So When Does Vacation Start?

I neglected to mention in my previous post that I'm not exactly  on vacation yet. We've had a really expensive year, so I decided that I should just bite the bullet and teach summer school to help ourselves climb out of the red. I probably neglected mentioning it because I really don't like thinking about it too much. It's not terrible; 7:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. four days a week for three weeks.  I'd just so much rather be home being creative...or at least mindlessly knitting. I really shouldn't complain though because I have had a lot more time to knit than during the regular school year.

I'm pretty much finished with the Drops jacket. I really enjoyed this pattern. The only negative about it was the sleeves. They're done in reverse stockinette, and since the sleeves are done in the round, I had to purl every row. I don't like purling that much. On the other hand, when I was finished with the sweater, I was finished. There are two little seams under the arms and that's it. Now I just need to find some buttons and add a picot edge to the sleeves.

Russ hasn't been on vacation exactly either. We decided that since we have felt a little behind with expenses that we shouldn't fly to Nebraska this summer as we almost always do and usually come close to shelling out $3,000 with plane tickets, car rental, and eating out a lot. So, logically, we decided to spend close to $2,000 remodeling our bathroom. I know that's pretty cheap as far as remodels go, but the irony of us spending so much money to do it right now wasn't lost on me.





Our house was built in the early 80s, by a builder who is well known in our town. He's done some really nice homes, but the majority of them are tract homes with next to no originality. I've seen some of the light fixtures we've now replaced at Lowe's for like $6, so quality wasn't a high priority either. My goal since we moved in twelve years ago has been to try to make our house, which looks like at least five other houses in our neighborhood, more original. Russ has painted endlessly, added wainscoting, installed Pergo floors, and changed every light fixture  and ceiling fan in the place, but we haven't touched the biggest eyesore in the house, the kids' bathroom. The bathroom reflected the builder's dismissal of quality. It wasn't horrible exactly, but it was kind of embarrassing. So....Russ gutted it, everything except the bathtub, which was in OK condition and doesn't look much different from the tubs we could have afforded to replace it with anyway.