Taking Stock

Caption: Dear Mom, Thanks for cutting my bangs. Please don't ever do it again. :)

It's been a busy couple of days. I got turned down on the HR Manager spot. Probably just as well...it's making me realize that resumes really only get you so far, that I'm a writer first and foremost, so maybe I should hone my skills, build a portfolio that reflects that...

Lil Sis has a friend who's trying to start a photo refinishing biz, or something...he wanted the practice and she wanted to get 700 slides restored to a more manageable medium...the above shot is a taste of his work; he converted all 700 slides to files on DVD...I'll bug her for his site URL to promote him here, because the taste she gave us of the finished product is rather exquisite...she's saving most of 'em for holiday compilations/gifts, but man, it's seriously nifty to see shots of yourself you barely or don't remember posing for...

Mom had her first pain management trial; they want to insert a pain pump to treat her degenerating disks and spinal stenosis. The trial itself could've gone better...I've never seen her that stoned, she couldn't keep anything down, and after they gave her Phenergan, she was passing out mid-sentence...well, OK, that part was funny >:)...DH handled transporting her to and from the hospital, she stayed over at the hospital Thursday night, and I stayed at her place last night in case she needed anything. She's finally feeling more normal, but it was a little unsettling for us kids and we'll be sending her to her follow-up doc appt with questions about what they were thinking giving her that big a dose, and what we/she can expect at the next trial...

So I'm finally less transient and taking stock:

Outside: cool in the evenings, stupid warm during the day...I'm trying to forget that it's October, so I can enjoy it cranking up to 85F and not be so bitter...pretty hard tho'...

Inside: Tuff-Puppy on the tube (don't ask), pondering Mallomars and to-do lists...

Wearing: comfy purple shirt, bike shorts, hair down...it's getting crazy-long :)

Creating: 2nd MIL sock, I'm finally into the pattern again...gingersnaps tomorrow, finally bought eggs...maybe something with the delicata squash, it's thumping ripe...

Reading: Finished Eat Pray Love, pondering her other novels, they look interesting...finished Kindness of Strangers...that was a difficult read...used to think Law & Order: SVU was hard to watch b/c of the subject matter, but reading about it requires a much thicker skin...got my first Hobby Farms magazine in the mail, will be devouring that later...

Going: back to the Y tomorrow (Sunday)...let myself slack this week with interview stuff, Mom's activities...took Mom's dog for a light jog the other night in the wrong shoes and it set my knees to complaining all day yesterday...a good reminder that I'm heading in the right direction, but have a long road to health ahead...

Hoping: I can change my attitude a bit at work this week...continue progress on MIL sock...bake, help Mom shop, and putter/clean our place enough tomorrow to get my head straight for this coming week...there's other stuff, but that's a start...

Here's a reprint, I think I wrote this last year...it explains in spades why I hate FL so much this time of year...

Autumn is…
Apples and pumpkins

And leaves on the ground,

Wood smoke and chill nights

And family gathered ‘round.

It stops rhyming there, so don’t get your hopes up…

Curling up by a fire sipping hot cider

Raking leaves for the sole purpose of then jumping into the pile

Crisp air

Digging out the woolens and boots

Finding a knitted cap for long walks after dinner

Cold noses and toeses

Extra blankets on the bed and not needing AC

The smell of leaf rot

Trying to dig and realizing the earth is cold

Jesus, how’d I survive as long as I have in Florida?

Grabbing a jacket before you step outdoors

Rosy cheeks and wind through your slacks

Soups and stews for dinner that have spent all day in the crockpot

Colors and colors and colors in the trees!

Hot cocoa with little marshmallows

Jack o’lanterns and the last harvests, finding new ways to use squash

That last one’s a biggie…I start planning my side dishes for Thanksgiving a full month ahead…

Making sure the car tires are in good shape

(and keeping a window scraper in the trunk for good measure)

Contemplative evenings

Fall festivals and foggy mornings

Dreaming of eggnog

Walnuts to snack on, and apple butter on English muffins

Starting holiday gifts

Smelling the cold air, straining your eyes against the grey sky looking for flakes

And the warmth of curling up in a woobie when you come in from the cold.