Friday, September 30, 2016

I Say Sir, I Do Believe Fall Has Arrived

When I woke up this morning, pre 8:00 am thank you very much, the temp was a chilly 48 degrees outside. As I am wont to do, I could have risen with the very popular song from the musical Oklahoma on my lips, "Oh what a beautiful morning..." I made the orange cinnamon vanilla coffee I bought yesterday and Buddy just released me from lap nap duty. The coffee is delicious and I should have made orange cinnamon rolls to go along with it but just the coffee is fine. This beautiful morning is also my first sweatshirt wearing of the season...sweatshirts are the new robe.

Yesterday, I decided to get out, run errands and take in the ever changing scenery of my favorite drives. Trees are getting ready for their vibrant fall catwalk. Last year and now this year, I read the articles of the hows and whys of changing color...but I don't retain that knowledge, but I do remember the scenery and the views from the mountains to the prairie  I mean porch, from the car. Also it was good to do this before the October rush of tourists...notice how I have gone all local...you know after being a tourist for about twelve years. In all those twelve years we never did an October visit.

I think Buddy has gone to a pre-winter mode. She is back to sleeping in the front window where the sun is bright and the sleeping is warm. It is too hot in the summer time for that particular perch. She spent some of her nap time in lap time with me. I have to make sure before I sit down and she was waiting for me in my chair this morning, to have my cup of coffee in hand. We read Proverbs 3 together and I think I got more out of it than she did...but you know the Word doesn't return void. A couple of weeks ago I read that verse in Ephesians to hold tightly to what is good. In Proverbs 3 I read hold onto wisdom tightly... that seems like a good combination to traverse this life. Sometimes we hold on tightly to things that really don't matter, so there isn't enough grip strength to hold onto good and wisdom or maybe it's not having room to hold onto what is truly needed.

Yesterday, I found myself in a craft store which is not one of my usual spots but that is where one goes to purchase a glue gun. Who knew there were all different kinds and sizes of glue to run through the gun? I do think in most of my craft store trips, some crafters do not know the eighteen inch personal space rule. It didn't matter what aisle I found myself on, people were just a little too close for my comfort. Maybe they thought I had discovered something that they had overlooked or it could be the aisles aren't very wide and a lot of them loaded with free standing displays and that cuts down maneuverability.

I had an interesting conversation with a waitress yesterday. The peak time had long passed and just a few of us stragglers were having a late lunch. Somehow our conversation turned toward friendship and her story. This lady works a lot to help keep her family supplied with food and shelter. She rarely has a day off or time to spare but she told me that she and her friend will meet for coffee early on Saturday mornings. The setting for their conversations over coffee is a picnic table that has a view both of nature and of ordinary life. She related how just that short bit of time buoys her spirit and attitude each week and makes the load a little easier and the time gives her a bit of fun. I asked if they texted during the rest of the week and the answer was rarely. We also visited about the two ladies who work at the orchard usually in the bakery part. In 2014 the local paper wrote a story about their friendship. I love being there when they are working and it is a delight to eavesdrop on their conversations while helping customers. I was there once when they discussed lunch. One of them had gone on an errand and told the other one she might bring back lunch. Well, lunch came and went so the friend still at work had an apple muffin so she could take her meds. Her friend showed up with KFC and that chicken dinner was a prized lunch for sure. Funny, how they gave each other a difficult time about whether or not lunch was coming and the drastic measure of eating a muffin...for meds and they laughed as they each took a bite of chicken and then began to ring up the customers.

New bit of knowledge, woodchucks, sometimes known as groundhogs, can run really fast. Ah life here in the country and the mountains.







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