Fall Break

We are celebrating here this week. Celebrating having finished nine weeks of school. Celebrating by going to the library, enjoying lazy mornings, and lazy afternoons, and lazy evenings.

I gave a few moments of consideration to attempting a Fall Cleaning. It would have been ambitious. It would have resulted in a clean house top to bottom. It would have been a good use of my time. It would also have been a lot of work. Even mom gets worn out by the school schedule: it's very time consuming.

Instead I opted to complete one big project each day. One project I've been putting off. One project that has felt overwhelming. I will accomplish a few things I can feel good about and still have time for the library books I checked out. (I am always overly optimistic in the library.)

So far here is what I have done:

• My living room curtains shrunk last time I washed them. I let out the hem, ironed, stitched, washed and re-hung them. It took almost all day. That's why my curtains have looked silly for so long.
• Cleaned out the front hall closet. The shoes were piled high. Six people times five pairs (or so) each equals a disaster. Of course, there were also outgrown coats, discarded tee-shirts, books, marbles, and other detritus of life with children.

I have a long list of ideas for the last three days of the week. You see, I can't do it all. I'll dream big and pick and choose.

• Pick more apples. Make more applesauce. Try homemade applesauce fruit leather and oven-dried apples.
• Plant one more batch of lettuce and Swiss chard in the garden. Move a rose bush.
• Sort through the storage boxes in one closet.
• Sew doll clothes with Ally.
• Paint. I have enough leftover paint to spiff up the pantry and my TV stand. But I probably only have enough time to do one.
• Start knitting Christmas presents.

Hooray for joyful, lazy mornings, busy days and weather that allows for open windows and lots of time outside!