Fall 2008

Where to start?
Yesterday was the first day of Fall and I realized I have been lacking the time to write chronicles. Plenty has happened, but the adventures haven’t made it into type.

Where to start? Now that fall is here, ringing in the beginning of the church year, the pace has picked up. Actually, the pace has picked me up and thrown me looping around and around. Yes, the busy season is in full swing, as it is in most churches right now. Deep breaths have run into hiding. Staff meetings run past lunch.
The birds who visit my feeders are packing their cheeks and carrying miniature Samsonites with travel stickers on them. My boss has become a blur of movement. My hidden bag of “Emergency Only” chocolates is getting low again and that’s a sure sign of stress and busy. Why, as I type, there is a coworker reaching under my desk for the chocolate stash. Will it be dark or milk chocolate today, I wonder?

I go home most days and think to myself, “ What did I do today?” as I collapse into my chair before going to the Y. Maybe it’s not just me. Maybe the world is spinning a little faster. Or, maybe MY world is spinning faster. At any rate, I miss writing, and hope to post snippets as they enter my days.

Home church is hopping, too. This year, I gave up volunteering with the 2-5th graders so that I can hide in Libby’s office and knit. Call it sanctuary. We all need that. Home church holds several of those for me... the balcony, the cubby, and always the kitchen. Soon it will be time for the soupathon and my weekends and weeknights will be spent at home church brewing up vegetable beef soup, chili, and black bean soup. I have grown to look forward to that time because it helps me get through the dreariness of winter. But wait! It is only Fall!!

The state fair will be here soon, and I’ll enjoy Maple cotton candy!! I’ll be listening to friends’ kids talk about the rides, and I’ll be so glad I’m not on them!! I’d much rather watch nausea form on the faces of others, than to feel it myself.

Messy Chef has some gigs coming up, too. I look forward to those.

Summer was good. Slower and calmer, and just nice. I dried tomatoes from my gardenette to use for soup later, and I ate a cucumber sandwich nearly every day at work. I kept knitting, and hoping that one day, I would be able to create two socks that resemble each other. It could happen. After all, I’m using the same directions. Go figure. 7 socks later, they still don't really look much closer than 4th cousins. I have Melanized the socks. Maybe I'll sell them as singles. Choose your sock. i dunno.

Summer. I’m not ready to give it up yet. The girls’ annual beach week was great. 3 of my 4 made it and we enjoyed each other as we always do. We read and swam, and laughed. I rode my bike to get shrimp. We watched the “Closer”- our favorite summer show. I knitted. What could be better than spending time with my girls?

My oldest had the most brilliant idea.
We learned that a local grocery would bag your groceries if you ordered online ahead. ARE you kidding me? For 20 something years, I have been the grocer on this trip, and to think that someone else would shop FOR me?

I went online and tried to shop but discovered that I need to be perusing the aisles, so my lovely daughter offered to go with me to a local store and act as secretary. We did just that, me pretending we were at the beach shopping, and she writing it all down. She then put the order in online and we paid for it and viola!! When we arrived at the beach, and gave our name, our groceries magically appeared. I still can’t get over it. What a love to do that just to save me time.
She also made my bed when we arrived. I just don’t see how it can get any better that that for vaca. Do you?

My thoughts are skipping, I’ll add more when I can. Gosh, it is good to be back.