The Week Behind: October's Graceful Farewell

 

Saturday:  It's been two months since I last saw Taylor and I was more than ready to see my girl.   I went over to visit at Katie's this afternoon, not staying long but getting to see the two children.   Caleb was chattering away and definitely kept his eye on his sister.  He has recently learned "No"...and to shake his head to answer questions.  He lay his head down on his stuffed llama and I asked "Are you sleepy?"  He immediately sat up and vigorously shook his head 'No', lol.

I went into the Dollar Store after I left Katie's.  At the best of times it's a bit full to overflowing but right now it's a bigger than usual mess.   They're re-doing the place and have added a small amount of fresh produce plus a case to display the produce and lots more refrigerator and freezer cases.  I expect they'll expand the grocery area a bit further.  I must say the lettuce I saw looked very nice.  

I've never shopped in the dollar store a great deal for food, but I do know many locals would rather go in to shop there than at the grocery due to the higher prices the grocery has charged in the past.  Even with the change of hands, the prices are still a little steep on a few items at the grocery. 

My purpose in going in to the dollar store was two-fold.  I had a plan of making up bags of candy for Taylor, Isaac and Josh  as a sort of Halloween treat and I was looking for reading glasses, a pair for myself and another for Mama.  I broke the pair I could read best with in bed recently and missed lying down to read at the end of a long hard day and evening.   Mama has had nothing but complaints about her own readers but swore the ones I had in my purse as my spare pair (meant for her as she never seems to remember her own) were exactly what she needed.  I bought a pair of  that strength for her to have at home.  I'll reserve the pair in my purse for her 'forgot' occasions, lol.

I was successful on both missions and bought cookies to share with John.  Disappointment here.  I love a good vanilla cream filled cookie...But what is a good vanilla cream filled?  The ones purchased today were Vienna Fingers by Keebler and a blander cookie I've never met in my life.   If there is sugar in them I sure can't taste it.  Nor vanilla either.  They smell of Vanilla but there's no taste.   This is my third brand and third attempt to find a good vanilla cream filled cookie.  So I'll ask you all, Do you have a favorite and would you leave your recommendation for me?  Please?

Utter waste of two hours followed supper tonight.  We watched a film solely based on fact that the lead actor was well known and had made many good films.  Well this one wasn't one of them!  I knew from the beginning that it was going to be crud since the imagery was right out of the mid-60's with lots of random close-ups done in a semi-psychedelic sort of way.  I should have followed my instinct and abandoned the thing right away, but no... I hung in there for a full hour and a bit more before calling it the crud it was and immersing myself in YouTube.  I was downright grumpy at the waste of my time, lol.

Today was Sam and Bess's anniversary.   Sam celebrated by going deer hunting and getting his first deer of the season.  Then he and Bess went out to eat.  I'm so happy he got his first deer on the first day.  He says the next one will be for our freezer.

Meals:  Pancakes, Kielbasa, Eggs    John requested pancakes last night when I served Polska Kielbasa, for our supper.  I'd set aside a portion of sausage.  

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Pineapple, Green Pepper and Onion

A variety of leftovers

Sunday:  I have to laugh over how today went.  I really must.  Only because I willingly left home with dishes stacked in the sink, the bed unmade, the house a tiny mess.  "Why worry over it?"  I asked myself.  "You'll just come home with time on your hands anyway."  Ha!

So we headed off to church and arrived on time, so there was the good in not doing those chores.    If asked I'd assure you all that John was the reason we're usually late but...never mind.  

And then we went over to Publix afterwards to pick up "Gramma's Fried Chicken" for lunch.  As we were discussing what we were going to get today I suggested he get an extra box so that we could make a plate for Chad who is working 7 days a week just now and I knew Katie would be done in after driving 3 hours and wouldn't want to make supper.  "Well I was thinking of asking Bess and the rest of the family..." said John.  So he went into the grocery and immediately called to say he had the chicken but nothing else we'd planned to get was available.  "Never mind...I can make things when we get home.   But do get rolls.  I know Josh will at least eat a roll."

So while he was getting food, I was texting family and just like that I had no time at all to do all that needed to be done!   I used my head and commanded a small amount of John's time.  I told him exactly what I needed for him to do and he did all without a fuss and then it was just down to what I needed to do: load dishes and start them washing, cook, and if time allowed, make our bed and if not close the bedroom door.  

