It was a fun busy day with Ray. We went to a great pilates class at 10:15 and stopped by the farmers' market on our way. I chatted with Richard about what it means to have a certified kitchen. Basically, I will need to find somewhere else to bake if I want to sell cookies at the market. I bought a few onions (at $3/pound!).

After lunch, my Dad came by. He and I worked on the grape arbor he started a few months ago. It was sunny and warm enough to work. Ray split wood and the chickens foraged around us. My Dad gets frustrated because he gets so tired. But he just keeps going, sometimes resting a bit. I do the handing of tools, holding of wood, some of the picking up, and mostly the keeping of company, listening sometimes to the same stories I've heard before. He was pleased with what he got done. Now to staple the lattice onto the frame we put up--shouldn't be hard. He suggested I plant a second grape on the other side of it. I wondered if we could plant something different--a clematis or other flowering vine...He thinks that would be odd.

For supper, a new recipe for rice and beans--not as good as our favorite Roman Rice and Beans, but it used up a pepper. It won't be long before I will no longer be looking for recipes that use up peppers.

At 7, we met Deb and a friend of hers at the dollar theater to wach Crazy, Supid. Love. It was quite good, if you aren't looking for too much realism. Fun, clever. I generally disagree with the basic premise that there is one true love for everyone, but there were some other good messages there. Casual sex with strangers is not that great--although you can find your soulmate that way. Very smart writing leading up to plot twists, which I won't reveal.

I had a good sleep.

Well, we are not waking up at the Mountain in North Carolina, where it would be beautiful. I am sad that the kids did not get to go. But, I was glad to sleep in my big warm bed (with Ray) and wake up in my warm house, with no middle schoolers. It's pretty beautiful here too (and quiet now) and driving up there in the dark is a little terrifying, staying up late and sleeping on not-too-comfortable beds.

I took a bin for pig food down to Five star day, after dropping Ray off, and have to pick it up at 3 on Monday. Then I drove to Joy and Harry's house in Kingswood. The address I had was off--there was no 153 and I drove back and forth. I called Covis and Bob helped me find it -- 155.

Helene, Penny, Deb H.

Joy is dying of cancer. She weighs 80 pounds, but was alert and active when I saw her, sitting up on the couch and getting herself something to drink. She said that whenever she sees the doctors, they like to be sure she understands that she will not be recovering. I heard her assuring her boss on the phone that they need to go ahead and fill her position at work. The only thing she needed from me was company. I am sure sitting around all day waiting to die is about the suckiest feeling there is. Of course, to some extent that is what we are all doing--we just don't know how soon it will be. And she doesn't either. But she won't be here a year from now. Meanwhile, Harry works for the USDA and they are closing his office. They keep putting it off, which is sort of good, but makes it hard to plan. They will tell him in the next month where he has been reassigned, and he will have a month to say yes or no. Then they will have to sell their house (yes, in this economy) and move to that place...while Joy is dying. Hopefully somewhere with good health care. Totally sucky. Of course, there are people with worse stories and similar stories all over. I know another family being affected by the same closure--with a 12-year-old son, who will have to sell their house and move. But no one in that family is dying right away, that I know of.

Herb, Myrna, Paul

So we talked and I knitted. Then I picked up Ray and we went home. It was sunny and cold and breezy and the leaves on the trees are gorgeous. My Dad arrived just ahead of us and unloaded some materials from his car to finish the grape arbor. We visited a little and he watched some TV. I made a rice dish (with peppers) for the Hootluck (hootenany/potluck), which was at 6 at Rosemary's. He had to go to rehearsal at 6.

Deb B., Karen S.

Ray and I stopped to feed the pigs on our way, giving them some leftover rice milk (thanks to Bonney and Hank) with their dog food. At Rosemary's, we had great food and a good time and sang a lot of songs that I enjoyed, with good friends. Bonnie S. just got her Ph.D., so she was celebrating that. I think she is about my age, with white hair. Now she will find a job--it is in sociology. Bill is a peer counselor, so I guess he can find work wherever she does. We drove home about 9:30, still singing and falling asleep, like when I was growing up. Fortunately, Ray didn't fall asleep, just me.

