Fall Bulletin

I like this picture (from Living Art-N-Life) and if I can't afford it, I can at least have it here!

So many, many things going on, and yet they all are just part of life right now. It's hard to prioritize.... the kids' school, the election, my forgetfulness, the difficulty of finding decent raw almonds, all combine in a general haze that includes mice in the garage, giant okra, friends' health issues, upcoming travel, hockey injuries, and my lack of knitting. They swirl around me and once in awhile, one will struggle to the surface... "should think about a graduation ceremony next spring".... "need to Ebay lots of stuff".... "buy a physics course".... "exercise".... "study for class"..... but it soon recedes.

Therefore, topically and lately and in no particular order:

1. I just love fall. Apparently my garden does too. I'd just about given up on things, when they all started producing in earnest; I'm still getting cantaloupe, there are finally two watermelon out there, the tomatoes revived, and I believe I mentioned the okra. One day they'll be just a touch too small and the next they're six inches long and more suitable for building material than eating.

2. Forgetfulness. Not only the boy's traffic ticket last week (hubby and boy managed to get him signed up for a driver's safety course thirty minutes before his court time) but twice I've forgotten what day it was while talking to clients. This necessitated back-tracking and apologies. My mother says it's the Splenda (I have a single Pepsi One daily, plus two packets in my tea in the mornings) but Emily's having the same issues, and she's artificial-sweetener-free. We're working on it and I'm running out of Post-It notes.

3. It's finally close to the election (after which the race for 2012 begins!) and I don't know who I'm voting for. I've been registered both Democrat and Republican at various times, and rarely vote straight tickets. It's hard to find online conservative viewpoints that aren't fundamentalist or do nothing but raise allegations without backing. Obama's positions scare me, and Palin herself scares me. If someone promised me that McCain would be alive and functional in four years, I'd feel much better.

4. I've started several knitting projects that are unfinished. I'm working on relaxing with it again, but have been spending too much time with mystery novels.

5. While spending the too much time on junk novels, I've still uncovered some jewels. One character in a novel referred to some Christian philosophers that I've been researching. I needed a little expansion of the mind.

6. One goal this fall was to get more involved at church. Correction: get to know more people. It was feeling like a job; teaching the two year olds, helping with the youth group, but never talking to my peers outside our life group. I went to the ladies' retreat for the first time in years, and helped with a skit. I declined working with the middle school on Wednesday nights for the first time in awhile so I could attend the ladies' class. I sort of asked God to use me there if possible, and a few weeks later was asked to finish teaching the semester. It's going well, I think, and the main thing is that it doesn't feel like a job anymore. I'm enjoying the stretch, and most of all, I feel like I'm back where I'm called.

7. I'm thoroughly enjoying these last, few, so few, months before one of our family members leaves home. It's still a mad rush at times, but our conversations are back and we do still have Algebra 2 and physics together this year before he goes.