Well, here are a few others I've done with my kids. - Make little plant greenhouses out of empty plastic soda bottles. Cut the top off of the soda bottle, fill the bottom with soil, add seeds and water, then fit the bottle top back on. The kids don't have to be as consistent about keeping the seeds watered, as the environment stays moist, so it is a low-frustration way for them to start seeds. - Make a bird feeder. This is a great project for empty plastic jars. You can turn a plastic peanut butter jar and a larger plastic jar lid into a bird feeder. Basically, the peanut butter jar is the hopper, and you bold the larger lid on the bottom of it as the seed tray that the birds eat from. cut a few holes in the bottom of the jar, so the seeds can spill out onto the tray. Add an I-hook to the top of the lid so you can hang it. - Make a butterfly feeder. If you have a largish plastic dish that is no longer used, you can turn it into a butterfly feeder. We used an old garden pot saucer that I no longer needed. The children painted the outside of the saucer with a non-toxic bright paint. We poked holes in the rim and strung it with garden twine, so we could hang it. Then we made butterfly nectar and added mushy fruit and a brightly-colored plastic sponge for the butterflies to land on. You can hang it out when the rain stops. - Bird nesting material box. Use an old suet holder. Fill it with short lengths of leftover yarn (6 inches or shorter, so the baby birds don't get tangled). Hang it outside for birds to grab for their nests. (Obviously, this one is for early spring.)

Lots of thoughts today. Speaking of rain, we were planning to go to Bar Harbor, ME, this weekend, but since our main purpose was to explore Acadia and it's closed, we just cancelled our hotel and instead are going to NYC. Now I checked the weather forecast for NY and it looks pretty lousy...well, 30% chance of rain, better than 100%. DH wonders if someone is telling us something and we should just stay home? But I know he'd be mopey all weekend if we did. He was more excited about Acadia than the rest of us were, because he is obsessed with his camera. Meanwhile, DS surprised me last night by saying a local university has moved into the "favorites" on his college list (he is a senior, working on early action apps this month). So he now has 3 favorites, one 5 hours away and 2 very close to home. I suspect he is setting himself up to stay close to home, because he is that kind of kid, but he won't ever admit it out loud! DH and I would be thrilled if he stayed close, but we're playing it very cool and actually have been almost pushing the far-away school. For anyone wondering: Syracuse, Northeastern, and Boston University. Unfortunately only NU has early action, so he'll have to wait quite a while to find out about the others. (He's applying EA to 3 others, too.) Finally, I have been working very part time as a decorator for several years. I don't advertise and all work has been via word of mouth, or from people who read my monthly column in our local newspaper. Business has been very erratic but that's fine with me. I enjoy being busy but also enjoy down time. Over the summer I thought gee, maybe I should pack it in and get a "regular" job with stable hours. OTOH, I like making my own schedule, taking most of the summer off, and being my own boss. So I was in a quandary. Well, as of the end of August, I have been CRAZY busy. Like never before. I have been laughing, thinking as the third new client called me within a week, am I being punked or what? I guess word has just gotten around. Who knows, but even though it's been a bit overwhelming, I'm loving it. It sounds silly, but I've noticed I have a bit of a spring in my step and in general just feeling more productive feels good. My kids need me less than ever (and one moved out over the summer) so the timing is good, too. At the moment, I think I have 6 or 7 projects at various stages. Finally. The whole wheat bread I made in my bread machine last night tastes like cardboard.

I have been busy bringing in the plants that I want to keep over the Winter. I brought the two Hibiscus in a couple days ago since the weather guy was warning us of a frost. Today I cut back the Mandavilla and brought it in. Also two large hanging begonias and one Coleus. I've never tried to keep a Coleus, but it was just too pretty to throw out. They are all in the end of the garage where I have an entrance door with windows. Also I dumped some container plants, and took down the deck umbrella and brought it in. I'm right proud of myself!! The weather today has been perfect with sunshine, and temps in the high 60's. S'posed to get some of that rain on Saturday, when the family will be here for my DD's birthday. I hope it will hold off though. Enjoy the weather while we can. Winter is just aeound the bend. Sue

Like blfenton I am doing what I would do on a sunny day. Walk my clients' dogs or my dogs, do gardening for my clients or for myself Etc on work days. On non work days I do normal household stuff. Maybe I cook a little bit more on rainy days though. I live just outside of Vancouver and it is rainy a lot. Today was sunny though and it is supposed to be sunny on Halloween as well :-)