Time allowed.  I'm glad because at one point Caleb was napping in the guest room and Bess needed to nurse Millie so she went to our room for that.  Now Bess wouldn't have looked askance at me if the bed were unmade but it made me glad it was done all the same.

I cannot begin to describe how nice it was to have an impromptu family day today.  It had been misting rain but by the time everyone arrived it was starting to clear up.  The house rocked and roared and then the children asked to go outdoors and we sent them all out to play in the sunshine that had appeared.  Every now and then an adult would shout "Shut the door!" as one or another of the children ran indoors or out again.  I often wish at moments that we had good old fashioned heavy screen doors on the house.  There's something lovely in the nice solid sound a screen door makes when it's shutting.  Alas, it's flimsy metal and glass storm doors for us but at least we can leave the interior doors open and have an extra spot to spy from to make sure all children are accounted for.

While we were at dinner it seemed it was a good time to mention to the girls that I was planning an early Thanksgiving.  I'll have to text or message Jd...  So it looks like our holidays are sorting themselves out very nicely without a lot of effort on my part to jostle schedules.  We'll be having Christmas discussions here later.  I think that, too will be an earlier date as there's a good bit happening around Christmas.   And of course, I must still plan our food for the day but that will come in good time.

Sam and Bess's family separated and went home in shifts.  First Bess slipped away with a sleepy, fussy little tiny girl and then the boys, who were told to put on their shoes, put them on and left.  Sam had planned to walk home with them, but they were ready before he was and off they went, lol.   Then Taylor and Katie relaxed and chattered a little while before they left to meet Taylor's daddy.   John and I kept Caleb as he made that trip with Katie yesterday and it seemed better to not submit him to a second day of three hours in the car seat.  

That little fellow is getting more and more confident in his ability to do things.  Today he wanted something on the table between the two chairs on the other side of the living room.  John and I were astonished to watch him lift his foot, place it on the wooden box and then step up to reach the item, and step down again!   Isaac nor Josh would do such as that until well into their 18th month, but this little boy, who hasn't even taken his first step just yet, was very adept at climbing already!

As things went today, Chad came out to get Caleb, then Katie returned before they left and so they stayed and visited a good long while.  While Katie, Chad and John visited, I cleared up the kitchen which had been a disaster since lunch was served.  I couldn't unload the dishwasher until the countertop was clear and I couldn't do that because the sink was full and I couldn't load up the dirty dishes until the dishwasher was unloaded.   I finally settled for a clearing off of one counter then unloaded dishes from the dishwasher and loaded it right back up again.  Caleb came in to 'help' by sliding the dishwasher racks in and out again and watching all my work  I like working with a baby at my feet, I just do.  My children worry that I'll be unaware of a child behind me but 99% of the time I am very aware of exactly where they are.   I've only ever stepped on one and then my foot barely touched her when I realized she was there and I adeptly moved away before harm was done.    

About 6:30 Caleb proclaimed it time to go home and go to bed with a short wail, rubbing his ears and then a long wail followed by a massive yawn.  So we bid them farewell and came indoors to scrabble about the fridge for any leftovers we might find and have our suppers.

Several times this evening, we've looked at one another and agreed that it was a lovely, lovely day.  Not a bit of it planned before hand but exactly the sort of spontaneous day John most enjoys.  And I did quite all right with that myself, if I do say so.  Just goes to show you a planner can be spontaneous and enjoy it now and then!

Meals:  Cheese Toasts

Fried Chicken, Mac n Cheese, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Fruit Salad, Rolls

John ate mac and Cheese and a roll with some Spam.  I had leftover tamales and pear juice.

 Monday: I'll not spend this week telling you how late I sleep each morning, lol.  I did sleep rather well last night though and enjoyed every hour of it.    I got up and had my coffee in the kitchen sitting, looking out over a foggy-ish sort of autumn morning and admired the mess of leaves under the Faith tree and the bright green of the rest of the lawn.

I carried my book to my chair (Dairy of a Provincial Lady) and read through one chapter and then two before I was done with my coffee and prepared to make a simple breakfast.    I must say, it's a nice change from my usual perusal of Instagram accounts to sit and just read my book and one I think I'm going to repeat.

After breakfast, I set myself to finish picking up the little messes leftover from our family visits.  I was worn out by the time I'd gotten the kitchen cleared up and seen our last family off last night and told John that any work undone when I sat down was going to wait.  And true to form, it did wait, just as it always does.   

