Fall Cleaning

Well, Fall Cleaning around the Simple House mostly consists of cleaning up Outside instead of Inside.  Because, you know, pretty soon, we will have plenty of time cooped up inside when we could clean :)  In theory, of course.  :)

So this weekend, while it was still quite warm (in the 70s!) we did what is supposed to be our annual Fall garage clean up, but it has been at least two years since we had done it.  At least.  And boy, did it show.  We took everything off all the shelves and emptied every container.  And made sure that we were actually using the things that we were storing in the garage. And that like things were stored by each other, for the most part anyway.  We tossed LOTS of things that should have been tossed long ago.  And we finally took out the broken freezer.  Hopefully, it will be replaced by a new(ish) freezer in the spring, but I think we will keep it inside instead of the garage. 

And we put things up for the season - we hung up the bikes and put away the canopy/chairs/cooler from summer swim season.  We took the swings off the playset. We put the lawn tools away. 

Speaking of lawns, we also did some other outdoor work besides cleaning the garage.  Mr. Simple cut the grass one last time, and I weeded and cleared the beds and put mulch down, so they will be all ready come next spring. 

It was actually supposed to snow last night, but it didn't.  Still, it got down to the 20s, and I fear that most of the temperatures for the rest of the fall will now be considered "cool." 

But I'm glad that we "made hay while the sun shone", as Laura Ingalls Winder might say. 

Well, it is done . . .

Remember this post?

Well, in case you don't feel like clicking the link, remember this picture?

We bought this playset at the end of August. And then Mr. Simple was gone many weekends, and it rained, and rained, and rained. And only had help one weekend, way back in early September, and that was one guy. But he has kept at it, working on it when he could. By early this October, it was functional. The rock wall, slide, rope wall, and tire swing and the beams for the swings were all up. The only thing left to do was put the roof on. And then it rained. And he was out of town. This weekend, he decided that he was going to finish it, rain or shine. It rained Thursday. It rained Friday. It sprinkled on Saturday. It sprinkled on Sunday. It rained off and on today.

But he decided to do it anyway. He did it when he could. When it wasn't pouring. And today, right before dinner, he finished. He was excited.

So were we. The kids love it. I love it. I'm so glad that we bought it. It will provide many years of fun.

Thank you Mr. Simple for all your hard work!!!!

Quotable Sunday

From Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Family Collection:

"Dr. Wiley, the food expert, states that drugs, drink and worry are making us a nation of nervous wrecks, and declares that practically every man and woman are at some time in their lives on the verge of insanity. Outdoor life is the remedy he suggests as the best cure for this condition."

(Outdoor Life the Remedy)