Yep! It's Fall!

My assistant is looking for warm places lately. This seemed the best place at the time, even though it wasn't really the best.

I spent two days cleaning and sorting through things getting ready to go again on another quick trip. My son and his lady friend spent Friday night with me, and they left early on Saturday morning.

Then I rushed to take a shower, pack my bag, get the food together, and pack the car. I threw Patty and her stuff into the car and away we went on a trip to south Oklahoma. I have another friend that I used to go on trips all the time, and now just an occasional trip or two. So I guess this trip was in honor of those trips. I knew I needed to go west and south. So I held the map in my lap, and when I got to a road I would glance to see what direction it would go. I zig-zagged west and south and it took forever. At least one hour longer than was necessary. Coming home I took a direct east and north route and was home in much faster time.

I am now dead tired from all this traveling. I emailed my cousin and talked to my brother last night. They both have to travel all the time for their jobs. I cannot understand how they do it. I am truly worn out.

This morning I awoke to a heavy fog outside the window. It really and truly feels like Fall. It is chilly enough to wear a sweat shirt while I have the back door open. I have started feeding the birds.

Another sign of Fall are Fall chores. I have had the furnace inspected. The lawnmower man should be here today to service the riding mower for post-season stuff. And the handyman is lined up tomorrow to give me an estimate on all the chores I need done before winter. The furnace man assured me that my furnace and air conditioner are old and decrepit. I knew that already, but I am not ready for a reality check. I do have a sales person coming today to discuss all the options I have and I can do some more studying.

Yesterday evening I went online for the umpteenth time to study hvac issues, and I found an energy stick on one website. After I plugged in one year of utilities, I found out on a scale of 1-10 I am at 10 already with my old, decrepit units. I have a 0% footprint at the moment. But I think that is because I live alone, and that I am very,very conscious of my actions. I am insulating the windows and doors more this year than last. I put on more clothes or socks or a sweater or something. I was raised in a drafty old house with little insulation, and I know how to dress for the colder weather. It isn't pretty or sometimes comfortable, but it's do-able.

How do people manage without savings to prepare for these emergencies? I don't like to write big checks. It pains me in a way that is hard to explain. Maybe it is because it takes so long to get some savings, and I don't want to give it away. Maybe I have enough Scots-Irish in me to genetically say I am frugal. Maybe it's because I was raised by grandmothers and a grandfather that went through the depression. I don't know. But I hate to tap into my savings account.

Patty is still hunting for grasshoppers. I am hoping that soon she will forget them. If she eats too many of them, she throws up. Since she has no teeth to chew them, she gums them into small enough pieces to swallow. So when she throws up, there are grasshopper parts that are pretty recognizable.

Well, I am going to go back to winding off this skein onto the skein winder. I need to get the spinning off the wheel. It is hard to get back into my normal routine after all this chaos.

Have a good week. I hope all goes well. It feels like time to get the woolies out.

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. -Eden Phillpotts