Fall colors are beautiful on our morning walks

modeling a hat in the bathroom at Changos

I called the GED classes as I was on the way there, and they said they had a speaker coming at 10:30, so I did not need to be there. (I didn't say, "couldn't you have emailed me that information earlier in the week?") So I went to stand at the Arch instead. Unfortunately, I had not dressed for it and it was cold and windy. I knitted some. There was a young man from UCLA visiting. He had been participating in Occupy LA and was very personable. Rick F. from the Fellowship was there as well, and one or two "regulars." I kept moving my chair over to be in the sun, so there was a line of us on the sidewalk strung out in front of the Arch. I expected someone to complain or tell us to move, but I don't think UGA can tell us to keep off the sidewalk. I was prepared to explain about the sun...

Fortunately, Becky and I had planned to have lunch, so I got to leave before I was frozen to death. As usual, I had to use the bathroom pretty badly. The place we planned to eat was closed--maybe they don't serve lunch any more. So I had to turn around and walk several blocks in the other direction. By the time I got there, I really had to pee and was glad to be inside. She met me soon after that and we had a nice lunch, although the acoustics and atmosphere there are not great--it is one giant room with a high ceiling. and the food was just okay. The chai was wonderful, though, warm and tasty.

I told Becky she was wearing Molli's colors and I needed a picture

My Dad picked me up outside the restaurant and we mailed Nicky's birthday presents--about a month late, I think. Then we drove home. He sat at the dining table with his computer, while I was upstairs on mine for awhile. Then we went outside and did some work, in spite of the cold and wind. He put the hose away for the winter and covered some of the plants. I pulled up or cut some herbs to give away, and picked the last of the peppers that might be of any use before the freeze that was predicted.

Adah was telling Dave he couldn't talk until the timer ran out.

I had made eggplant-tomato casserole in the morning, so just had to put it in the oven at the right time. I cut up a few peppers to freeze, too, and gave my Dad some leftover canned soup and crackers, as well as tea. He complains of being tired a lot, and is often short of breath, but otherwise he was pretty good. The play is taking up a lot of his energy, but that's not a problem. He does better when he's busy.

Adah cleaning up

I went to Cedar Commons for the KR potluck at 6:30, with my casserole and my herbs. Chatted with the interesting people there, and especially enjoyed Adah and the other children. She sat next to me while she ate and I encouraged her to clean up her plate. (Mine was bare) We took our plates to the kitchen and then played games. She wanted to go out, in spite of the cold and dark, and I finally relented, pushing her and the others on the swings, catching them on the slide, and playing zombies with them. One of the bonuses was the full moon and the bright stars.

Back home, I watched some TV while waiting for Ray and started a new hat. It was after 9 when he got home and we watched part of Wheel of Fortune before Molli and Amelia called on the computer and we talked for about an hour, I think, mostly about bridesmaids dresses. So it ended up being almost 11 before I went to sleep, and then I woke up at 4:15. Darn! Cameron barked until I let him out. Not sure what was out there, but I am worried about the camellia we just planted. The deer would love it and I didn't do anything to protect it! I will be so annoyed if I went to all that trouble and don't get the red flowers I wanted!

I started out feeling really hopeless. I am so tired of not having a job, it is sometimes impossible for me to keep going and trying to stay busy. It seems useless and boring.

I dropped Ray at his office and took the bus to the Arch from my Dad's. There was only one guy there, Jeff, and the police chief was asking him about the paint cans on the steps, neatly piled in one corner, and the paper-mache puppets on the lawn out of the way. "They are going to be declared debris," he said. Jeff moved the cans under the table. When Adam came later, he carried the paper-mache puppets to the sidewalk. Aaron came and sat next to me and read his homework for an hour or so. Linda and Katie came and held a sign for a while. Kathi D. from the Press came and put money in and gave me a hug. Another guy gave me $20!

