Fantasy vs Reality

This is my fantasy fall morning vignette. Outside on a crisp morning, raking leaves for garden mulch, with a sweet canine by my side.



Never mind that it was mind-numbingly cold out. And raw-feeling. Never mind that said canine was eviscerating yet another "indestructible" (read: expensive) dog toy.



Never mind that the other canine-in-residence kept running through the leaf piles looking for a forest critter.

This was my fantasy vignette.

And this is my reality...
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This is what greeting me as I stumbled out for coffee this morning I seriously thought about getting back into bed and staying there!



I have 4 weeks left in the semester and still have 5 exams worth 62% of my grade to complete. Needless to say, I spend a lot, most, all of my time right here.

But I did do some raking this morning. I got to live the "dream" for a little while today. This is how it looked before I started.



This is how it looked when I finished. I will not show you how I looked when it was finished!



Now, I could tell you that I raked and bagged all these leaves, but that would be a bold-faced lie. I eventually gave up and got out the riding mower to chop the leaves and blow them off of the grass. I have never driven this new mower before and it was quite an experience when I thought I was pressing the brake pedal, only to find myself launching backwards towards a ditch! Guess what?? There is NO brake pedal on this machine!! But you can lurch around in reverse if you jam down hard on the "other" pedal!

So, I "mowed" the leaves and then realized that before I winterized the machine and put away, I needed to wash under the deck to get all the grass stuff out. That required getting out the hose and playing with water in 40 degree weather. ARG! But I did it and it is tucked away for the season down in the shop.

I have also spent some time getting the "new" guest room ready for Thanksgiving visitors. Courtney and her boyfriend, Clint, are coming down for St Louis to spend time working having fun on the farm! Stud Muffin moved his office down from above the garage, so the guest room moved upstairs.





I still need to bring in another pillow and a few pictures. I wish another table would fit next to the bed, but, alas, there isn't enough wall space to accommodate it

The bathroom needed a storage/decorative rack, so I put one together. Not quite thrilled with the open rod shelves, but it works!



Consider yourselves officially updated!