I do what I can to keep Old Reliable working as efficiently as possible; I use window film; I open south and west-facing drapes on sunny days for passive solar heat gain; and I keep the thermostat set to 60 or 62 (radiators keep, uh, radiating after the boiler turns off, so 62 on a sunny day can send indoor temps up to 66).

I'm waiting to hear from a client on several small projects, so at the moment I have a rather incomplete view of what my week will be like. That's okay. A little breathing space on a Monday morning is quite all right with me!

I don't like working on a laptop. It's just so freaking slow compared to the new desktop. But at least there's the option of plugging it into the monitor and keyboard. Not a total loss, I guess.

Devon, explain crap. Sounds like you had a pretty productive weekend with all the packing! Hang in there with the realtors. They like to pretend you're their only client when they meet you. We know better. 🙂

Cathy, pine needles are a lot like dog hair – you think you've got it all, then they shake. As for the waking up, been there. My husband is that way, too. He usually gets up and goes downstairs to work on the computer or watch tv. He doesn't fight the sleep. However, now he's up every night, so I'm not sure that's a great idea.

Kick ass, Becky! And yes, you need a really good week! Hang in there. 🙂

Paula, I always clean before I go anywhere. It's usually much cleaner when I leave than when I'm here every day. It's relaxing to come home and not have to do anything. But we have an adult kid staying here, so the cleaning will be short-lived, I'm afraid. I just hope to come home to live plants and a live fish.

Hear you on the boiler! Our furnace man said, "Tell him to stop being cheap and buy a new one." LOL Pretty bad when your furnace guy is tired of fixing it!

My week is looking good. I'm ahead of the workload (yes, I worked this weekend, but only 4 or 5 hours). I've got calls to place and a couple more interviews to set for an article that's due on the 15th. Somehow I have to knock a column out today. I normally do those on the weekends, but I didn't get around to it. And my favorite editor should be assigning soon – this week I hope.

Tomorrow I have someone scheduled to service the boiler. I never turn the heat on until the boiler's been checked (yes, I'm shivering). Why? Last time I did that, six years ago, the guy pointed to a bend in the metal flue that winds its way to the chimney – condensation had caused the metal to rust and disintegrate and there was a softball sized hole. He said if the house wasn't so old and drafty, and if it had been colder out, I could have wound up with carbon monoxide poisoning. My detector never went off. The other reason I always get it checked can be boiled down to (pardon the pun) the fact that the boiler is estimated to be at least 50 years old. To quote the serviceman, "The good news is this boiler could last another 50 years. The bad news is this boiler could last another 50 years."

Yardwork! A week ago I spent a couple hours weeding and trimming and cleaning up the yard….yet if not for the bags of yard waste lined up for the recycling truck that week, no one would have noticed I'd done a thing.

Lori, there's one advantage to having the party after your return: by cleaning the house before you go, when you're back you'll only need to do a little dusting and dry mopping. And laundry, of course.

My week isn't off to the greatest start either. The desktop is out for repair so I'm on the laptop, which is slower on the DSL than a rainy Monday. (Notice it didn't prevent me from stopping by your blog though. :o)) The good news is my tech can't find anything major wrong with the desktop. The bad news is I probably won't have it back for a couple days yet. I won't be getting a whole lot accomplished until I do.

That never happens. Especially on a Monday. I hope to continue kicking some asses & taking names today. I could really use a productive week.

Got a contract I've been waiting on, so work should commence soon with one client. Doing a quote for a flyer revision with another (and hoping that I'll also get to write their web site content). Applied for a couple of other things that I may or may not hear about this week.

Did I mention I could really use a good week? 😀

The week is starting slow-like me. I have gotten in this nasty habit of waking up every 2 hours and struggling to get back to sleep. I am definitely running on empty.

I start a white paper tomorrow-research, interview (rescheduled for 3rd time-so I THINK I am having an interview tomorrow). Then the rest of the week picks up with some more projects.

Today, I am going to mellow with some blogging and quickie articles-unless the caffeine kicks in – soon! 🙂