So a small bit of housekeeping in each room ensued and and then John made the bed for the most part (why don't men like to put on the shams?!) and by noon I was ready to do something less strenuous.  I opted to make a phone call I'd put off making after reminding John that he needed to make a call as well.   Truth told, we were both dreading the long waiting time for the call to go through and the prospect of difficulties we were sure we could expect.

Well as usual the thing I've dreaded the most turns out to be the least problematic.   It did take a good 38 minutes for my call to go through, but in the meantime, I worked on the bill box and sorted out my desktop and then dug about in the closet to get paper work John needed to make his call.  As soon as I'd laid hands on that piece of paper, my call was answered.  I hurried back to my desk and 6 minutes later, I had managed to get a refund that was due me sorted out and on it's way through the system.  Not too bad a return on my call, since I shall receive a check for several hundreds of dollars in a week or so.

John was so inspired by my call that he went on and made his even though it was lunchtime and he was sure no one would answer.  His wait time was almost as long as my own but he did get answers and while not as profitable as my own, the result was that there's really nothing we can do until income tax time about the issue and so that must wait.   We both agreed we'd not let it worry us in the meantime.  There's not a thing we can do about any of it except wait until then and if necessary we'll go to a CPA to help us sort it out.

In the meantime, Bess ran in to borrow carrots for her pot roast.   I'm so happy that my children can run in to borrow things.  Bess is especially mindful of what she's borrowed and will more than return whatever she got.  Katie is good too to share things that are extra above what she's required.  I figure it all evens out somewhere along the line.

Which thought  prompted me to text Bess immediately after she'd gone to tell her I was supposed to give her a whole bag of things from Katie for Millie.   She said she'd be by later in the afternoon.

After lunch and clearing up the kitchen, I sat down to rest and read emails.   Then I hopped up again an hour later to make coffee, which somehow involved preparing a Pumpkin Banana Bread and then assembling our supper recipe.  Truth told, I've missed cooking over the summer when it was so hot and am relishing the opportunity to bake and take time to make old favorites once more.   But I did drink my coffee finally, about an hour after going into the kitchen to start it.  Fortunately I know myself and just set up the pot and walked away because it takes about a minute to brew and I know I want a hot cup of coffee not one that is lukewarm.  I never hit the 'brew' button until I am truly about finished with my tasks.

I had my coffee but just before I drank it, Bess and Josh came in to pick up the bag from Katie.  I asked Josh if he'd mind very much coming over one afternoon right off the bus and stay to supper?  His little face lit up all over and his smile was super sweet.  He's missed getting to come visit and he knows that Isaac is coming over now and then during the school day.   It made me glad I'd thought of it.  I've missed seeing him and this should work out nicely for all of us.

Meals:  Peanut Butter toasts...John deserves a good breakfast tomorrow morning!

Leftover Pizza

Pumpkin Bean and Chicken Enchiladas, Green Salad

Tuesday:  There are days when I'd sincerely like to reply to some people with a "Thank You...I'm not quite the idiot you think I am..."  But there you are.  You open yourself and someone is going to  guise "helpfulness" in such a way that they make you cringe inside and you are pretty sure that they really meant to make you feel less than you are.  I suppose really this is where one learns discretion in what one shares, and you either remain silent or  simply wish to be snarky and suffer the regrets later.    Fortunately, I am seldom among people so it's easy enough to quell my ruder instincts and simply be quiet but oh for the pleasure of just once bleating it out and being done with it!  And that's just the ones who are semi-snarky in their admonitions or 'help'.   We aren't even discussing the downright rude, meant to be mean, must ruin someone's day or theirs is not complete, sorts.

I often encounter such helpful remarks hidden among much nicer ones here on my blog.  I am not alone.  Paige at Farmhouse Vernacular addressed this issue this morning.  Here's what she had to say and I admire it greatly.

"Confidence isn't about pretending what people say about you doesn't bother you.  It's about hearing what they say, seeing how that aligns with your values, and acting accordingly."

My values are changing.  I've been quit to defend a statement or my choices in the past and some might well point out that is a childish reaction.   Simply remaining silent hasn't been of much use because the attackers usually continue to do so until they are stopped in their tracks.   My current approach likely is the best for the moment: simply moderate comments, shut down those that are rude or unhelpful in statement and move on without mentioning them.

