October 2008

There were 3 posts published in October 2008.

busy time

keene pumpkin festival pumpkin stack I

October in Vermont is always busy. It’s like holidaytime for most people is the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s but for me, here, it’s October. People visit, there’s a lot of travelling, it’s so lovely outside you try to go outside any chance you get, and my favorite color is everyplace.

Yesterday I went to the Keene Pumpkin Festival to see Jim’s band play and hang out with Casey and Sandee. It was perfect Fall weather, a little warm, very windy and with ominous clouds forming. The day before that I had just gotten back from Kansas where I paid $2.29 for gasoline and talked to librarians about computers and ate more BBQ than I thought could fit inside me. Prior to that, my Mom came to visit and I spent about ten hours lifeguarding, and then before that it’s all sort of a blur.

It’s hunker down with a good book weather coming up, I’m looking forward to it.

autumnal reverie

I spend a lot of time contemplating what sort of untimely death I might have. This time of year it’s hands down going to be careening off of some mountain pass while I am trying to get just the right photo of the trees out my car window. Some people ski. I do this.

Last night I was out on the little porch right before going to bed and I heard what I thought was a little animal clambering around in the trees, or on the ground, or someplace nearby. I listened some more and realized that what I was really hearing was leaves dropping off the trees and floating down to the ground. I could actually hear fall all around me. Terrific.

recharged

i haz a seed

I did a little too much running around last month. This month should have a normal amount of running around. I’m doing a training in Lowell next weekend and going to Lawrence, Kansas later in the month. In the meantime, a much lighter work schedule means I get a lot more time when I’m home to walk around and kick the leaves around. I’m surprised it’s even possible but this place is even more lovely in Autumn than the last place was. Big bright yellow leaves right outside my window mean that all the afternoon light is even more golden than it usually is.

I’ve been getting back into the pool, and into lifeguarding. Last month I had the regular “If this is Autumn I must be sneezing” cold which came with co-presenting vertigo (unfun!) and snorfling glarp which meant that moving my head around in a big tub of water didn’t seem like it would add much benefit to my life. Fortunately I’d been riding my bike around lots, so I still feel okay in the fitness department. Being able to walk into town and do all my little errands has been a real win. It was also happymaking to read about my little local independent bank saying they are doing okay in these tough times. I mean, nothing is really “okay” by conventional definitions, but not adding bank failure to my list of pressing ecopolitical concerns is a little something.

I’ve maxed out my IRAs in the past few years because that seemed like the thing to do when I had some extra cash. However, I’ve been one of those “stupid” people keeping a lot of money in my dumb old bank account, getting chided by my some of my savvier investment-scheming friends. That seems to be working out okay lately. Of course, the strategy of just riding out the bad times is something I’m young enough to do, but for anyone thinking of retiring this year or next, this is an ugly bad time to be thinking “what next?” It’s all so terrifically abstract and strange to watch from over here in tiny town. I hope everyone is okay.