November Draws To a Close, Huh?

After a stormy night, the day was sunny till teatime, and I was clipping the old peonies and coneflowers even though. bronzed in the sun, they look pretty today. Tonight more storm would have flattened them anyhow.

I found pieces of roof next to the garage. Something is digging a hole at the edge, trying to make a new front door for itself. There are two points of attack, about a yard apart. I left the garage door itself open for the day to decrease the interest. I'm disappointed; I even had the radio on in there. Raccoons or squirrels, I guess. Maybe the woodpecker?

Tomorrow the car goes to its maker to get a different fuel cap. I've gotten really used to the message it prints about checking the fuel cap; but they say the original cap was defective and a new cap will stop the message. I wonder if my car will ever talk to me again?

What a Wonderful Thankskgiving

Joe came sailing out in one of their red cars and brought me to Lake Forest for Thanksgiving. As we got near, we saw a hawk fly across the highway. I want to bring a kite with me to the wildlife refuges next spring, because Joe says that hawks will fly over to investigate one. He also explained that the small delta-shaped commercial kites are fine for that, so I'm on the lookout now for one I can pack and bring with me to Seattle. Since I got my tickets, it seems as though December and January will fly by in no time at all. I do love being in Seattle.

There was a lot of piano being played, as Alex and Kathleen practiced for their lessons, and the house fills with music beautifully. We had a meatloaf (with baked potatoes) on Wednesday that was made with crackers and onion and tasted like heaven; and I wish I'd taken a picture of the Thanksgiving table that Alex and Kathleen set. Yes, we had turkey, a wonderful one, and a classic bean casserole, and cranberry sauce, and a really amazing dish of sauted parsnips and carrot that I need to learn to duplicate. Alex made ice cream, and we had pumpkin pie with ice cream. This ice cream is made with thick whipped cream, and the heavenly taste still rings in my mouth as I type.

We watched a DVD of the Workshop Opera that Bill played for, afterwards, until I got bored with it because the singers are doing a superb job but I wanted to see the orchestra more! and Joe has shown me how people can work together on Sudoku. He gave me a clipboard to put the puzzle on. And Alex did her first Sudoku.

Just the evening before I left, Dan and I sat together and watched Sarah play volleyball -- they went home tired and pleased to share Anna's birthday dinner. And just this morning, I've had a great three-page letter from Sarah Jane in Bristol, who's doing her last year of school, she'll be an RN this time next year. Altogether, a wonderful dip into being with McJohns; I'm so happy.

Saturday Night Mixups

The poor priest, his Mass was a chaos, and he gracefully rose above all the little things. Some presenters were supposed to have the homily time, and when he finished the Gospel, he went back to the podium and asked if they were present. And they weren't. Then he sighed a little, and said, "This has been a series of mixups today." And it had been. He'd almost forgotten to send the little children off with their Shepherds, and the lector had read the wrong readings.

And I was that lector. Boy, am I embarrassed. I got a hurried call at noon to replace Ginger, and I carefully prepared -- but I took out the book for 2006. So the readings I was ready for were right there in the liturgy and I read them. Actually, when I was preparing the first one, it was Elijah and the needy widow, and I almost phoned Ginger back because the story conveys just what she and I had been discussing, that somehow the Lord provides. (The pot stays full of oil, and they continue to have bread, and the widow and her son and Elijah are fed and happy for a year by His grace.) Maybe the Holy Ghost just set me up?

Shannon's Limit

In the eighties, IIT taught a science of Communications, the "newest science", rooted solely in Shannon's Theory of Communication. He wrote that seminal paper when he was employed by Bell Labs. It's to do with clarity of transmission, and the distortion caused between sender and receiver.

With both turbo code and a three bit detecting code, plus an interwoven periodic bit, the engineers are now approaching Shannon's limit.

Does that imply that the science, which deals with human communication, could find that coding inserted by sender and decoded by two receivers will clarify human messages?

Prayer Shawls?

There's a small group I'm joining who prayerfully knit or crochet prayer shawls, and I thought I'd try crocheting for their purpose. This is going to require purchases; I spent a couple of days hauling out my complete collection of crochet needles but I never handled anything as apparently large as the ones they specify -- size "M", size "P" ? I took a skein of wool from last winter's barely started scarf, and unraveled it to see what my own largest needle would produce. One conclusion: the pretty rippled yarn makes it pretty hard to see the crochet stitches, for someone who's more used to hard tight string-like crochet. I remember the knitting was effortless, it's a good yarn, but I guess I don't have enough of it, anyhow.

So I'll have to consider buying before I have much idea what to buy. Maybe I'll get big needles today, and try some of my other old skeins for samples to see what it looks like? Yes, I wish you were here to coach me. I hate to get truly started on something that won't be what I eventually would want...Advice?

Saturday is for waxing

I can remember when my housework was strenuous and time-bound. Thursday was the only day that didn't have an imposing physical set of chores -- Thursday was the day to make bread. Bare feet was the rule much of the year for handling some of it; I could tell something was wrong if the bottom of those feet got soiled. I wouldn't dare walk barefoot in this house now unless I scrubbed the soles immediately!

However, I do think I used a lot of my minimum amount of energy fooling around with Planet one way and the other; I've found it easy to do little bits of cleaning since the end of September. Sure, maybe pleasant fall weather helps, too. Walks? I do still take little strolls up and down the block, maybe in the evening. But I'm sure not trying to get off on a walk early in the morning anymore.

A Sunny Birthday

By golly, Sarah Jane will be 21 tomorrow. Seems like no time at all since she was just expected. For once, her birthday is in balmy weather; we had seventy-degree warmth today, and sun all day tomorrow is expected, too.

Just the same, I spent time today digging up gladioli and canna and leaving them out to dry. The little geraniums are upside down in the same box; I understand that if I dry their roots until next spring, they'll leaf up again. Could be I'm mistaken. We'll see. The turned dirt gleams in the piles of leaves. This really works out, as a way to get those beds cleaned out and ready for next year. Planting new glads in a drought year didn't pay off particularly well; while I enjoyed myself in Cape Cod, a couple of the new ones bloomed, and their bulbs look pretty good, but a lot of them never made it. Even if I'd been here, I don't think I would have given them the huge amounts of water that a normal summer yields. The older bulbs bloomed early, I'd put them in earlier, and they look okay. Maybe it's too dry near the house every year?

Good Morning

Yes, I've taken the numbers of the Daily Sudoku already! It's remarkably sunny this morning, and I guess it's All Soul's Day, so I'm trotting off to SFX in the sunshine, through the many, many leaves. Red and gold predominate in the leaves this year, lots of the trees still are green.

The little linden in front holds its leaves until the very end, and so later today I'll haul some of the ash leaves here piling up in the driveway, putting them as a mulch on the little bulbs and plants under the linden. That Knossus hosta that was supposed to get large is still just three leaves or so; I think it gets the teeny bit of sun that does strike under the tree from all angles all day. And I think it needs shade!

Nobody visiting here now, and the house is very still with no harp in it.

Well, hello there!

I'm back, did you miss me? Oh, right, you've been part of the whirling busy-ness of the last few weeks and you know more than me about what's been happening!

Sure, I was there too, but I seldom catch on to everything that's happening. Even today, I'm not saying much, just checking in to greet the day. I've already stopped in and picked up the numbers on the daily Sudoku, to take down to the coffee. Since Chris got me spoiled to Hazelnut, I've been using her cream in my coffee a lot; but today I've got the last of the whipped cream from last night's pumpkin pie.

But I wanted to say hello.