FIRMLY FRIDAY

[DeeClutter]

That's firmly so -it is Friday -AGAIN! Sure comes around quickly whether we're ready or not.

Dh is up and gone -I'm all but out the door. Want to get over to sit with dgs9 not much after ddil goes out the door.

It was really warm and not good sleeping weather for the first part of the night. But then I slept well until my bladder called just before 6. Dh said he'd been lying awake wondering about the inspection sticker on the car -he didn't recall seeing one -it's there.

Going to grab my breakfast and coffee on the go. Have a good morning. When I get back to our home I'll start sorting what absolutely has to go in the car and slowly put that in.

[Lady Maverick]

Dee - Are you organizing your new car different than the other one? Excited for you and DH as you get situated and accustomed to the new car.

I am up and started on my task. Came to the computer to do something .....WHAT???.....I forgot so I came to check on SHE's. I took a 1mg melatonin last night and it has me groggy this morning. I need to get this brain fog cleared and my "thinker" engaged.

BBL

[Emptynester]

Good Morning All. We slept in a bit this morning. It is cool so nicer to cuddle under the covers in dreamland. Our 4 footed alarm clock slept in, too.

Today's chores are: Groceries, food to MH and put rest of laundry away in house. All the clothes are folded on the couch and what is needed to go in the MH is out there. We will leave early Sunday morning.

Time to take my BS and BP counts and then hit the street with the dog. I can see the sun peeping over the mountain. I love my AZ sunrises.

[Lady Maverick]

LO up, snuggled, observed him doing his AM cards without any need for me to help, ready 10 minutes early so LO spent his time swinging outside. I weedeated while waiting for the bus to arrive. Love those calm, smooth morning launches!

eating a fried egg & fresh tomato sandwich for breakfast. The large tomatoes are almost done for the year. Going to miss those. The little cheery type tomatoes will be producing until late fall.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I was in a parking lot and saw a Dodge 200 and got all excited because I now knew what Dee's car looked like in real life (pictures don't give scale.) It is larger and very stately looking, not at all what I expected. If you pack carefully, I think you'll be fine for Florida. The key is to be creative in your packing. With our PT cruiser we managed to get 4 people for a 2 week trip in it but it meant opening up cases of drinks and storing them individually between the door and the seat. But we even managed to get a tiny tv and VCR on the hump between the kids in the back seat so they could watch movies as we drove (that was before we owned a portable dvd player.

I'm up. Made the bed properly (the bottom sheet had come out so I had to take off everything and remake it.) I've tidied a little bit, counted underwear and socks, had my tea and chocolate.

I've mis-counted the length of our trip and we are short underwear, I'm short socks because I can't wear sandals, and night-time vitamins. Just got a note from CM. She's in Edmunston Monday night, we are there Tuesday night which means we'll be passing each other on the road in New Brunswick some time during the day. We are now trying to find a good spot for a rest break where we can see each other!

I need to get dressed and get going for the day. The weather is fine at this point so I should get outside and enjoy it. We can see clouds moving in. If I get my laundry hand washed soon, it will have a chance to dry out on the back deck before the rain starts. That's faster than in the bathtub.

But it is hard to move quickly here. I just want to sit, doing whatever, listening to the surf and glancing outside at the ocean from time to time.

[Ramblinrose]

Morning ya'll..

Yummmmm eggs and tomato sandwich, I love those. My brother just posted a pix of a big basket filled with Big Boy tomatoes from his garden. Really got my mouth watering

Kathryn I know just how you feel... Nothing like the beach in the early morning or any time of the day. I grew up living 3 miles from the beach and later lived directly one the beach for two years... I miss it terribly and hope to be living close by it again in a couple of years. Am thinking of renting a home next late summer to zero in an area. If it weren't for Sweetie, I'd already be there.

Today I need to loop all my errands together and take off. No rain in the forecast, at least for the next day or two. We always need the rain so I'm not complaining. Next I need to load my car with my g will stuff. My closet is callin me and I need to spend some time weeding through it.

Ya'll enjoy your day. Cya'll later

[DeeClutter]

Yes, Lady M, I'm only putting IN the car what we absolutely need there. Nice to know, Kathryn. I'm already thinking "downsize, downsize, downsize". May have an extra person riding with me as well, so really need to pack well. Dh should be coming in a truck and has extra space but I dare not depend on that extra space. It is sleek looking, Kathryn and I love the color -a Velvet Red so has sparklies in it. Not a red red, which I don't happen to like. There's just not as many nooks and crannies as in the van which is fine. I'm just having to refigure some things. There's a huge trunk and I'm hoping to most of our luggage, etc. there. Told dh today to go through the 'liquids' that are in one container to see what we really need now. Things like brake fluid, window washer, etc. We always carried oil as well because the van, though it never seemed to burn or leak oil, it would need a quart about every 1,000 miles. Dh is glad not to have that hanging over his head all the time. I hated to give up the van, but could I say, I'm learning to love this car very quickly?

I hate the fact that our driveways are all dirt/gravel here at Gravel Ponds (imagine that!) So very soon stones, etc are tracked into the car. I need to find a little vacuum that I can use without hauling out the big shop vac. So badly want to keep it clean and mostly tidy! Loved that bit of wisdom the other day, Kathryn. You are so right. Can be a little 'dirty' but always needs to be 'tidy' to satisfy me. Casual company will notice things in disarray, but maybe not the dust in the corner or on the fans (especially if they're running )

[DeeClutter]

CM as in Carolina M, Kathryn or a different CM?

[helia]

Good. . .afternoon all! I almost thought it was morning, but I've missed Friday morning by 11 minutes, apparently.

This summer, we fit 5 adults and all our luggage for our trip to Europe in a small sedan rental car. We always do this when we travel to Europe. Dh is a master at fitting luggage, etc. in the trunk. Usually, we don't need to drive too far and so a backpack might need to be on a lap; the Netherlands is a small country. Those years we've driven from NL to the Alps for family trekking adventures, I think we've rented larger sedans.

We're debating whether or not we replace our Odyssey minivan with another van or if we have outgrown its use. I'm not convinced we've outgrown it, if we still want to vacation as a family of 5 and sometimes with 2 dogs in tow for camping or hiking adventures. . . Dh thinks we can manage without and we can rent a van for those occasions when we need more space for vacations. Dh also uses the van to pick up large pieces of lumber when he indulges in his woodworking hobby which, admittedly, he has not done for maybe 3 years now. He is too busy. . .But I'm hoping and he is too that he will be able to get back into it.

I got up at a decent hour today, s2s-ed, wrote a li$t for the day, had bfast, prepped for tutoring with new TOEFL book, which I like so far. . . Then, I had a tutoring session with R, which was productive. I think I've found one root of her problems with the TOEFL: she doesn't hear (or apparently read, she told me) the overall organization of an academic lecture or text. This means she also has trouble with main ideas and summaries. So, that is what we're going to target for the time being, focusing on listening first.

I have eaten some lunch. Next tutoring session is at 3 pm.

Between now and then, I'd like to:
- take care of some emails
- finish my a.m. routine
- perhaps get to the groc. store

[lucylee]

On the road again... Posting on phone but wanted today hello to everyone. Y'all have a good day!