elwynsattic

• Do a crapload of laundry that I wish would put itself away while I'm writing this.


• Glue broken porcelain statues back together with Beadalon G-S Hypocement.


• Order books for professor husband from Amazon (and a couple of fairy t-shirts for myself).


• Take parent to College Park for hearing aid appointment. Attempt to navigate the maze around campus and get lost. Attempt to figure out why students never look before marching in front of cars. Consider installing cow catcher. Manage to navigate around rush-hour traffic on Rt. 29 while looking for nearest M&T bank ATM.


• Help parent pay bills. Figure out what to do with convoluted financial form that only Einstein might understand.


• Make three trips to the trash/recycle room to get rid of 1 week’s worth of glass/plastic, and a month’s worth of paper, recycling.


• Take car to Honda service b/c "low tire" pressure light came on, even though the tire pressure was fine.


• Shuttle professor husband to and from campus.


• Take cat to vet. Put up with a week of “pissiness” from second cat because the first cat doesn't "smell right" upon her return. (Do it all over again next week.)


• Play multiple games of "Food Police," preventing second cat from eating first cat's food.


• Change bedsheets with "help" of cat.


• Finish taking care of neighbor's cat while neighbor was on vacation (cat was a joy to play with; husband and I found him abandoned in a park 2 years ago).


• Give thanks to the deities that BSFS elections are over for another year.


• "Opt out" from too many political and telemarketer calls (even though we never opted in). Let husband do the dirty work (he is more assertive).


• Get ready for Turning Circle service tomorrow.


• Pick up last few things I forgot at the grocery store.


• Reinstall Open Office.


• Watch THREE movies in one day: "Guardians of the Galaxy" at Rotunda theatre with friend; then "March of the Penguins" and "Fiddler on the Roof" while catching up on several months' backlog of mending/hemming until 5:30 a.m. (couldn't sleep that night anyway).


• Drive friend to bookstore (again) to pick up books that weren't there the first time.


• Get excited that some of my photos are being published (Huzzah!).


• Photocopy 400 flyers for a last-minute event. Combine that with a same-day trip to a jeweler in Bel Air (that I'd been trying to find time to do for the last six months) to repair/resize a bunch of jewelry. Get to jeweler, note with dismay that there is a huge "EVERYTHING MUST GO!" sign outside the door. Find out (to my relief) that they aren't closing, just moving down the road.


• Pull out fall and Halloween decorations.


• Famous Dave's!!

elwynsattic

So, last month we traveled from Baltimore to Springfield, IL by train to see Lincoln’s house, something Tim has been wanting to do for the last five years. Our hotel was nice, they sold wine by the bottle in the bar downstairs (which we had in our room with dinner), and there were plenty of eating choices.

The overnight sleeping accommodations on the train were interesting to say the least (more on that later). On the 3-hour "Texas Eagle" train between Chicago and Springfield, the coach seats are on the upper level. Cursing under our breaths, we hauled our luggage up the steep narrow steps, not realizing we could have left it in a rack on the lower level. (Thanks Amtrak for not pointing that out right away.)

On the ride down from Chicago to Springfield, there was the Screaming Toddler from Hell in the seat ahead of us. On the ride back from Springfield to Chicago, there was no toddler but a guy sitting behind us chatting up various women on his mobile phone. TMI.

At one point we overheard him bemoaning one of the staples of the Midwest. “Corn. There’s nothing here but fields and fields of corn. I’m on the train going through East Bumfuck.” Then, a few minutes later: “I’m black. We don’t do that country shit.”

Couldn’t stop laughing at that one.

elwynsattic

(Seen at my local Home Goods store).

elwynsattic

Brief but interesting dream last night (actually early this morning). A wizard or sage (dressed in grey) with flowing grey-white hair leaned over me as I was dreaming and said, "All desires, dreams, and life-goals emanate from the Great Phenobe (Phenome?)."

I asked, "What is that?"

The wizard replied, "The One." 

elwynsattic

So last night I had a dream filled with symbols of renewal and rebirth. Perhaps it is because it is Samhain ("summer's end" from the ancient Celts—or Halloween to the Muggles). In the dream I wrote the following words in silver light on a dark page in my journal and signed my name:

I believe that I can accomplish anything I set my heart, mind, and hand to.

Sounds like a good way to bring light to the darkness, and a good mantra to start the new year.

elwynsattic

And link to slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/elwynsattic/sets/72157629978893458/show/