Transition

Every year at this season, we try to see how long we can endure before we turn on the furnace. The longer we can endure, the less propane we will use, which means that we will save money on fuel. Usually I get tempted to turn on the furnace sometime in late September. However, this September was quite warm and I didn’t even think of turning on the furnace until yesterday when the temperatures plunged from 80 to the 40s. The temperature is forecasted to remain in the 40s until Thursday when it will rise to 55. We turned the furnace on last night but only very low. We want the furnace to come on if the temperature drops into the 30s during the night because we don’t want to risk our pipes freezing.

It rained yesterday and is supposed to rain most of this week. The forecast had said that we could also have a chance of snow, but then the meteorologists changed it back to all rain.

We’ve been seeing multiple flocks of geese flying overhead as they prepare to fly south for the winter. It feels as if we are in the transition time between summer and winter.

Last Wednesday EJ had his first full exercise session at the hospital gym. There is a large athletic center in the same town as this hospital, but I think the hospital gym feels better, feels friendlier. The others using the hospital gym are also older geezers who are all there for their health. There is more of a sense of camaraderie rather than competition. The staff is supportive and has both athletic and medical training. Plus, if there’s a medical issue, we are already at the hospital. After his exercise session, EJ said that he felt really good. He was supposed to also exercise on Thursday but he had to work. (He normally works four 10-hour shifts, getting Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays off.) He’s contemplating working this Thursday as well to build up our meager savings because eventually we are going to start getting hospital bills.

Friday was my birthday. Years ago I decided that the best birthday gifts are memories, not things, so we started going on long drives to enjoy the beautiful autumn colors for my birthday, sometimes stopping in at cider mills or other unexpected places. We couldn’t always celebrate my birthday on the actual day so we chose the nearest weekend or a day when we knew autumn colors were at their peak. Because my birthday celebration was spread out, eventually the whole month of October became filled with birthday celebrations. Now, anything good and pleasant in October is “my birthday gift.” Going on a beautiful drive is my birthday gift. Stopping at a thrift store is my birthday gift. Seeing geese flying overhead in a v formation is my birthday gift. Picking vegetables from the garden is my birthday gift. Everything is a gift. It’s rather fun to consider everything a gift. We tried to have a month of birthday celebration for EJ, but his birthday is in March when the weather is still cold and snowy. Instead, since we both enjoy making memories together, October has become his honorary birthday month.

For my birthday this year, we went to a thrift store, which we love to do. We also bought a small carton of Moomer’s ice cream, which is the most delicious ice cream ever. Since EJ has to carefully watch his diet, he bought himself a carton of yogurt.

Today I took the last two straw bales from the garage into the coop. I hadn’t put them in before because I didn’t want to block the second little chicken door. However, with cooler weather, I no longer open that door.

Our new barn cats are supposed to be delivered this Thursday or Friday. There’s been a long delay in getting the cats to us because of some unexpected problems–including a tornado that destroyed the home of one of the cat foster moms. I had originally thought to get only one cat as a friend for Theo, but then I decided to get two. The cat rescue lady told me that the two cats she planned to bring us were named Sammy and Prissy. Then she told me that Prissy had a close friend named Tom. EJ said, “We can’t break up a friendship” so we decided to also adopt him. Often I rename pets that we adopt, but I like these names well enough to keep them. Years ago we had a cat named Tom so EJ suggested that to avoid using the same name, we could call our new cat Tom-Too or maybe Tom-Two. I’m not sure which spelling EJ would prefer, but the pronunciation is the same either way.