stopped by Lowes to see what they had and what their prices ran. As I walked by the Moen kitchen faucets I couldn’t help but think how much easier our kitchen project was in our old house.  First we did this, and then we’d do that.  Yes, it took awhile, but this window project seems daunting.  Terms like aluminum-clad, sash, jamb, and vinyl are running through my mind.  And I never did get a good answer as to what kind is best, let alone which brand.  ~sigh~

And so, let the research begin.  Have you ever replaced windows?  Were you happy with what you purchased?  We’d like to get these installed by the end of the year so we can qualify for the tax credit.  So, it’s a decision I’d like to make fairly soon so we can get them in by the time the snow flies!

To do this, make sure your num lock is on. (Some laptops have a blue FN key that changes some of the letters to numbers.)

Then hit ALT with the appropriate number:

1 for ☺
2 for ☻
3 for ♥
4 for ♦
5 for ♣
6 for ♠
7 for •
8 for ◘
9 for ○
10 for ◙
11 for ♂
12 for ♀
13 for ♪
14 for ♫
15 for ☼
16 for ►
17 for ◄
18 for ↕
19 for ‼
20 for ¶
21 for §
22 for ▬
23 for ↨
24 for ↑
25 for ↓
26 for →
27 for ←
28 for ∟
29 for ↔
30 for ▲
31 for ▼

The numbers do keep going, but those are just for things you can make with the shift key. Have fun with this!

I’m now looking for something to help with adding facts.  If anyone knows of anything, please feel free to let me know!

Thanks much!

I’m not sure what our travel plans will include next year.  There’s a chance we may be going to California for a wedding.  (That’d be a fun vacation!)  So, until we hear for sure about that, we’re putting next year on hold.  But that still leaves this year!  ~big grin~ 

Wayne will be going to Canada fishing in a few weeks.  He’s been looking forward to that all year.  And we’ve been planning on taking the kids to the UP.  (For you non-Michiganders, that’s Michigan’s Upper Penninsula!)  There’s a lot to do there, and we haven’t been to the UP since Alicia was in diapers.  So, it’s been awhile.

But because there’s a lot to do there, it wouldn’t be a very relaxing vacation.  Some vacations are the “see and do as much as you can so that you can experience as much as you can in a short period of time.”  And other vacation are “do nothing.  Relax.  Come home refreshed and ready to resume life again.”

And that’s when I began to wonder if we shouldn’t look into renting a house for a relaxing vacation.  Of course the first thought is where would we rent?  And then I saw an ad for a beach house.  Ahhh… Doesn’t Outer Banks vacation rentals have some beautiful places?!?  A week spent on this porch with a good book (or two) would definitely be beneficial for the soul! 

The kids could play on the beach, and I could join them from time to time.  I think it would be relaxing for all of us.

Ah, my dream is shattered.  The laundry needs to be folded, the dishes washed, the kids fed, and the garden weeded.  Someday…

But honestly, I don’t feel like I’m making any forward progress on my to-do list for today.  Every time I cross something off, I think of two things to add.  And while I’m tempted to call Royal Caribbean and try to forget my to-do list for awhile, I think the best thing to do is to just keep plugging away at it.

And so, on that note, I’m off to pull my 50 weeds for the day…