"String too short to use"

10) I have plans to go on a girl’s day out shopping excursion in a couple weeks. My friend, Sue, and I are going to trip over to Yakima to the nearest Hancock Fabrics on October 16. It’s a couple hours drive and then we’ll lose ourselves among the bolts and find a place for lunch and meander our way back home. Can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to this. I am always looking for someone to shop with who loves fabric as much as I do. Someone who will tolerate my standing mesmerized, staring at the same length of fabric imagining what it could be, and then not buying it. It should be a fun day.

9) The “Willow Tree Saga” continues. Another tree service came last Thursday and had a look. I liked what he had to say and liked his price even better than the first two. He is supposed to be here this Thursday to give the willow its haircut. I’ll let you know how it comes out.

8) CJE put his back out last Friday and our chiropractor was on vacation until yesterday. He spent the weekend alternately sitting against the heating pad and groaning and lumbering about the house hanging onto furniture. It was like living with Lurch from the Addams Family. His back seemed to feel best when he would go for a walk . . . and so did I.

7) It is fall! I am celebrating. I may have said this before, but this is my favorite time of year. Gardens are being put to bed for the winter. The last of the vegetables, fruits and herbs are ready for harvest. The air is cool in the mornings and crispness is coming soon. Even when the days are warm, there is an underlying coolness to the air. Trees are starting to put on their autumnal robes and the harsh summer sun has mellowed into a softer gentler glow. The NFL gives me the perfect excuse to accomplish absolutely nothing on any given Sunday. What is not to like?

6) I tried the most unusual but delicious sandwich this week. I found the recipe (for lack of a better term) in a magazine and was intrigued. So here it is: Rye bread spread with raspberry jam filled with slices of liver sausage and dill pickle. I know it sounds VERY strange. I thought CJE was going to gag when I put the thing together, but it is an interesting and yummy combination of flavors. You should try it.

5) I sent a little chart to my sister-in-law recently so she could tabulate measurements of her four children for me. Every year for the past several I have made pajamas for them and this year I had no opportunity to measure them myself. She got herself a measuring tape and promptly did the deed and sent it back! I am so excited! Now I can proceed with Christmas projects without delay. Yea!

4) I recently imagined and created a Halloween table runner. I miscalculated slightly and ended up with enough fabric for two. So I made two. I remembered one of my aunts back in North Dakota goes crazy decorating her house at Halloween, so I decided to send the extra one to her. Unfortunately, as usual, I didn’t take a picture of the darn thing before I sent it. I am now kicking myself. I am so bad about taking pictures of my creations, and I don’t know why. Maybe because I am usually so anxious to send things off so the recipients can have them as soon as possible. Here, however, is a picture of the one I kept.

3) Our garage has reached maximum density. It was on tap for this past weekend, but CJE’s back prevented it from happening. On October 9th you will find us there. Recycling bins will be cleared. Those things which look as though their last placement was an “open the door and chuck it” sort of thing will actually be put where they belong. The cushions from the deck chairs will be put up for the winter. The floor will get swept and a general spider patrol will occur. Annual flower pots will get emptied and put away. At this point there is still space enough for both vehicles, but if the fall cleaning doesn’t happen, there soon won’t be. It will happen.

2) I started a new book this week. Like I have time to read. But I did it anyway. “Green City in the Sun” by Barbara Wood. She is one of my favorite authors, although I can’t say I like everything she has written. This one has started out promising, but only time will tell. At least it will help to fill all those spare hours I have.

1) If you could have one person you have lost touch with call you up tonight and invite you to dinner, who would you want it to be?

Ch-Ch-Changes

Twenty-two years ago my first husband and I divorced. Like most divorces, there was a myriad of reasons for it. As I look back today, however, the biggest and most constant reason was the man’s overwhelming neediness. When I left him and thought about it, I swore I would never again saddle myself with someone who needed me that much.

He was incapable of accomplishing basic household tasks. He was incapable of making simple or complex life decisions. He could not manage on his own for any length of time. He had no comprehension of how to be without me.

It drove me crazy. Being indispensable sucks. You have no freedom to be your own person, and you have no space to be that person and sometimes it is hard to even remember who that person might be.

I swore I would never saddle myself with someone who smothered me that much. Never again would I tolerate anyone’s dependence on me for their every need. The feeling of losing my identity into a role I was forced to play was not for me.

And now . . . I have a three-year old.