Well, I got a lot of organizing done yesterday afternoon. I went to Lowe's and bought two more heavy-duty shelving units to line the walls of the garage. I might actually be able to get two more in - I just have to make sure that I can open the doors of the car on the driver's side!

The shelving helps immeasurably - I rearranged all of our camping stuff, my riding things (hopefully to used again!), and I finally got the Christmas stuff out of the house. I also use a part of the garage as a cold storage/pantry, since we don't have that much room in our kitchen cabinets, and I am storing excess silver and serving pieces there.

If I could say that there is anything that I appreciate the most about my new house, I would have to say the garage. We have only a one-car garage, but my husband is kind enough to let me use it, since he leaves for work after dawn. It is so great not to have to brave the elements until I get to school. My car never has to be scraped for ice, either! It's lovely!

Of course, there are other things that I like about the place, including the deck out back! I have it lined with window boxes, and am really looking forward to planting for the spring. I have pansies and snapdragons in now, but I don't seem to have a talent for winter gardening. The snapdragons in particular are not successful!

Now that we have installed the new furniture, this adds yet more storage. I was also able to move my lightweight metal frame shelving up into the closet of my office, and stayed up until 10:30 re-arranging things in my office. The shelves are great for crafts storage.

All of this flurry of activity was because of the new maid who is making her debut today. Yes, we are hiring a maid - my sister was really great about encouraging it! I know it seems extravagant, considering we are just two people, but we both work all week, and neither of us wants to spend the weekend or nights cleaning house. I am also giving employment to the mother of one of my students, so it's doubly good!