September 20, 2009

7:20 p.m.

Fall-ing

Isn�t tomorrow the first day of Fall? So we are doing the things attendant to the season � yesterday Rose pulled out the little garden, the tomato cages, the bug-eaten collards, the flowering broccoli. They have pumpkins on their porch. I have mums on mine. I put the thermostat on 62 last night just so it wouldn�t get too cold by morning, and the banging pipes woke me up. Have to get that pellet stove in here fast!

It�s also the season for emissions testing. I dug up the notice I got over the summer and was alarmed to see my due date is tomorrow. Testing stations aren�t open on Sunday. After a small amount of cursing I figured out that there�s a month�s grace period, so I can do it on Friday next. At least I don�t have to add it to today�s list, which is already just as full as it should be.

What�s on the list? Finish priming the dang ceiling. Rotary mow the lawn, if it isn�t too long, when the dew has dried. Watch the chickadees flocking to the feeder. (One suet cake is completely gone; the other is diminishing. Note to self: Find opera glasses so you can watch from the front door.) Make the tiled platform for the stove. Must obtain some grout. Marc is cutting me a piece of plywood. Hope Builder Guy has emailed me the detailed roof quote � if so, call him and Chimney Guy and set those jobs up.

Take a nap.

Marc told us last night that the company we work for isn�t actually doing all that well with cash flow right now. I thought there were a lot of orders coming in, but I guess they�re just potential orders so far. He talked to a couple of guys in the surface-mount companies we deal with (they make the circuit boards with the minuscule parts on them that you have to do with a microscope), and they say business is down for them. That means fewer new products are being developed and sold, and everybody is affected down the line. They�re considering putting everyone on a four day weekly schedule, which wouldn�t really affect me because I�m already on four days (except when I�m trying to make up a few hours, like this week). But it�s a little scary. Maybe I should inquire at the post office. They said their substitute carrier had quit (and that might be why my movies sometimes have gone back to Netflix before getting to me; somebody new doesn�t recognize my new street address). In these dry days, everybody pray for rain.

I finished chord charts for someone and played a little this morning. Time to get dressed and get productive. The crows are cawing in the back woods. It�s a perfectly sunny, crisp day and my headache is almost gone. I hope for all good things.