Susanne at Living to Tell the Story has begun a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share out five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details. I have seen it the past few weeks and thought it was a neat idea, but my mind went blank as to what to share. But this week I was thinking ahead!!

1. Days off from school. Jesse has been off since Wednesday because the school faculty and administration are at a conference. Jim took the same days off from work, too.

2. Not having to set the alarm clock. One life’s little pleasures.

3. That we didn’t go to Charleston, SC, or camping this week. Those were two of our options for these days off, but it is rainy here today, and Charleston is set to have high winds and rain this weekend, so I am glad we didn’t choose either of those. Our third option was redoing Jesse’s room, a project that has been needed since we moved here ten years ago, but it had to wait its turn.

4. Finally getting this carpet removed from my house:

Isn’t that the most hideous carpet you’ve ever seen? It has been in Jesse’s room since we moved here (poor guy!) and was just one of many projects needing to be done at this house. It’s actually coming up today! When we redid Jason’s room, we took his the old red shag carpet (shudder!) in his room and found beauitful hardwood floors underneath that didn’t need any kind of retouching or refinishing, so we are hoping that is the case in Jesse’s room, too. I am sure Ill have more on the room redo project later on.

5. Cooler weather. One of my favorite features of fall. It’s been lovely this week!

Outside My Window...it’s a little overcast. Hopefully we’ll get some much-needed rain today.

I am thinking… about the mixed emotions I have with school starting (first full day today). I am glad to have some quiet hours back in my day, but I really do like the more relaxed pace of summer. We probably do better with a little more structure in our schedule, but when all of a sudden there is a folder full of details to tend to, dates to mark, papers to read and sign and return, etc., etc., I feel like I am swatting a swarm of mosquitoes mentally.

I am thankful… that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning.

From the kitchen …I am thinking about stromboli tonight. I need to get back into regular menu planning.

I am wearing… a lavender plaid seersucker dress.

I am creating… hopefully a little more order, hopefully curtains this week. I am still working on my cross stitch piece as well, though I laid it aside for a few evenings to catch up on things like clipping coupons and going through cooking magazines and some of my other “relaxing in the evening” tasks.

I am going… out to lunch with a good friend tomorrow to one of our favorite restaurants which had closed but recently reopened.

I am reading…I finished To Kill a Mockingbird Saturday (review coming soon!) and I am still working on Simple Gifts by Lori Copeland. I have been wanting to reread To the Golden Shore about America’s first missionary, Adoniram Judson, so I think I will start that next.

I am hoping… that a friend is able to get back into school this semester…either that the Lord will provide the finances or the business office will be merciful (I had this on last week’s daybook. but I am still hoping and praying!)

I am hearing… my husband typing and another neighbor hammering (but a different one than the one who was hammering last week!).

Around the house…I need to catch up on the to-do list leftover from last week. 🙂

One of my favorite things… is eating out. 🙂

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: actually on of the first things I need to do today is make a list of things I need to do and then prioritize and strategize. With school starting, our schedule is a little different, and my mind is swirling with things that need to be done and things I’d like to get done. For some reason I am having a great urge to clear out “stuff” (maybe because my my living room closet and a couple of kitchen cabinets are overflowing?), but before I tear into that I need to look at the big picture.

Here is picture thought I am sharing…from my birthday. The first one is during the “Happy Birthday” serenade in which Jesse is waxing operatic. 🙂 I am looking at Jason — I am not sure what he was doing or why I have that expression!

Here Jim and his mom are listening to Jason play the piano. I just like the way they look here.

More Daybook participants are at our hostess’s site, The Simple Woman.

Edited to add: I’m sorry I forgot to mention that my oldest son Jeremy took these pictures. He did a great job!

I saw this over at Joyful Days:

You Are Palatino

You consider yourself to be creative and artistic. And you’d like everyone else to know it! You take design and aesthetics seriously. You like everything in your life to be unique and beautiful – but never gaudy!

What Font Are You?

I don’t think I had ever noticed this font — I had to go try it out just to see what it was like. I like it! The last couple of lines are true of me, but I don’t consider myself really artistic.

I saw this meme over at Brenda’s and Melli‘s and thought it looked like fun. I won’t tag anyone, but let me know if you do it — I’d enjoy reading your answers.

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? Dove unscented for sensitive skin.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? No. I’m not a big watermelon fan.

