Beautiful Day

  Wow, it's so perfect outside! I wish it could be like this all the time, with occasional rain. Cloudy, but not too cloudy with a bit of sunshine. Mid to high 60's, a cool breeze. Wonderful! Not to mention the air is so fresh, too. I think one of the biggest reasons why Fall is my favorite season, is because it's after the dreadfully hot days of Summer...it's always a nice change. And of course the colors. But now we've been in Winter since mid-December, and by far this is probably the best weather I've seen within a year. So, after a shower and everything this morning, I went for a stroll. Not, no exercise walking or I would've put off the shower. It was a nice stroll, and the weather's cool enough to wear a light jacket and not break a sweat. Okay, so I was out for close to a couple of hours, but most of the time was observing and enjoying instead of walking. And you could probably guess I strolled over to the lake. And yes, I was talking about the weather :P

 It's not as summery-green as it was earlier, but it's got a nice winter/autumn touch to it, and it's even more beautiful in my opinion. There were many people out today, walking their dogs, walking as families, bike riding. There were also a good chunk of children playing, too. Not to mention the friendliness of everyone as well. It was also probably one of the first times I actually saw the residents of the lake homes outside enjoying their Saturday; yard work, lounging; mostly yard work, though. But still, they smiled and waved and said hello as I strolled by. Nice people, lol.

 

 

 

 And then a couple more:

 

I know, I was across the street from our place,but the mountains look so blue and gorgeous, I just had to.

 Anyway, yesterday was quite the day as well. After I kissed Gary off to work, I went to work myself. Well, at home anyway. I did what you would call New Years cleaning as opposed to Spring cleaning. I spent quite some hours cleaning, organizing, and even did a small bit of rearranging. It wasn't real bad to begin with, but it was enough to keep me busy for awhile. Then, I had an even more exciting task (sarcastic). I decided that since I was done cleaning, it was time to vacuum the floor. Now, as most of you know, the vacuum I was using was terrible to me. I took the darn thing apart, covered myself in dust and other nasty crap (probably got some disease from it), and cleaned it out and unclogged it. This wasn't the first time I've done this. I felt disgusting. Finally, I went to vacuuming to realize it started immediately backing up again and not doing a great job. So, I got a screwdriver, took off the entire back, and realized it was an electrical problem. The main hose doesn't have any suction. The circuit boards looked fine, but there was another layer within the vacuum I could have opened, but I'm not an expert with wires, so I passed. I finally had to accept it was broken, due to electrical issues. Frustrated, I put it away, and finally got in the shower and rinsed all the dust and everything even out of my eyes, mouth, and nose.  When Gary came home, he completely surprised me and bought me a new vacuum! A Dyson! It's the DC25 Animal.

 Obviously, I was thrilled. I took it for a "spin", and was surprised at all the crap it picked up. Half the bin was filled with dust and dirt...probably added up over the 6 months we've been here, lol. You know, since the other vacuum hated me. Yes, this vacuum was very expensive, but it will last us awhile. It's coming out of our tax return, lol. It has a 5 year parts and labor warranty, so it will last that long at least; good investment. Although I had been thinking about getting something like this for awhile, I always put it off and never mentioned it to Gary. Guilt, I'd say. The other vacuum he bought me at Best Buy was about a year ago. It was an improvement from the last, and I loved it as well. It had nice features, but went downhill rapidly. Gary knew I had issues with it, but I felt too guilty to complain, so I dealt with it. I promised myself I'd do everything to see if I could fix it myself before mentioning a new one. So, that's why yesterday I took the whole thing apart...so I would know I did everything I could. Anyway, I made Gary a promise I would vacuum everyday, lol. But it feels so nice to have such a clean floor.

Well, I suppose that's all for now. Time to enjoy this beautiful Saturday. I've had the door to the deck opened all morning, and Dexter's in heaven. The wind chimes Gary put up sound relaxing, too :) Oh, and speaking of cats, they look so good! Lila's weight has gone done quite a bit, and she's "healthy" looking again. I've been giving them weekly baths, so their fur is super shiny and soft. It's important I have healthy cats. I've also been giving them dental treats, which have been good for their teeth health. And speaking of weight loss, I've dropped another couple of pounds...15 lbs down! And I wasn't really doing anything except eating healthier. Looks like I can lose weight without trying finally; but I'm going to add in serious exercise and watch the results from there.

Time to vacuum, then run off and do some shopping with the husband! Bye!