I have a doctor appointment mid Friday morning, so rather than take a local train downtown after that to work just a few hours and then turn around and go home, I am just going to take the day off. Some of the things I plan on doing are:

• Clean fish tank
  
• Fix the gas grill so we can grill our Christmas strips and filets that came in the mail last week
  
• Fertilize the backyard lawn
  
• Dig up a shrub stump in the back yard
  
• Spray some expanding foam into a couple of openings in the house off of the patio to keep bugs and small animals out
  
• Make iced tea, hummus, and tabouli for the weekend
  
• See if the furnace filter needs replacing

We mentioned maybe driving north to check out the Chain O' Lakes area for when Dad and I go fishing. That might be a nice day trip for us. Visit a few of the boat rental places to see who has the best deals and what kind of boats.