Long time gone

Wow I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted anything.  Although the days seem to take forever to get through, the weeks fly by.  It will soon be October, then Columbus Day, then the neighborhood will revert to it's winter state.

It's been fairly busy and sort of cold.  It was 32 this morning, a recent morning I had scrapable frost on my windshield.  Whew--guess it shouldn't come as a surprise.  I saw a flock of geese flying south this morning.  The first I've seen.  Loons are still on Silver Lake, I can hear them from time to time.

There are still plenty of people in the neighborhood so I've been pretty busy.  We had a nice brunch on Saturday at the Blue Heron, with Duncan & Sue, Joe & Martha, Linda & Erd., David & Maryanne, Bill and me.  Lots of good food, with Linda cooking pancakes on the porch.  It was a beautiful morning though very windy.  The porch was sheltered and there was sun so it was very, very special.  That was a busy day for me--coffee in the morning with Fred: his porch is NOT sheltered and it was pretty chilly.  Bill brought his boys to my house to finish stacking my wood in the wood shed.  It looks very impressive now, all ready for winter burning.  Dinner at Big Daddy's with Fred, a nice time.

Friday night I had dinner with Joe & Martha, Linda & Erd.--Linda made gumbo.  It was good (fortunately, the okra pretty much disintegrated to tiny pieces so wasn't too slimy).  I had stopped at Pat & Jim's, had a drink with Jim & Steve, then home, then back to J&M's.  I spend a lot of time going back & forth, don't I.

Yesterday I did a huge wash at the Holt's (still uncertain about the water in my well, though I did a small-ish load of wash on Sat. with no consequences).  Fell asleep on their deck in the sun--sooooo lovely.  They'll be here later this week.

Last week I had lunch with my friend Barb--it always amazes me to remember that we've been friends for more than 20 years.  She's a good friend and is about to become a grandmother to twins.  That amazes me, too.

I went to the dentist for my 6-month exam.  My former dentist told me I didn't need to go every 6 months; I have a clean mouth, good gums and plenty of space between teeth.  This dentist has a fancy new office to pay for, so they want to see me again in 6 months.  That makes it MARCH.  Wow.  Anyway, all is well in my mouth, which was a relief.  I am a lucky girl.

I went to the AuSable Forks library to meet with the new director there.  She's a peach, young and full of enthusiasm and energy.  This week I go to the E'town library to work with the director there.  I want to get out more during the next couple of months, before everyone settles in for the winter.

So I've been having dinners with friends, hosting a dinner party--which was very dramatic, and for which I polished my silver (!).  I cleaned my house and have managed to keep it clean, which meant I didn't know what to do on the weekend.  No pressing cleaning chores to do.  So I fussed away the days, but had a nice time doing that.  I walked the bog last week, but it was too crowded all weekend to set foot there.

The leaves are turning but progress seems to have slowed a bit.  They were zooming right along a couple of weeks ago but now have stayed the same for a while.  Hoping they'll stay on the trees at least until Columbus Day.  I have an appointment to have my chimney cleaned the day after Columbus Day, which means I have a DAY OFF.  That will make 4 days in a row.  Whatever will I do?  Whatever I want to!