tidbits...

*Was supposed to have a doctor's appointment today. Car would not start. Battery stone cold dead. Felt horrible calling to reschedule at the last minute like that, but they were very understanding. Even told me I didn't have to pay the fee for late cancellation.

*Spring semester started for Rich and Annie. (Well, not for Annie's at-home classes--we start our third quarter on Feb. 1st.) At the community college, Annie's taking a health course called Emotional Wellness, Precalculus Mathematics with Analytic Geometry, and Literature of the Holocaust. Bet you can guess which class she's most looking forward to, huh? (At home, we'll be continuing with Biology, doing a half-year of Phys Ed, and starting a class on U.S. History Since 1945, which we'll be continuing with next fall.)

*Meeting with a plumbing contractor at the house we're buying on Friday. Am ridiculously scared to find out what kind of estimate we're going to get for all the work that needs done. But I sort of figure knowing the size of this price tag is a better kind of stress than not knowing.

*Have so many ideas for projects for our soon-to-be new-to-us home. Am going to concentrate on one room at a time. First up will be the dining area...well, not counting the bathroom which needs help beyond our piddly DIY skills. Starting with the dining area, partly because it's pretty much the first thing you see once you walk in the house from the sunroom, and partly because I just have it pictured so well in my imagination. I couldn't resist getting started. I had an image in my head of placemats I wanted to make...but I couldn't find a pattern anywhere that was quite like what I wanted. So I decided to just come up with my own pattern.

And I must say, I'm thrilled with how they're coming out. It took some playing around to get the pattern of stitches correct so they would lay flat, but it wasn't too difficult overall. Each one is going to be done in the same colors, but the order of the colors is going to be different for each one. Figured why not--our chairs are all mismatched and so are our dishes. :P (I also plan on making coordinating coasters.)

I'm thinking about making DIY posts for some of the projects we do. Which I realize likely won't interest anyone, but I'd kind of like to have a chronicle for myself of bringing our dream house to life.

*Just want to wish dear Heather a very happy birthday one more time before the day's is out. Happy Birthday!!!

You know, January has produced some amazingly awesome people...in addition to Heather, there's Ana and Renay and Jason...yep, I think I just gained a much greater respect for January as a month after this realization. :)