making connections

Ray was very hesitant and reluctantly drove us to Eno River UU Fellowship for choir rehearsal. It was certainly great to sing, to learn new music, to meet a lot of people. It's such a big congregation; they have more than one choir. I picked Thursday night because Tuesday I like to take a yoga class. While we have been in Beverly, choir has been a little different--and we haven't even been in a few years. Robert didn't do warmups; we didn't do a lot last night, but it was good. A song with words by Langston Hughes was great. We will see. Shall we go in person this Sunday? Shall we sing in church the next week? We sing masked and the congregation is masked, although speakers are not. 

Being retired means holidays have no meaning--no work Monday? I haven't worked on Monday for a month or so.

I spent an hour or so at Amelia's shop, looking around, studying the pattern I chose to make a bathrobe and getting to know the variations and making some choices. Step One: cut the fabric. Amelia (and other people) say to wash it first. Naah. That would be an extra step. There was a "rep" there from a fabric company, showing the new fabric for Amelia to decide what to order. Halloween glow-in-the-dark fabric was one option. She said nice things about Amelia, naturally. 

Pouring down rain when we were driving home from the choir rehearsal. Dark and rainy, glad I wasn't driving. I'm guessing the things I planted will have liked the rain, though. Nice to have a carport to pull into when we got home. 

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One thing at this house that is not at our house in Beverly is a yard. In the front, there are two large oak trees near the street. They have been pruned or damaged so their shape is not really natural, and now all the leaves are gone, so they look especially odd. They are home to squirrel nests and drop leaves and branches every day. If we wanted to put solar panels on our house, they would reduce the amount of gain. They also keep other things we might want to grow in our front yard from getting enough light. Still, I wouldn't want to have them cut down. They also must provide wanted shade on summer days. 

Every day, sometimes twice a day, Ray walks a mile and a half. He goes to the end of our street, turns left and walks to the end of that street, 2 blocks, where there is a funny small park with a track for bicycle riding, ugly artificial hills that provide fun and exercise for lots of children. Turning left there, he walks a few blocks downhill to get to the Ellerbe Creek Trail. He turns left on that trail and walks along the banks of the creek, in a protected natural area in the middle of the city. At the end of that section, he turns left again, walking up the street, turning left, and arriving at our street again. I find it boring and tiring, so I usually go with him for only 15 minutes or so. Today it is cool and breezy, with sunshine, so a great day to stay inside!