However, I do have to point out that sometimes a comment might not be approved and it's not always because I am upset or bothered by the content.  I have hit the wrong button in moving too quickly and deleted nice comments.  I sometimes am delayed in approving messages because I tend to not be on computer until later in the  afternoon or early evening and if it's a busy day I might not remember that I need to moderate comments until the next day.

So if you've commented and wonder what on earth happened to it and if I'm offended please forgive me.  I'm not necessarily any of those things but simply trigger happy when I am trying to approve comments or delayed.  If you feel the comment is very important and you don't see, feel free to to resubmit it and accept my apologies.  

On the other hand if you post it twice and I still don't approve, you might want to reconsider the wording...Just saying...

Uncharacteristically, I am sitting here writing this morning.  The morning has gotten away from me and I'll likely spend the afternoon working which is fine.  I work just as well in the afternoon.  I've just preferred to do my most physical tasks in the mornings and then spend my afternoons quietly working but I find these days that another change has occurred, temporary or not remains to be seen, in which I much prefer a quiet morning of work, an afternoon of physical work and then quiet evenings spent working and reading.   This suits me at present, as does taking time to read each morning rather than go on Instagram.  

John watched a video yesterday afternoon about Keurig coffeemakers and the vlogger said that the coffee pods are actually just enough coffee for a 6 ounce cup and if you're brewing a 12 ounce then you are essentially decreasing the strength of your coffee by half.   Now for John this is fine.  The man likes a medium roast which is already diluted in my opinion and then brews 12 ounces  and sometimes 18 ounces of water atop that (hitting the button a second time to fill his Yeti cup).   

I tried it the somewhat proper way this morning using the 8 ounce cup feature.  I  use a dark roast coffee pod and I thought it a very good cup with excellent flavor.  Glad that John pulls up such randomness now and then to listen to, lol.

I spent a lovely half hour or so outdoors.  I went out to empty my compost canister and then stopped to cut flowers and roses to bring indoors this morning.   The bees and butterflies were busy.  I didn't cut quite all the flowers.  I left my least favorite ones for them to feed upon and gather pollen.  I thought it rather nice to catch them all at their food gathering.  I have a variety of bouquets in my house once again.  Do remind me next spring to get busy and start planting flower seeds for cut flowers!

Would you like to see some of my beauties?

Lipstick vine or Coral vine is what the old folks call this delicate looking plant.  It grows wild along railroads usually.  Typically I plant it over the rose trellis so that the spring roses have a second chance to give us some much needed color.  This one was a volunteer this year but I'm not in the least sorry about it.  I really love this delicate little plant and so do hummingbirds.  I'll try to gather seeds from it this year and plant a few more here and there.  

It could be invasive I suppose, but I've found it so easy to recognize that I simply pull out any pieces that pop up where I don't want them early on.  I actually haven't had any of this pretty vine in several years now but I found this one piece growing near the rose bush I planted last fall beside the back porch railing and decided to leave it in place.  

The bare root rose I bought at Aldi some years ago had over a dozen buds last week.  The flowers are not highly fragranced, but they do have some fragrance nor do they last more than two or three days indoors or out.  They have very short stems as well.  But they are lovely!  One bloom alone is as large as my hand.  This rose is in plated in a huge container on the patio.   It's bloomed several times throughout the spring and summer.  I'm pretty sure the fertilizer I fed it mid-summer is responsible for the current glut of blooms and their enormous size.  I'll be sure to feed it regularly from now on. 

A rather pretty moth(?) feeding on the pale apricot zinnia that has been overly prolific. I liked his blue green back.  This insect was quite large.  Those blooms he's feeding from are about the size of my palm...I confess that this is one of my least favorite zinnias but cannot deny it's reproductive capability.  It has out performed every other plant in the little flower bed and is so burdened with buds that it can only lie upon it's side.

The bumble bees were feeding freely on the cosmos and zinnias as well.   Often two or three would be burrowing down into the center to gather pollen.  

I wish I'd had more white cosmos. I think I prefer that color most of all, but the pink and maroon were more liberally added in that packet.   Thankfully they too are lovely.

This little patch of pale blue morning glories was a surprise to me this morning.  They were sown by some bird, no doubt the seeds ancestors to the Heavenly Blue ones that I grew years ago.  I must remember to add the Heavenly Blue to my garden once more.  They also would be pretty clambering over the spring rose vines.

The Heavenly Blue saucer sized blooms are beautiful and a true blue.   When they revert to their wild state they are tiny and lean gently towards a lavender color.

