Progress on the rental house

Hubby took DS10 to change the locks on the rental house yesterday before he took him Christmas shopping. So, that much is done. I have to go to see about having the carpeting replaced in the bedroom before our renter moves in. Then, it's all over but the installation.

Keeping on...

Well, we have cleaned, steam cleaned, scrubbed, and dusted and slowly the school is starting to look like a happy place. My classroom is almost set, we have only a few things to take care of before it will be ship shape. I will go by and do some measuring today and then we'll go back after Christmas to finish up.

A professional painter will start on the hallways today. That will freshen things up quite a bit.

On the home front, I am nearly finished with the last afghan, I will complete the single crochet edging around the edge to give it some firmness to the shape later this evening. Then I can deliver those gifts.

The worst of the stuff that is left is that I really, truly need to scrub this house out again. It has suffered while I have been cleaning at school. Plus, when I get home, I am exhausted and sore, so all I really do is go straight to bed. But, the worst of it is over, so hopefully, I can make some progress on the home front before I go back!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be here, so, unless I trade off Christmas Eve to my mom and dad, I will be a very tired puppy come Friday morning!

It's moving time!

School is out for Christmas break and we are using the time to get moved into our new school building. It's been hard work! We've cleaned and cleaned and cleaned (did I mention that the building needed lots of cleaning?). But, it is beginning to look loads better. I just wish that the building didn't smell so musty and damp.

Hubby brought home some cleaners from work that if misted finely enough, can get into the carpets and kill mold, mildew, etc. and other sources of stink. We sprayed the fool out of classrooms, hallways, etc. tonight. It is hard to tell how much of an effect it has because my clothing smelled so much like "the funk" as we have taken to calling it, that I couldn't smell anything else. But, it takes time to let the cleaner do its work and kill the germs, so maybe we will be able to tell a difference by tomorrow.

I hope so.

The kitty saga continues...

Delilah, the mini kitty, is still utterly delighted with the Christmas tree that we put up just for her. She enjoys batting the ornaments off the tree and carrying them around in her mouth to deposit in various places around the house.

Ah, the joy of Christmas, the chasing the cat to retrieve the ornaments and the special thrill of redecorating the bottom half of the tree on a daily basis. Gotta love that!

Rental House

This morning, we showed our rental house and, Praise God, it finally is rented. We didn't get as much for it as we usually do, but our expenses are covered and that is a blessing indeed! Our new renter is a really sweet lady with three kids that will be moving in January 1st!

We do have a bit of work that we will have to do before she moves in like change out the lock sets, etc, but nothing too horrible.

It's a load off of my mind to know that this is an expense that won't follow us into the new year.

The Spirit of Giving

Each week, our school has chapel. It's a time to try and impress upon the students the need to praise and worship God. It's a good thing and it has had a positive impact on many of our students.

We have a parent volunteer (he is also a part-time pastor) who comes in and organizes and holds our chapel services for us. His name is Bubba and he does an awesome job and is very accessible to our kids. He starts each service off with a silly game to get folks revved up and then he relates the game to something that he wants the kids to think about. Then we have music, a speaker, etc.

Last week, he challenged our students to bring sock hats, gloves, and scarves for local people who have fallen on hard times and are forced to live in our area homeless shelter. I reminded students all week long (as I am sure that other teachers did). Today was the day we found out if the kids cared to participate. I brought in a bag from our family with gift bags, several hats and gloves. Apparently, many of the students were touched to participate and we had around 150 items donated. Since some kids forgot their items, we are continuing the drive until next Thursday, the last day before the break.

I am so glad that the kids are getting into the spirit of giving. It's the real meaning of Christmas. Plus, it's even better that they are doing something selfless. They won't see the faces of the people who receive these gifts (except for a couple of kids that will help to deliver them) and they won't get any undue attention for doing it. It's not for show. These kids are learning what real giving is all about. I'm proud that I work somewhere where we can teach these kids not just to help others, but to emulate Christ while they are doing it.

Frugal Shoe Repair

Yep. Apparently, we have lost our minds at our house! This picture probably proves it. In my opinion, this is the best of our frugality lately.

DS12 scuffs his feet when he walks (part of the Aspie gait--drives hubby nuts, but that's another story) and he managed to wear out his shoes so that the heel rubber is loose and flaps and flops around. These are cheap-o shoes ($6) that we bought for him to go on a field trip where he would be mucking around in a swampy area. We had no idea that he would like these shoes and insist that they be made wearable again. The up side to that is that his really nice black tennies are staying really good looking for church, etc.

So, hubby breaks out the ever-present Shoe Goo and proceeds to apply it to the affected areas to repair the shoes. But, the heel rounds up a bit and we can't find a way to secure the rubber in place while the Goo dries. Finally, hubby sits the shoes on pieces of tin foil (so Goo won't get on floor) and places a stool leg in each shoe to hold the shoes in place, but the rubber sole at the heel wasn't really secure. So, hubby takes my dust pan, turns it over and wedges the toes of the shoes up on it, effectively rocking the shoes back on their heels, thus holding the rubber sole in place. It was frugal genius!