Old man winter is hiding right around the corner.....

Yes, it will soon be here, it's coming...it's just around the bend, we don't want to think about it, but whether you like it or not, old man winter is peeking around the corner at you. It's the time to put away the patio furniture, empty the hot tub, clean out the gazebo, put that lawn mower up, empty out and clean up your flower pots, give that garage a good cleaning, take the watering can to the shed along with all the other summer tools, dig out the snow shovel, salt, car de-icer. window scrapers, make sure you have those battery jumper cables in your car, where they belong, get your car winterized, check your tires, get your furnace cleaned and checked, and don't forget to get more furnace filters and change yours. WHEW! Getting ready for winter is a lot of work, oh, and don't forget my two FAVORITE jobs, cleaning out the eve spouts and raking up all of those leaves that come down and come down and come down. Just when you think you have gotten them all taken care of, your lawn is leaf-free, a good wind comes along and blows all of your neighbors leaves, who haven't done any raking at all, back in your yard, or the wind shifts from the north and all of them that were tucked against the fence across the street decide they don't like it there anymore, they have been wistfully looking at your clean yard and decided to make it their new home. Gotta love the leaves! I sure like them better when they are up in the trees. When I choose to complain out loud about these pesky leaves, this is just about the time my son takes the opportunity to "remind" me that I always say I love the Fall so much! Oh yes, I almost forgot, the final task is to mow your yard off as short as you can, that way all the rest of the leaves just blow right on by and onto your neighbor's yard! I have learned that little trick. The best thing about completing all of the tasks previously mentioned, is the great satisfaction I derive when I sit back and look at my home and yard from a distance and see the simplicity and clean lines without all of the "summer clutter". Then it's time to start inside, I am a fall cleaner, I don't do or believe in large "spring" cleaning, I instead do large "fall" cleaning. I feel like the fall is a much better time to do this, although I do clean my home in the spring, just not like I do in the fall. I have my windows open as much as possible in the summertime and that means lots of dust and outside allergens make their way inside, so why spring clean? Nope, mine gets done in the fall when the house is going to be closed up all winter, I want things clean, closets organized and things in their place. I recently threw away about two garbage bags of "old clothes". Now, don't get excited and say, "Debra, you should have given those clothes to those who could use them". Trust me, no one would have wanted these "old clothes". They had all had their day, most of them had been around for a long, long time and I had gotten my wear out of them. I have lost weight the last few months and they were all way too big anyway, and I decided that if it was too big, it was going AWAY, far, far AWAY! Keeping them would be a big mistake and much too tempting. If they were gone, there would be no excuse to get back into them, EVER! So, now I have to get some new clothes, yippee! Now, for some women, this would be an exciting, interesting prospect, going shopping for new clothes, but for me, yes, I am probably the only woman on the face of this planet who detests shopping! There I said it, I HATE SHOPPING! There is a "shopping gene", my mother has this gene, my daughter has this gene. I do not have this gene, it skipped a generation. My mother and my daughter love to shop! They both love to look, look, look at everything. They are both their happiest wandering around stores. Come to think of it, my mother's mother, my Grandma Greenlee loved to shop too! So, when I mentioned that I needed to get some new clothes, they both smiled excitedly and said, "We love to shop, we'll take you shopping"! I thought for a moment, "Lets, see, shopping for clothing with them, hmmm, nope, I don't think so". It would be a three-day event, this shopping trip, I wouldn't make it home alive. I'd disappear in a clothing rack and never be seen or heard from again. It would be like going into the jungle and just disappearing, forever! A week or so ago, I had to make a "quick trip" out of town to get a much needed piece of equipment for the Radio Station, so I planned a trip down and back one afternoon, by myself, soon word had gotten around about this trip, this also was daughter's day off, soon she and grandson were going along, then hubby decided he was going too. I planned on making a "quick stop" at my favorite store to "maybe" purchase a pair or two of much needed dress slacks, this trip ended up lasting forever, got home with the wrong size slacks, the saleslady put the wrong size ones in the bag, I was not happy. This easy trip turned into a long one as the piece of equipment wasn't ready on time either! Shopping for me is a chore, everything looks the same, the racks of clothes are endless, I can never find what I want, and I detest trying them on in those small changing rooms. The mirrors always make you look so good too! Do they have to put such large mirrors in these dressing rooms? Maybe they could put them on all sides and add more glaring lights that are so flattering to all. Yes, winter will soon be here, oh, i just remembered that I will need to get a new winter coat too, my old one is way too big! Shhhh, don't tell my mom or my daughter, they will want to take me shopping! Let's see, I could sneak out of town one afternoon and say I have to go to an appliance store or get a root canal, yeah, that might work!