weather, water heater, and business

Good morning.
Yesterday was a typical fall day in Michigan. Cool and cloudy.
Craig got the yard mowed while I blew the leaves off the deck and vacuumed the leaves off the driveway and along the garage. The windy weekend blew a lot of the color away. Fall can be so pretty, but we often get wind and rain to spoil it.

Craig mowing the front yard.

Before and after.
Of course, this will be repeated time and again until all the leaves are down. Usually around thanksgiving.
And it appears we'll be getting a closed system water heater. The furnace guy said there's no venting problem with the vent he put on the chimney. He says it's more likely a faulty water heater. With the 6 in tube he put into the attic, there's plenty of make-up air and no reason air should be coming down the water heater exhaust. So we're kinda stuck between the furnace guy saying one thing, and the plumbing people saying another. Craig says he's just tired of it all and wants an end to it, and a closed system will do that.
So since we haven't had any venting issues since it's gotten colder, I've got time to get a couple more estimates, since it looks like it'll run a couple thousand dollars. :-(
In better news....
Craig has done the totals for the third quarter at the salon, and we are currently a little ahead of last year.
Business has picked up a little more. We've also seen a few new businesses opening up in the area. So some people must think the worst is behind us. We don't see much new hiring, but at least it appears to be no more layoffs. But with the economy so stagnate, I'm not sure it can get a whole lot better. Time will tell.
And with that, time to get ready for another work week. It's looking pretty good so far.