Parting is such sweet sorrow-- or-- I have to say goodbye to the summer

So, I have to run into work tomorrow to do an orientation. It'll only take about an hour, but this is always the signal that my vacation is almost over *cry*

I do have Friday to look forward to, though: Frances and I are going junking :) Oh, and Saturday I'm attending a life coaching seminar, which I feel a little silly about admitting, but I think it'll be really interesting, so there! I mean, how often do you have time to sit down and really think about what you want out of life? And not only that, but a facilitator is there to ask pointed questions and help you move around familiar roadblocks... Oh, and of course its all about me, me, me so what's not to like ;) I'll let you know how it goes.

With the end of my vacation in sight, its time to review the project list I made back in July and see what's been "done and what we have left undone", as we say in the Episcopal Church. Those items in italics (and bold, to make the list of what I accomplished look larger, ha ha ha!) are the ones I finished:

• scrape the bathroom ceiling (it has that stomp stuff on it that mildews and that you CANNOT clean, no matter how hard you try or what you use), and then paint it with anti-mildew paint
• patch and paint the bathroom walls
• refinish the armoire in the dining room to match the dining room table
• paint the kitchen ceiling
• paint the bathroom and computer room doors
• paint the moulding around the front door that was *supposed* to have been done before last year's Halloween party
• buy more plants for the raised beds
• make a cover for the chandelier's cord

Ok, so I didn't get the armoire refinished. I confess that the thought of unloading it (its full of china, linens, etc) and hauling it out to the deck was a little overwhelming after it took me a week of somewhat exhaustive labour to finish the bathroom project (items 1 & 2).

I didn't paint the kitchen ceiling. Again, after a week of being on a ladder-- scraping, sanding, and painting-- I was not so eager to do it again in the kitchen.

I have an even better excuse for not getting the doors painted! Before I went up to visit my parents for a week, Chris said that HE would paint the doors (pass the blame, Kimberley!) because he doesn't want me doing anything that might damage his precious Baldwin doorknobs.

Well, Chris got busy with other things and didn't get to the doors (I tell you, the man loves those doorknobs-- he's completely paranoid about their safety and I think that was the REAL reason they didn't get painted!)

I do think that I can get the trim around the front door painted on Friday morning, though, so then I can feel smug about getting over half of the projects on the list done, huzzah!

Additionally, I did get the fence painted and plants bought for the holders I painted to go on it. They're not hung yet, but my excuse for that is that the heat index has been over 100 degrees this week. Its been truly miserable out there-- like running into a wall every time you open the door and step into the humidity.

So I guess that I'm pleased with my progress overall. Its also been soooo nice to sleep late (my usual time to rise and shine-- well, more like stumble and glower-- is 5:30am), sit around and read with a pot of tea for an embarrassing amount of time, and not have to leave Tallulah House unless I wanted to... or until we ran out of food :)

Farewell, summer vacation. I miss you already.
Kimberley