Ready for long weekend

10/19/17
Ready for long arts & craft weekend, except I am tired

I have been getting ready for 2 weeks for my girls weekend with my sister, neice, aunts and cousins.  Now it is the day I will leave work early and drive down with one of my aunt's (M2).  I am driving my husband's car today, it is an older smaller sedan, and gets better gas mileage than my SUV.  M2 will have her husband bring her down to where i work so we can go from there in the other direction in my car.  M1, my other aunt is going 3 hours out of her way to pick up her grand daughter.  I am glad the grand daughter wants to come (she has come before when her cousins have come), but I am glad I don't have to add an extra 3 hours today and 3 hours sunday to my drive, because I am tired.  They probably won't get to RH until midnight.  Plus, I will have quite a few things to do Sunday to get ready for another 50 hour week.  I had hoped we could all ride together, but it is out of my hands.  My 2 aunts (M1 and M2) both live in the city I currently live in.  They are my mother's sisters.  I don't like to drive at night if I don't have to and I get sleepy around 10pm.  My main thing about avoiding the extra 3 hours is that my cousin and her SIL will be there at around 6 or 7pm to my RH and I felt uncomfortable hosting with people just waiting for me in my house.  I want to get there, get unloaded.  Open the blinds, turn on the AC, turn on some lights, sweep out any dead bugs, God forbid.  When you don't live full time in a house, there is the constant battle with bugs.  It is a pain.  We also have some issues with mildew from the house being shut up so tight and not enough air movement.  I feel really uncomfortable having guests get there before I do.  And not by a little while, by hours.  My cousin and I are close enough, I don't worry about that.  But I have never met her SIL and my cousin has only been to my house once.  I am sure I will be on the phone with her trying to direct her in.  I don't want to be driving through the hilly terrain in the dark with 3 women in the car, perhaps talking with each other. 

I am bringing everyone a pint of my apple butter and the pie I froze.  I packed it in ice in my car while I work 8 hours today.  I am currently  waiting on a project.  I hope this day goes by fast.  The sun is coming up and I am enjoying my nice hot tea.  I am excited about the weekend, but as a host, I always worry will everything run smoothly and will people have a nice time.  I also worry about who has to sleep on the sofa bed, because I know it is not the most comfortable.  But, it is nice to enjoy the fall with some women in my family who mean the world to me.  After our mom passed away, her sisters enjoy an even more important part of my life and I know my sister D3 feels the same way. 

I am also excited to be bringing 2 crockpots that I can't use to my neice and nephew, a 3 drawer plastic storage unit, and 2 Halloween tubs of decorations for them to take and use/enjoy.  More stuff out of my CH.  Win win!  I sold a pair of boots and a nice leather jacket this past week that I have been trying to sell for 6 months.  I put that money in savings.  I paid my personal property taxes last week in the RH state ($600+).  And my credit card balance was empty until my Sam's run last night (ouch).  It just occurred to me that the $200 cash I stashed at CH I totally forgot.  Oh well, I have $50 cash on me and  cash stashed at RH, so I should be fine!  I am buying nothing at the craft fair (Friday) or the shopping center (Saturday)...unless it is a big metal state mascot to put on our barn (my husband calls it barn, I call it a shed).  I have debated making one cut out of particle board - I could save prob 75%, but my husband nor I have ever used a jig saw...stay tuned on that one!

Have a great 3rd weekend of October fall weekend!  Enjoy your friends, family, traditions, sunshine, leaves, banana bread, apple butter, or pumpkin anything!  See you next week.