So much for doing nothing on my vacation. My dad made sure I kept very busy with fixing up my house. I even got to use a jack hammer.

Of my previous list, here are the results.

• organize my craft area in the basement - not quite, but I did get some good shelving in the basement to help with the process
• hang pictures of mine and Cheruby's loved ones on the walls - not even close
• fix the back gate and fence - the back gate is fixed thanks to my dad
• clean up the debris in the front and side yards - three quarters done as my dad helped by removing some of the branches from the pine tree at the back and the cedar tree in the front and he completely removed the nasty juniper tree I didn't like and the old rotting bug-infested stump was mostly removed too
• pull some large weeds and bag them so they don't spread their seeds - got a bit started in patches around the lawn, flower beds, and garden and got all the roots dug up for those nasty purple flowers in the front
• collect other flower pod seeds for next year - nope but if the beautiful weather keeps up for a few more days, I might get there
• make some repairs around the house to make it more energy efficient - didn't quite get started on this yet, but I have another year and then some to get it all done to get the rebates
• paint touchups - nope
• organize the back entryway - nope and I think it got messier
• put up the garden hose holder - nope and this one should have been easy
• organize the garage - I threw out a lot of old boxes which has made a lot more room again but the organizing didn't happen
• play video games - sadly not really [pout]
• embroider a picture - yes! I did get some work done on this project
• start Christmas crafts - I ordered them and received them on Friday (I love getting packages in the mail)
• think of a Hallowe'en costume - I did do some thinking but just didn't come up with anything
• go shopping for a broom, shelving brackets, ladders, gutter cleaning hose contraption, saw horses, fabric, and whatever else I want - ooo... I think this one because boy, did I shop! I got a broom, ladder, gutter cleaning hose contraption, and lots of other things I wanted like the first Post Secret book and some stuff at Michaels
  
• schedule a pedicure - no and I feel like I've disappointed one of my staff members on this one as she was really expecting it of me so I'll have to make an appointment for my next vacation in October
• get shelving for the basement - I did it!!!
• finish the edge of my desk and re-affix the leg - [sigh] nope
• Verathane my pine shelves and get them up on the walls - nope
• watch movies - yep, we watched movies, but not very many (just the weekly movie and Nanny McPhee and A Good Year)
• read - I'm almost done reading Good Omens and am very pleased so far

Other exciting things that got accomplished while I wasn't doing the other things on my list were visiting with mom and dad, jackhammering out my falling apart front step and building a new one, removing the bad part of the old chimney, 5 trips to the dump with various wasted from the front step, chimney, and trees (I really like the sound of bricks and concrete echoing off huge metal bins), and ... getting eavestroughing on my house!!!!! Yes, you heard me, Rainbow Roofing be damned as my dad came to my rescue and put rain gutters on my house. I don't think I can say enough how much I love and appreciate my dad even when he starts a fight with my neighbour when he says, "Hi," on a perfectly lovely Sunday morning. He was just being protective of me because I'd been so upset over the whole thing. He threatened my neighbour saying that if he ever made me cry again, he'd have to deal directly with him. My dad had the luxury of saying all the nasty things to my neighbour that I'd wanted to say, but didn't feel that I could and still ever have the hope of having a good relationship. While he made it so that I had to go smooth things out with the neighbour again, I think they finally understood the impact their actions had on me.

So, there are some finishing touches that need to happen like paint on the new front step railings, put up eavestroughing on one side of the garage to ensure I meet all the city bylaws in regard to this matter before they come to inspect it in a month and a half.

I was even sick one day last week and helped Babyface move again. The new location is fantastic though and much better suited to Babyface and family.

I am three weeks away from my next vacation and hope I can keep up some steam to do the last finishing touches around the yard and stuff. And I'd like to get up to visit my folks and hopefully help them with some stuff since they've been so generous with their time and energy in the past two weeks.

And the last thing is that the Fat Brat and Little One slept together while touching for the first time last night. I was infinitely pleased.