August Change and snowflakes

August was not a huge change month, really.

However, when I cleaned earlier today, I found bits and pieces of change everywhere. Doesn't speak well for my cleaning or organizational skills lol

Mostly I found little change. But little bits add up. I also added the US currency change I had accumulated.

This month I rolled:
3 rolls of quarters  - $30
4 rolls of dimes - $20

for a grand total of $50

I will be taking that to the bank Saturday to put down against the college LOC

A sneezy Saturday

I ended up waking early yesterday..7:30 and it was a little sad to remember my mornings of leisurely coffee are done again for awhile. Weekends are back to tackle the list to catch up from the work week and get ready for the week again. Still, routine can be comforting in many ways.

It started out with my dumping the pile of papers, bill etc out on my bed to get them sorted and put away. I had my coffee in there and put Netflix on my ipad to keep me company while I did it.  This led to a complete gutting and reorganizing of my handy dandy bill/document box. I never get things put away properly it seems and that is crucial to that peace of mind only organization can bring.

Lots of papers for shredding.

Then I decided to put away the new clothes I had bought down in the US, for back to school. Well you can't put away new without getting rid of old..... one in-one out. This led to a close examination of the dressers, and that was when I really noticed the dust. Everywhere. Sigh

So yesterday everything was moved and I vacuumed behind and under, and washed all the walls in the bedroom. As each piece of furniture was put back, each shelf and drawer was gone through. And I purged, and I purged. To donate. To recycle. And far far too much that needed to be tossed. A shocking amount.

I also took the summer's newspapers that DH reads to the recycling bin in town. He is the only one who reads them, but never takes them.

I also found a picture that DS1 had bought me in Italy. I found a frame in my house and put it up in the living room.

As I curled up with a glass of wine last night, I thought. "wow I am going to have the best sleep ever in this totally cleaned and decluttered room.'

Wrong

All that dust that was kicked up has made me incredibly sick. I've gone through four allergy pills and 3 big boxes of Kleenex. My, I miss nasal breathing.

Changing my jar amounts

I was looking back to try to find the last time I changed the amount in my 'magic' jars and couldn't find it, so it must have been quite awhile ago. Since one of my big eaters is no longer in the house, I thought I would take advantage of this to tweak the jars.

Up til now my jar contents per week were:
Gas - $60
Entertainment - $40
Spending money - $20
Grocery and house hold items - $220

for a total of $340 a week

The only thing I tweaked was my grocery jar, reducing it by $40 a week, to $180. If this works and this is the right amount of money for the cost of grocery items here for three people. This $40 a week (or $160 a month) is being funnelled into the account that makes its way to the US for DSs groceries there.

We shall see if this works. I took my first week's money out earlier this week.

College Bound road trip...

....by the numbers

Well DS2 and I are home from going down with DS1 to get him settled in his dorm for college. It was an emotional trip in many ways, and costly.

• 35 hours driving round trip
• 11 hours driving in pouring rain on the way home. Big storm front!
• 55 minutes at the US border to find out we needed one more document for him to enter as a student.
• $200 US to pay for said document that should work for his entire college years provided he does not change colleges or majors
• 4 nights in hotels of varying costs. One night was a plain jane room but OMG what a view in the morning
• 3 roommates in DS's dorm/apartment. He shared a room with 1
• 17 dead skunks on the road as we drove by...and 1 turtle, walking very slowly across the highway. Helloooo Steinbeck
• 76% savings on the door crasher sale at the department store where we bought his Extra long sheets to fit his dorm bed, mattress cover and quilt
• $1.... $1 to park for 2 hours and walk the beautiful downtown district and peek in some of the shops
• $115 spent on 2 of his textbooks. 1 new and 1 used. Hope he sells them back when he is done
• $175 to buy some basic things he needed for his apartment kitchen and groceries, as well as toiletries etc. I went to Target thinking it would be a heck of a deal. Some things were even more than our Canadian prices. Found  a Walmart in the next town and bought the rest there.
• $3.34 to $3.54 were the varying gas prices in the US. Up here we are at $1.259 per litre. Anyone want to figure that out in Gallon price for me?
• $20 per night extra charged for the early check into the dorm. Housing is annoyed that the team required the boys to be here but wouldn't pay for the extra days.
• $$ with question marks as we wait to see how much tuition, room and board and fees are after the scholarship is deducted
• 1 sad mama who hasn't heard from her son since we left. I feel like I am missing out on so much. What was the coaches meeting like? How did fitness testing go? What was it like skating in that huge arena? Who are you on  a line with? How much money are you spending?

And back to work I go. Farewell summer

Simple Things

Well this is kind of the end of summer for me. My last Saturday at home before I go back to work. Next Saturday we are gone to the US to take DS1 down for college.  Seemed appropriate to be thankful for simple things. They are often the most valuable.

• I was so excited that DS2 came home last night. Since June 30, he has been home a total of 3 days. He was up running his camp and then spent the last week on the Churchill River system canoeing 90 KM. I am super proud of his independence, but boy I sure miss him when he is gone.
• DS1 was able to connect with many of his hockey buddies yesterday for the team's annual golf tournament. A few of the incoming players were there and he got to meet them.
• Thankful for a spare couch or two in my tiny little house. I woke up to 2 extra bodies: one of the old players and one of the incoming, crashing on my couch. The new one seemed very nice.
• Thankful for fresh bounty from mom and dad's garden. We went there for supper last night and had fresh potatoes, peas, carrots, yellow beans and cucumbers as part of our meal. Nothing beats the taste of fresh
• Thankful for cooler temps today. It's been far too hot and humid for a house with no AC. Was cooler outside than inside last night LOL
• Thankful for a great staff. We went for drinks and a fire the other night to reconnect with many of our staff, and catch up on summer.
• Watched fireworks last night from my front lawn. Right between the trees was a great view of them from the fairgrounds.
• Thankful for a great neighbour for almost  20 years. Her funeral was yesterday. She was 83. I've really known her most of my life as my grandmother lived beside her for years as well. She didn't appreciate my cats, but she sure was great to have around and chat with and always asked about the boys. I never had to worry someone was going to walk out of my house with my TV or something.