Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. Big thanks go to Serena for the gorgeous new template you see today!  She designed it gratis and I love it!  Source artwork is linked at the bottom of the page. 
2. Michael is in negotiations with St. Michael's College School to return either after Christmas or next fall.  He spent Grades 7 and 8 there, and then for a variety of reasons that seemed good at the time, decided to move to our highly rated neighborhood public high school this year.  After a couple of months, he has been rethinking this decision and recently approached St. Mike's administration about returning.  This is an answer to prayer for Z and I, but the wheels are still turning, so more updates to follow.
3. Spurred on by the clutter diet that I"m following, we're making progress on getting the house into shape, with both decluttering and various minor upgrades around the place.  I've blogged about these previously, but it's amazing what, say, better lighting does for a space.  Next on the list is installation of crown molding and a chandelier in our new dining space.  I'm hoping that will happen in the next week or so.
4. I won two tickets to the Times Talk interview with Stephen King next Tuesday night.  I won them through a Facebook promotion, simply by being one of the first ten to put my virtual hand up.  
5. I received by first book for review as a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger.  I need to finish up my current novel and then start on this very interesting looking business book (Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership.)
6. Today was the first morning that I had to scrape frost off the car.  I was out in my sleepwear and slippers to shuffle cars, and it was nippy.  I love this time of year.  I feel energized and excited about life.  I think it's the contrast between feeling cool when out, and then entering into a warm house.  I think Wilson will gets lots of walks over the next couple of months, at least until the snow gets high.
7. My brother and his family will be arriving early next week.  Their house has been listed for sale in Berkeley and eighty agents went through it yesterday to rave reviews.  They are excited about getting it sold in this difficult market.  We're excited about having them in Toronto...they'll be living west of downtown, next to a large beautiful park which will be great for their three little ones. They're renting a former Jesuit residence until they get settled in the city, on a variety of fronts.  It will certainly be a fun Christmas!

Shout out to Company Girls today!  Thanks for dropping by!