A perfect weekend for catching up.

This is kind of beyond "Indian summer". The weather has been glorious. I have taken the opportunity to do things around the house I have put off.

1. I pruned branches from the volunteer trees next to the deck. I filled another container to go out on Thursday. Yard waste will be collected through mid-December. I might get these trees taken down by then, one can a week.
2. I cleaned up debris from the old compost pile way in the back. Zeke, who mows my lawn, dismantled that a couple years ago and piled the stuff next to the air conditioner. I have had other things to toss besides that, but I decided I needed to get rid of as much of it as possible. I have one piece that didn't fit in the can.
3. All the floors were swept which yielded dust bunnies the size of armadillos. I keep forgetting that a big black cat means big chunks of fur everywhere and that fur collects dust.
4. The kitchen was cleaned on Saturday so I could, on Sunday, bake. So far, I have made 3 Grain Pear and Fruited Bran muffins and 2 loaves of Butterscotch Banana bread. I have to wash the muffin tins again so I can continue to bake. It's fall and that's when I really enjoy baking.
5. The bed has been stripped and the mattress turned. I still need to figure out how to go get Jessie's mattress. I probably should just rent the appropriate size vehicle.
6. I read 95% of the newspapers I had piled in the living room. I need to try this recipe for butternut apple soup that was in a Wednesday cooking section.
7. And I washed every single rug in the living room. That's a chore because they tend to unbalance the washing machine. But, I tell you, the girls love clean rugs. Pilchard has been attacking a couple of them since I put them down. I love being able to drape them over the deck railing and allowing them to air dry.

The house is thrown open and the gentle breeze certainly helps with my allergies. As much as I love fall, my allergies do not. I'm worse now than in the spring. This unseasonably warm weather has helped me get a handle on the allergies so when it turns cold and damp, I might not be so miserable. Part of me thinks I should take a "mental health" day tomorrow, but that would look really bad.

It's been a wonderfully productive weekend. I need a few of those.

Beverage: Huckleberry tea

Deb