I also have a handful of Hydrangea blooms, a few mums that are leggy and wild looking but pretty and some Dianthus that bloom heartily all through the Spring, Summer and Fall and all through the milder winters, as well.  What I've shown is  just a handful of  the few flowers  I have really but they have produced so well this year and it reminds me how very much I enjoy blooms in the yard and indoors and prods me not so gently to get busy and prepare spaces where I might plant still more next year.

Meals:  Is this a good breakfast, as I said  yesterday I must make for John?  I was up later than planned (a recurring theme of late) and so I simply Boiled Eggs, cut chunk of cheese for each of us and sliced Pumpkin Banana Nut loaf.

A full variety of leftovers served as lunch.  Fruit salad, macaroni and cheese, a chicken wing each and John had the last portion of stuffing, as well.  It certainly felt like a full meal, much larger than we'd typically eat this time of day.  But the fridge is clear of all leftovers except green beans now.

Pan Braised Sirloin Patties, Pan Juices, Wild Rice, Mushrooms and Onions, Green Salad   This was an incredibly lush sort of meal from plain old every day ingredients.  The cooking and presentation of it all together is what made it such a nice meal.   I deglazed my pan with a simple mixture of water, soy sauce, cooking sherry, and Worcestershire.  I reduced the liquid, scraping up the goodness from the bottom of the pan and when it was reduced by 2/3, added a tablespoon of butter which made a nice rich, slightly thick sauce.

Wednesday:  I have been having tiny little anxiety attacks out of nowhere for the past three days.  It's very disconcerting to be working away at something and suddenly find myself unable to catch a deep breath or to feel that deep sense of foreboding or merely to have my skin start to crawl.   

As near as I can tell it's related to barometric pressure rising and falling and not due to any other triggers. I have monitored my blood sugar, checked my lists of areas where I double check myself, etc.  There's a weather front north of us and another coming out of the west.    I have had mild headaches so I am pretty sure I'm right in attributing it to the weather.  But still disconcerting.  Thankfully we're also due a change and then the weather will clear and cool off to autumn temperatures once more. 

I keep going out to look at the back porch and I don't think it's going to be nearly as much work as I keep anticipating it's going to be.  It's been very humid and I sweat profusely just stepping outdoors.  The porch is also sticky due to the humidity.  I'm having a devil of time blowing leaves off both porches each morning and that back porch is considerably more damp than the front.   All of these things are facts.  But I can't tell a lie....I am procrastinating about starting.  Once scraped it must be painted and I've done none of the research I've meant to do prior to painting.  

Sigh.  I'm afraid that this week is not turning into a very productive week at all.  I'm apparently on vacation this week.  

Last night as we went to bed, I'd asked about going to a packing shed that has apples...We looked up the website this morning and they are open all week, where I thought they were only open on weekends.   So we decided to drive up to the packing shed.  

While I was waiting on John to get ready, I sorted out my closet, which I'd meant to straighten up last week.   I don't always get things done when I say I will but if it's made a list it will get done sooner rather than later.   I had partially rearranged the closet earlier this week as I retrieved something John needed.  That helped a lot but it was my clothing area that was so very messy.  

So I moved the obviously summer things to the end of the closet rail and then I staged several outfits for November which I put at the head of the rail where I can easily reach them.  I have a list I keep in the closet so I'll know what I mean to pair with what but I try to hang things together that will be used together and then I add accessories to the hangers as well, a scarf or necklace.  The list was also helpful because I was able to see immediately that what I thought might work simply did not and so I will make a note to look for the pieces that will make it work when I'm in thrift shops.    In the end, 40 minutes in the closet netted me a cleaner, neater space as well as a November capsule wardrobe, so not too bad for a time filler.

John and I drove up to the packing shed and there selection of apples was abysmal.  Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith and one other and that was it.  I suggested we try a grocery where we've found local Winesap apples before.  It was 23 miles further on.   A branch of the store was within 18 miles.  John didn't really want to do either one but when I said the first one was 23 miles away, he relented.   He'd only been able to picture our more usual route from the house which would have been very length from the packing shed, but we were nearer the town than he'd realized.

However, a silly roundabout caused words to pass and fly and repass...And two wrong turns were made and tempers were frayed long before we got on the straight away road to the town where we were heading.  I think I missed well over half the scenery which had changed considerably because we were both huffing and puffing and trying to cool our jets.