I knit and read emails on my phone and talked to people. Lauren was there for a half hour or so. Another young woman put signs up about a march Friday night. Gretchen and her little dog came for another half hour. She said the paper-mache wasn't dry enough to paint yet. She lives in a travel trailer she built herself. They let her park it at the storage units. She sews for a living and does art. I was the only one there for a while, though, and I had to leave finally.

I took the bus back to the Captain's; Ray got on at Aderhold and drove me to St. Mary's for my mammogram. He went back kto his office to get some things and then came back to get me. It was a relatively painless process. Except for the part where they checked my information--and I had to tell them that was not my work phone; I didn't have a work phone. Then they made me fill out a form with some of the same information upstairs. That is so annoying.

As we drove home, my Dad's car was right in front of us. I worked on the ratatouille for supper and then went out to plant the camellia with Captain. Ray had dug the hole, so there wasn't much to it. He hung out his laundry, even though there was a chance of rain. And sure enough, this morning when I woke up, it was raining. Good for the garden and the camellia, not so good for the laundry, but it will dry eventually.

As he left, my Dad dropped me at Karen's to feed the pigs. She had gotten more puppy food from Mary's, and another source of scraps. She had a couple buckets with lids that I can take to Five Star Day. She washed them out with the hose and a scrub brush, as the moon rose and I waited for Ray to pick me up. I walked toward home and he came along--I was sure it was him, even though all I could see was the lights shining in my eyes. We left the buckets on the side of the road to pick up on our way back and started to potluck. "Did you put the chickens up?" I said. "Darn! he said (or worse). I knew there was something else. I brought the ratatouille..." We turned around, picked up the buckets and took them with us. The chickens were in the coop, I just had to shut the door. We zipped to potluck and were not late! A good variety of food and company.

Amber had lost her voice and was trying to direct us without it--even more challenging than usual. We are working on Christmas and solstice songs, which I mostly love. I sat next to Jenny and she was in a mood to be silly--we had the giggles two or three times. She told about a friend who was on the jury of a case and her chair collapsed under her. She got the giggles so bad, she finally had to be excused. She would get under control--and then start back up again!

We were so tired when we got home, we went right to bed. Of course, this is the first Wednesday since the time change and it seemed later than it was. Naturally, I woke at 4:45...to the sound of rain, which I like.

No exciting event yesterday. I spent a few hours at the Occupation. Some people were creating giant paper-mache puppets and spread out making signs around the Arch. After a few hours, the campus police came and photographed with a video camera and made them move all their things down onto the sidewalk. They said it was blocking traffic, but it wasn't. One young woman was disitressed and said, "they can't do this, I'm a student. Why are they doing this?" I advised her to be totally agreeable and not give anyone an excuse to comlain about us. Let them see that we are reasonable.

I had long loud discussions with a couple men a little younger than me. I generally say hello to people who pass by, if I can get their eye. Many act as if I was invisible. If they hesitate, I say, "Can I answer any questions for you?" I try to stay calm (and not break down and cry), but firmly state my position. These two guys both were complaining about the extremists keeping people from work. Of course, what they have seen on TV of the Occupy movement would be the most dramatic things. I said I didn't know of anything like that. I just think corporations should not be getting handouts and then turning around and giving bonuses to CEO's. Most people agree. Some, like these two, hate Obama and are worried about socialism. They say we need corporations and they should make as much money as the market will let them. We just need to reduce government regulations. I say, we have tried the free market and it's not working. I say, corporations are getting more handouts than people. I say I know how hard it is to get on welfare in Athens, when they talk about people who don't want to work and just want a handout. It's very frustrating and pretty hopeless. These are not people who are going to change their minds from my talking to them. But maybe if enough people tell them, they will begin to hear it. They say, I chose to go into the field I did. I say, you don't think luck has anything to do with your success?

I took myself out to lunch at Five Star Day and asked them about saving scraps for the pigs. They said, "yes." I need to bring them a bin with a tight-fitting lid and I can pick it up Monday afternoon and give them another one to replace it. I brought my corn muffin back for the artist, Gretchen, who keeps a little dachsund with her all the time, leash tied around her waist. She was wearing a long skirt, with a clear strip in it, and purple tights. The dog got paper-mache on its nose.

