Sept.3, 2011

I miss having someone to talk to. I write far too many e-mails to my family. I write too many letters to my friends. I am a pest. Well, we will see what tomorrow brings. I walk each morning and look at the world around me, and admire people's flowers and mourn the loss of trees. I shouldn't talk, though, since I had three apple trees removed from my own yard. Taking care of fruit trees is an enormous amount of work, and my strength wore out. The home on sixth looks naked without it's big shade tree. An oriental gentleman lives there, and he has planted pumpkins or zuchini or such around the stump.

Clay says the new Food Share building behind the Presbyterian Church is nearly finished and they will be training volunteers to walk around with people and help them choose what to put in their baskets. He will let me know when that happens. It will be one day a week for two hours. I can do that on a Friday or Saturday.

The house doesn't really get dirty except for cat hair. Two cats shed a lot in summer. I have to sweep quite often. The cats and I are all sloppy eaters. I guess people who want a carpet under their dining table don't have my problem. I sweep under there and around the cat's dry food dish and around their cat litter box in the sewing room. Ruby Cat romps around outside and uses the flower bed, but my Gracie Cat rarely goes outside unless I go out to work in the flowers. Then she sits on the patio and watches.

I haven't had the car out for the last two days. I had my PUD bill to hand in at JC Market, so I took it and a letter to mail and walked up, rather than get the car out. So I got two walks in yesterday. It felt good. Today Clay came over with his neat electric edger and did the front yard and I swept up the mess. It looks great, and that felt good, too.

School starts next Tuesday and that will be a busy, busy morning. Latino parents will walk their children back and forth to school, kids will be all bent over from the weight of their backpacks, a steady stream of cars will clog the street for several hours, morning and afternoon, and there will be yelling and laughter, and police cars out in force, protecting young lives. I've been nailed twice for not coming to a complete stop on 12th in front of the school. I solved that problem. I don't go down 12th any more.