We arrived at the old town in the foothills where we go occasionally and went into the grocery and their apple selection was about the same as the packing shed.  No Winesaps of any sort.  I bought a few Empire apples just for the sake of saying I'd bought apples today and then I got the lettuce I knew I needed and added in some pears and bananas so we have fresh fruit until our payday comes around.  I wish I'd thought of fruitcake fruits.  I'd certainly have gone on and bought those today and made my fruitcakes so they could season.  But I didn't think of them until we were home.

John went into the deli to get a sandwich for our lunch while I was shopping for fruit.  I kept my eye upon him the whole time.  As I picked up two pears, I looked over at the deli and he was seemingly looking right at me.  I opened the plastic bag to put in the fruit and looked up and he was gone.  Yes.  I lost my husband one more time.   Sigh.   I walked about half way up the aisle then went back to the floral department which is twixt and tween the fruit and deli and near the next aisle as well.  Then I grabbed up my phone to call him.  It rang as I got it in my hand.

"Where ARE you?" I snapped...and there is a problem, too.  I was just so done at that moment with his not paying attention at all.  But it's not entirely his fault.  He doesn't hear as well as he thinks he does, added to the general inattention.  I continue to struggle with my hearing.  We were both wearing face masks.  You'd think speaking more loudly would be a semi-solution but he gets very embarrassed if I raise my voice so that he can hear me and shushes me rather than listen.  Because of his concern of being too loud, he's speaking even lower which is horrible for me.  I catch higher pitched sounds but lower ones often are missed.    Add to that his lack of direction overall, which is absolutely something he cannot change and my tendency to think he's heard me as I wander off...  We are at an impasse and today just frustrated us both mightily.    

As it happened going to the floral department was brilliant on my part only because I could see him standing at the other end of the aisle right around the corner from the deli aisle.   We met in the middle, gathered our wits, spoke cordially and went to check out.

I missed most of the ride home because I was juggling sodas and sandwiches and chips....Can I mention one more time how much I just absolutely loathe eating while riding?  

Do I sound like one long complaint session about my outing?  Disappointment sometimes does make me sound so. And this day was a disappointment.  I'm sure John's reluctance to go further on should have been taken into consideration but his desire to please me and help me find something that for me is the essence of fall.  I should have conceded when he said he didn't really want to go further on, even though I knew it was closer than he imagined it to be.

Well, we came home and I puttered at minor housework and then we sat down with coffee and had a fresh apple fritter and talked a bit.   One thing I'll say for John, he never holds on to any upset we've had.  He's right back to his usual genial self and since I'm the same sort, it makes marriage a whole lot easier!

The little boys came by this evening with their daddy to show us their costumes for fall festival...and as soon as I share that photo, I'll be off to Katie's where I'm watching over Caleb, who will be asleep, while his mama goes out to dinner.

Meals:  Sausage and Cheese Eggs, Toast

Sub type Sandwich, Chips

John ate a PBJ, I had a boiled egg, a slice of cheese and we each had a half apple (Empire is a very good variety!) and a slice of Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread.

Thursday:  Yesterday on the way home from Thomaston, I mentioned to John that while I can't say 2020 has been the best year on record, personally it's not been bad for us.  Problems that arose have, for the most part been sorted out easily.   The family has all been fairly well.   We've had no great tragedies occur.   For all of this, I am deeply grateful.

But change is afoot in our lives as it is in any life after a spell of quiet.  Last night I was informed of a life change in a second child's life.  Nothing hard or difficult.  In fact, it is a good change and a positive one, but every change brings with it a little angst as new situations present themselves.  All shall be well, of this I am sure.   It's just a matter of everyone getting accustomed to the new.

 I woke at a decent enough hour this morning, but still later than I am wont to rise.  I was having coffee when Mama called.   She asked if I was all right, I sounded a bit like I have a cold.  I informed her I'd just gotten up and she replied with the expected, "Lazy Bones!  It must be nice..."    I don't mind the lazy bones part because I do know how untrue that title is applied to myself.   I did mind the second part...Given that I've typically risen between 5 and 7 am every single morning of my life regardless of what sort of sleep I had the night before, I feel it is due me a little added rest now that I've no real schedule to keep.   Resentment definitely out of proportion to the mildness of her teasing, I will confess.