What would you change about your living room? I’d like to change it’s dimensions or size so as to be able to get a chair in there. We have a couch and a loveseat, which is ok when it’s just us, but that is usually where we have company, and then there aren’t enough seats to go around.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean — I forgot to have Jeremy unload it last night, and there are dirty dishes in the sink that need to go in.

What is in your fridge? The usual basic stuff — milk, OJ, condiments, etc. — plus diet Pepsi and leftover Mexican food from Jason’s birthday dinner out last night.

White or wheat bread? Wheat.

What is on top of your refrigerator? Water bottles and more diet Pepsi.

What color or design is on your shower curtain? A white and black striped lighthouse on a blue background.

How many plants are in your home? None, at least not real ones. I am guilty of negligent planticide. I do have some fake flower arrangements, though.

Is your bed made right now? Not yet.

Comet or Soft Scrub? Soft Scrub. I knew a lady once who had serious trouble with her eyes when the powdery Comet got into them as she was shaking the can.

Your closet organized? Pretty well.

Can you describe your flashlight? We have several. A couple of plain basic ones in yellow and red, a camouflage one (that I bought for Jesse for camp one year — probably not the greatest idea to take to camp in the woods, huh? But he didn’t lose it). Plus a big yellow industrial looking one that Jim likes to use.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Has to be glass.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? Yes.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? We don’t have a garage — I wish we did. We do have a very cluttered shed.

Curtains or blinds? Both.

How many pillows do you sleep with? One.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? One nightlight in the bathroom that shines a little into our room.

How often do you vacuum? That’s one of my kids’ chores, so I don’t do it often myself.

Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard.

What color is your toothbrush? Pink. We have this odd thing — some of the family members can’t remember what their toothbrushes look like — they just remember where theirs is on the toothbrush rack. So I always get a girly color so there is no mistaking which one is mine.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? Yes, though the design is kind of worn down.

What is in your oven right now? Nothing. It had birthday cake yesterday!

Is there anything under your bed? A flat storage box container flattened gift boxes, tissue paper, gift bags, and a few flat pieces of wrapping paper. And dust.

Chore you hate doing the most? Either cleaning toilets or dusting.

What retro items are in your home? I don’t think I have any — it would depend on how you define it.

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Sort of. This house has what the previous owners called a sunroom, and they kept a hot tub and some exercise equipment in it. We don’t have a hot tub, but we do have a treadmill in here — plus two desks and computers and bookshelves and a storage cabinet and some boxes and what’s supposed to be a project table that is covered with stuff I need to sort through. So I think of this as more of a hodgepodge room.

How many mirrors are in your home? 1 in each bathroom and in 3 bedrooms, so that makes 5. Plus there are 3 small decorative heart-shaped ones in the kitchen.

Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? No, but if I did I wouldn’t tell the Internet!

What color are your walls? Living room: Wallpaper on top with beige background and pink roses, sage green on bottom. Kitchen: Rose wallpaper in pink and blue and white. Hallway: Beige-ish wallpaper. Family room: Just off-white. My bedroom: Pink. Jeremy’s bedroom: Wood paneling. Jason’s bedroom: Dark blue. Jesse’s bedroom: Light blue. Upstairs bathroom: Pecan Sandie (I just love the name of that paint). Downstairs bathroom: Southwest style wallpaper in beige, rust, and gray (NOT my style at all, but not high on the priority list of needed improvements). Office/sunroom/hodgepodge room: diagonal wood paneling (strange, huh?) And that’s probably much more than you ever wanted to know.

Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? Do you think I’d tell the whole world? 🙂

What does your home smell like right now? Um…I don’t detect any smells right now.

Candle scent? I can’t do candles — they give me a headache and the really heavily scented ones make me feel like I can’t breathe.

What kind of pickles (if any) in your fridge? Sweet pickle relish, which we mainly only use for potato salad and tuna salad. We’re not really into pickles — I usually pick them off hamburgers

What color is your favorite Bible? Maroon.

Ever been on your roof? Not me! I get dizzy just thinking about it.

Do you own a stereo? Yes.

How many TVs do you have? 3.

How many house phones? 4.

Do you have a housekeeper? Ha!

What style do you decorate in? I’m somewhere between country and Victorian.

Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Prints, depending on what’s on the walls. Prints don’t show stains as much. 🙂

Is there a smoke detector in your home? At least 4.

What are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip?
Hmmm…it would be between the computer and old photo albums.