Brrrrr

Seriously.

I don't think it got much above 60F today and I like it!  I'm in my sweatshirt and Danskin long pants (trousers) so I'm toasty warm.  Zach and I made a trip to the library where we hauled home a bunch of stuff.  I kept putting books and dvds in my bag which by the time we left, was pretty heavy.  Tom has a three day weekend and plans on replacing the car battery and changing the oil in his truck.  Then I think we're going to take a day trip up to his brother's cabin.  I don't sleep away from home if I can help it.

I know the weather will change before it's all said and done and that's good.  I'm not ready to turn the furnace on yet.  I try to hold off until Thanksgiving and I usually succeed.  Usually.  It depends on how well I can slap Tom's hands away from the thermostat.

In honor of the cool weather we're having chili tonight.  One pot cooking and warms us up nicely.  I'm going to add a salad to it this time.  I know we had chili not too long ago but I don't think you can have too much chili.

I started the doily in worsted yarn last night and my skills are coming back to me.  I like the pattern but don't like the huge hole in the center.  I might re-do it with a smaller center chain because it just looks odd this way.  I got some books from the library on crochet to see what else I might want to do.  I need to come up with a pattern for a pet bed as I had to throw the old one out.  I'm thinking of just taking a spare pillow and crocheting a cover for it.  They will run to lie on my pillows when I throw them on the floor to make my bed.  I think it will do okay, but if I can find a pattern for a real pet bed, I might consider it instead.  I have some Homespun yarn that I was going to knit into a prayer shawl but I'm not making those anymore so it will work nicely for the pets.  Especially since it's brown.

I'm making progress on all my other projects, too.  I just have to stop myself from starting too many more.  I seem happiest when I've got a dozen on the needles.  Or hook. 

Next week I'm tackling Zach's room and getting it ready for winterizing.  I'm not winterizing it yet, but I need to see what needs to be done and I need to remove some of the furniture in there.  He has a waterfall dresser that takes up way too much room so I'm bringing down my plastic drawers from upstairs so he can use them instead.  His room is one of the smallest in the house and with that dresser in there you can't move around in it.  I've been spending the past two days figuring out how to better arrange his room.  And of course helping him find a place for everything.  The dresser drawers are so hard to open he doesn't really use them.  His clothes live in stacks around his room instead.

Then I plan on being ruthless and getting rid of stuff so I have closet space and even cabinet space in the kitchen.  I have dishes I have never used in 23 years of marriage.  Do you think it's safe to give them to the thrift shop?  Well, nothing that has sentimental value, of course.  Stuff that was his dad's won't go, but garage sale stuff and things we've picked up here and there can go.

Then clothes.  There are some size 4 jeans in there I will never, ever wear again so the sooner I get them out of here, the sooner I have room in the closet for the clothes that do fit.  I'm also getting rid of stuff that I got off the clearance rack that looks terrible on me but I bought anyway because it was under $5.  I don't need a huge wardrobe but I deserve to wear clothes I actually like and not clothes that make me feel frumpy or crappy.

That should help out a bit and make the house feel bigger.  Well, not the living/dining/room/den but maybe everything else.  Zach is almost done with school so he needs to make sure he has a working wardrobe.  We bought some nice shirts and khakis for him to wear just in case he doesn't need a uniform or anything like that.  He'll need new shoes but I'm holding off on that for now. 

I need to go start supper and finish cleaning the kitchen so I need to get off the computer and get that done.  I'm still spending too much time here.  Trouble is, I don't spend time instead of working.  I spend time instead of lying down trying to recover some energy or sleeping, which I hate to do all the time.  Hopefully if the cooler weather holds a bit, I can get some walking done and that will help the energy levels.

Off to muddle through.

TTFN