D-Day is here!

D is for disaster! That's what my room looks like as i try to select what I'll wear over the next four months. I simply have too much stuff. Remember Little House on the Prairie when Laura  Ingalls had two dresses?  Somewhere along the line our lives got a whole lot more complicated. Packing for me means trying on clothes and jewelry, trying to work out the best mix and match possibilities for the most variety. D is for decisions!

Clothes are just the beginning. I have to decide what kitchen implements I can't live without like my garlic press and my zester. This year I added a rolling pin in case I want to make pie or cookies. In previous years I have slathered grease and flour on a wine bottle and pressed it into service rolling out dough.  I also need to decide what to do with the remnants of food. And what medical or financial records I might need over the next four months. And all the bug balms I've collected over the years, (Not that anything works).

Finally! The fridge is empty and wiped clean. The van is packed. The leftovers have been dropped at Ryan's. D is for done.

Better go to bed and catch a few winks.Steve will want to hit the road early tomorrow morning. We have three long days of driving ahead of us. By the third day it will be t-shirts and shorts.D-lightful!

Countdown crazy

Yes, folks, this is the same tree that just a few weeks ago was in flaming color. Now it's almost lost in the flurry of flakes. And the countdown to winter it going off like an alarm clock.

 Time's up!

Technically we still have two weeks before we leave for Florida but winter is pushing us out the door. That doesn't mean I'm ready. This is the week for the final paperwork. Finish all the tasks I promised at church, put AT&T on vacation hold, get the mail forwarded and  submit the final payrolls for my freelance work.

It's also the last hurrah for book sales. I need to check with all the stores that carry my books to be sure they have the necessary supplies to carry then through the winter. Then I finish the week with two big sales events. Friday night is our second annual Holiday Book Bash at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake. That was a great party last year and features even more authors this year. Then Saturday we are scheduled at the Muskegon Farmer's Market.

The hectic holiday season is about to begin.

A storm is brewing

      A cloudy sky framed the bare tree yesterday as I took my walk. Even the most stubborn leaves had been torn from the branches. Winter is almost here.
      If you've been following my weekly updates on this particular tree, you know the count is down to three weeks from today. That's when we leave for Florida. But that final week I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving at my mother's house so there's really only two weeks left to get ready for Florida.
      Like the winds that have picked the tree clean, I have been picking away at the home tasks, trying to get this life in order before I move on to my Florida life. I've made amazing progress. My bathroom redecorating is finished. It looks a little like purple grape juice has stained one wall, as well as towels and shower curtain.I even cleaned out the linen closet yesterday, a job I have been putting off for years.
  
      The kitchen cabinet cleaning that I have been postponing just as long moved to top priority when the silverware drawer fell out again. It's too heavy and the hardware pulls right out of the screw holes. I stuff broken toothpick pieces in the hole -- Daddy used to use wooden matches but I don't have any of those -- to make the screw tight again. The drawer is back in place for another year, but cleaning it out made me consider a lighter arrangement for that drawer, new homes for the less used pieces.
       Once the kitchen is back in order, it will be time to concentrate on this week's tasks: The first preparations for Florida. I need to renew the insurance policy on my convertible which is in storage in Florida and pick up license plates. While I'm at it, I need to change my supplemental health insurance.
      It's also a week of celebrations. My son Ryan and his wife Angela celebrate their 10th anniversary on Tuesday with a Vow Renewal party. Then next weekend we'll squeeze in a quick Christmas celebration.
      I'll close the week by reviewing "Mary Poppins" at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, my final review before Florida.

      I can almost smell the snow. It's coming!

Countdown continues!

      Yes, this is the same tree that was so beautiful two weeks ago. Now only a handful of stubborn leaves remain.
       And as of today only four weeks remain until we leave for Florida. Naturally I have added projects to my to-do list. With leaves falling all around outdoors, I decided to bring fall indoors and have been stripping wallpaper in my bathroom. The leaves fall much more effortlessly, I can assure you. My blue sky and angel decor, which I installed 10 years ago on top of the original pink stripped paper,  is going right down to plain paint. That means scoring and spraying and scraping, and scoring and spraying and scraping the next layer. Then washing down the walls to get off the paste residue. After a week of bursts of work each day, I finally have smooth, white walls which will become "Hazelnut Cream" and "Plum Good"  tomorrow.
        But the other projects to prepare for leaving have been taking a back seat to the bathroom project. So I still need to prepare the church library for my winter replacement. Give my final speech in the Competent Communicator book at Toastmasters, vote, review a couple of plays, (did I mention vote?) feed my son's cats while he's on vacation and rake some of his leaves. And vote, of course!