The sun shone out for a few brief minutes, long enough for me to go across the yard with a load of stuff to store in the shed and to retrieve the extra large bin I am thinking will be a good protection for my plants that will remain outdoors over winter.  I put away everything in the shed in it's proper place instead of doing as I might more usually and simply pile it on the floor and let it wait until I felt i wanted to tackle a big mess.   

I did think to look at Christmas ornaments while in the shed but the bin with all the ornaments is, inexplicably, on the very bottom of the stack of Christmas bins...Why?  One thing I am careful to do is to stack those bins in the order in which I expect to access them with the most frequently wanted (i.e. ornaments) on top.  I shall have to go out sometime in early November and dig it out and determine what I'll be using from that bin.   As well, I must go shop for a new tree.  Ours from last year shed more than a real one is prone to do.   Already my list for November is building.

I've puttered about only today.  I told John that I simply don't have it in me this week to work hard.  I'm not overtired nor do I feel unwell.   I'm not depressed.   I am simply uninspired to tackle much work and so I haven't.  John assures me that it is quite all right.  I nod at him.  The house is clean, the daily tasks are kept up with, meals are made.   As far as he's concerned all is well.  It is only I who look about me and see a great many things I wish to tackle.  Only I who mentally creates lists of things that I must have in order to do half of them.  Only I who am aware that I cannot tackle them all at once and that some are beyond my sole ability to do them.   

As with most things that overwhelm me, I think I have ceased doing even the things I might do at present because so much seems to loom at me, but I will eventually return to the small bites method of working away at all the tasks I can tackle and then I'll figure out how to do what I can do and get that done.

This afternoon we'll be having Josh for a couple of hours.  I suspect he'll want a pancake supper or a PBJ, so John and I had a more substantial lunch again today. Nope...I was making biscuits for the freezer when he came in and he voted for biscuits.

John and I ridiculously pleased to see our regular pest control man.  Not only is he a local guy who is very personable he does an excellent job and is very thorough, all the while keeping up a laughing, cheerful chatter.  John tends to follow him about and keep him talking and Mark doesn't seem to mind in the least.   It's probably John's most favorite time of the quarter, lol.   Well Mark was out of work with surgery last quarter and the guy who filled in for him just didn't impress us.  We've fought bugs we've never had to deal with and were just starting to see ants once more.  However, we purposely waited this month for Mark to come back before we had the house sprayed.  He even treats my outdoor plants so I can safely bring them indoors and since it's meant to be down to frost this weekend, I'm very appreciative.

The leaves are falling from the trees like nobody's business today.  North of us in the state they've had plenty of weather related to Hurricane Zeta.   We've had only a bit of breezy weather this afternoon, and no rain to speak of today.   Things should dry out nicely for John to do his last mowing of the yard tomorrow.  

Meals:  Cereal with Bananas.  I could only find two decent bananas yesterday at the grocery and they were just the right ripeness this morning.

Cheeseburgers and Oven Fries, made at home.

Biscuits with Sausage for John and I, while Josh wants his with peanut butter and jelly.  He also said he could eat a dozen of them but his daddy's biscuits were the very best ones.  I'm flattered he'll eat a dozen of my less superior ones, lol.

I finally remembered my intent of looking up a water based marine paint to use on the back porch.  Wow!  Prices are quite high.  The brand I would need to get the color I want on the porches is $82/quart.   I'd need at least 3 and possibly 4 quarts and that is far and away from my budget.   I told John what we shall do is go for the more expensive all weather Latex paint such as I bought for the planter this spring.  I can get it in any color I like and for a much more reasonable price.  I think it would be closer to $45 a gallon but far more do-able for the budget.   Now....to get busy scrapping.  

But it shall not be tomorrow.  John reminded me I'd promised to watch Millie and Isaac for a few hours in the morning.  Looks like this task is moving to the November list.

Friday:  Not much to report for today.  I've been kept on my toes by 3 yr old Isaac.  Millie is easier to care for at this stage, but I've a funny feeling that she's about to change all that.  She rolls about but is pushing herself up into a semi-sitting position as well as onto her hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  

I pulled lots from the freezer, planning ahead for weekend meals and forgetting that I have a plan for today's dinner.  At least I'll be a little bit ahead in my planning!  That's always a bonus.

The weather turned last night and it's cool and breezy here.   If the weather report holds true we'll have our first frost the beginning of next week, and plenty of cold mornings this weekend.

I hope you all have had a wonderful week and have a relaxing weekend ahead!