Tripping Over Typeset

Have you ever had those months when you can’t believe it’s over and your mind whispers “that went fast!” But when you look back at the month’s beginning, you think “That was a long time ago!”

September was that kind of month ~ jam packed and full of great stuff.

Today we are linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky to reflect on what we learned this last month. If you’d like to join us, click over here. She’s got some great stuff.

Summer’s officially over –

September began with some beautifully warm days and even though the sign down at the lake told us summer was over we didn’t believe it or follow its instruction.

The kids have adopted a new way of plunging into the water. They call it “Dick VanDyke-ing it”  and for anyone who’s watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang you’ll know what I mean. It’s a great way to get into the water along with grabbing the attention of other fellow beach-ers. I love my kids and all their non-inhibitions!

Dave came up with a great idea.. “Let’s come and swim every day in September.” They were really gung-ho for that whole idea until day 2 when the temp dropped dramatically and the early morning sun hadn’t warmed their swimming area. It was a true sign that summer was ending and the school books were opening up.

Lemon juice and vinegar remove grape stains –

This was really phenomenal and I was not a true believer in the beginning. I really should have taken pics of how bad this situation was but I didn’t think about it until after it was all cleaned up. I felt like Suzie homemaker by the end of it and I was ready to take on the stains of the laundry world with my large bottle of lemon juice and vinegar container.

This had all come about as Dave was mowing the back yard and getting ready for the intrusion of oncoming leaf piles. Dave was cutting a good clean sweep along the woods edge and the yard was looking fabulous.

At one point he got off the mower to move some lawn furniture and that’s when I saw it!

On the back side of his shorts were deep purple large saturation of grape residue. He unknowingly swiped along the edge of a grape-vine, knocked fresh, overripe grapes onto his mower seat and continued mowing while they squished right into his clothing.  The shorts of course were his favorite and best summer shorts.

Yet I’m telling you friends. I followed the directions from this site with rotating back and forth between soaking in lemon juice, rinsing, soaking in vinegar, rinsing etc. And it worked! I let the shorts soak overnight in lemon juice and by the next day the grape stains were gone. I was truly amazed!

Dictionary.com word of the day –

I am loving this app. I’ve had it on my iPad for years but I’m turning into a word junkie so I downloaded it onto my phone and each morning it gives me a new word of the day. I love using it and quizzing my family over new words. I feel smarter every day. And because I read it in the morning I can say, “I learned something new today… job done now back to bed” but it never quite works that way.

Mattresses can be bought online and delivered to your doorstep –

Yes, we bought a mattress online. I was a bit skeptical and leery of this whole idea.  But the need for a new mattress was real and the cost of a new bed at the local mattress store was enormous so Dave went shopping online and found an amazing memory foam mattress from Overstock.com for a ¼ of the store price plus they had free shipping.

It was delivered a week later… rolled in a tube. NO JOKE!

I watched the UPS guy carry it on one shoulder to my house and plop it down in my front room.  This was a queen-sized mattresses, people! He asked where I would like it but I declined to have him bring it to my bedroom… that felt a little too much for me. So Dave and Jon hauled it up the stairs with ease. And even as I type these words, I think…. “They’re not going to believe me on this!” But it’s true! I was amazed at how easy it looked to transport. I remember the days of trying to push and pull a large rectangular object up the stairs yet this whole thing went well!

We unrolled the mattress, placed it on top of our box spring, cut the vacuum sealed packaging off and watched the mattress expand from 5 inches to 15 inches within 7 minutes. It’s amazing stuff! And for those who didn’t know… here’s another thing… NASA made memory foam for astronaut’s seats and beds because of the long hours they would be in one place and the support it gives to the body. (I know your mind is oozing with knowledge overload!)

We are just a month in on this mattress but the difference our bodies feel after a supported night’s sleep is a good thing. I wake up more rested, rejuvenated and ready for a new day! It’s a good thing!

A mattress in a tube! Who knew??? Not me!

Fare thee well, old summer days –

This month has been filled with many more moments of adjusting to new schedules, demands and all around life circumstances but I wanted to share just a few to brighten your day.

For as long as this month has seemed and for as many times as Matt has written the word “September” at the top of his math worksheets I think he’s glad to be onto a month with a few less letters.

It’s time for sweater weather, pumpkins on the porch and mums in the patio pots. It’s time to eke out those last few hours sitting on the backyard swing and taking in some good reads.

Bring on autumn, the full colors of fall and the pumpkin spice lattes.

Farewell September, Hello October!

Jump into the conversation:

• What have you learned this last month?
• What are your favorites of fall?
• Have you ever ordered something surprising online? (I would love to hear about it!)