Ray called and I left on the bus and we picked up the car at my Dad's. We stopped to feed the pigs, who were even less skittish than the day before. I scratched one's head. I sat on the porch in the sun and chose a recipe for dinnr. My Dad came out and joined me. He studied his lines. He is really enjoying being in the play so far. I look forward to seeing it about a month from now. I hope it doesn't become too much for him.

Ray dug a hole for the camellia. I peeled the shrimp and gave Captain some canned soup and crackers. Ray and I enjoyed another eearly supper and watched some TV. I managed to stay up a little later than the night before.

Yesterday, Ray was the guest lecturer in another class. It started at 8. He was there at 5 after, pretty good considering. The time change should have been a help.

I drove to Deb's house, where I didn't have to be until 9:30. I parked in the drive and listened to Morning Edition. John came out to walk the dogs and I walked with them. It was a lovely morning, sunny and not too cool.

After a bit, Deb came out and told me to come on in. We chatted a bit and set out the banana bread and cream cheese. Other people arrived. We had a discussion about the holidays. Not one of the six of us really loved Christmas time and preparing for it, to varying degrees. One usually travels then (I like that plan), another just doesn't celebrate at all...so I felt pretty conservative in my general Scroogey-ness. We do have some nice traditions and good memories. This year will be hard without my mother. She did a lot of decorating that I am not that into, but I will try to do some of it. I was thrilled to see Nordstrom's policy: "We don't decorate until November 27, because we prefer to celebrate our holidays one at a time."

Tim Echols at Trumps banquet room

I left a little early because I had an 11:30 OLLI luncheon. Tim Echols is a Public Service Commissioner and he was talking about alternative energy sources. Apparently the other commissioners think he is crazy and the Atlanta paper has written a lot of negative articles about him. He has a solar water heater on his house and drives a natural gas-powered car...when he can get it filled. There are only two stations. He is a little abrasive and the situation is bleak, but I was reluctantly impressed with him. He argued in favor of elected public service commissioners, because he is out meeting with and talking to groups like ours. Did you know France recycles its nuclear waste? And 82% of their energy comes from nuclear? Not that I am about to embrace it. But I had no idea.

After that, I waited a little bit for Ray to be done and brought him home. My Dad came after a bit and we drove to Cofer's to buy a red camellia for Molli's wedding next spring. We stopped to visit the pigs and I gave them a couple scoops of puppy chow. They were still afraid of me, but came a lot closer than the day before.

My Dad was heading to his first rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. The church where they rehearse is on Tallassee, but much further in town. So it makes sense for him to come to the house for a while before hand. I think he will be doing that regularly. Rehearsals are currently scheduled for four days a week all month. He had a piece of pork and headed out.

I was working on our dinner, but it wasn't ready before he left. We sat down and ate and were done by six! We watched some TV and I was dozing off, and it wasn't quite 8 o'clock. I went up and tried to stay awake with the computer and reading, but I am sure it was before 9 when I fell asleep. Of course, I woke up at 3:30 and I wasn't really surprised. The surprising thing is I managed to go back to sleep until after 5.

Piggies

A few weeks ago Karen F. and I were talking. "Paul and I are going to be raising pigs again this year," she mentioned. "I want one!" I said. Paul and Karen built the fence last weekend, while we were away. "What can I do to help?" I asked. Karen asked me to buy some puppy food, which is higher in protein than adult dog food. She is looking into a source of organic hog chow, and we are trying to get food waste from restaurants and grocery stores. We asked at Peking, when we were eating lunch there with my Dad, and they are supposed to call us after they check with the health inspector.

Saturday night, I wrote a check for $50. Sunday afternoon, Karen called. "We'll be there in 20 minutes," she said. We finished up what we were doing and headed over to her house, where the pigs will live. There were three little coal-black piglets in the back of Paul's red truck, with a lot of straw. His truck has a cap on it. Shannon, Karen's daughter, and her husband, Steve, came from next door to help us. Steve crawled into the mucky straw to catch the pigs. They squealed like they were already being butchered and ran from him, but he caught them one by one and handed them out the back. Paul took one, then Ray, then I took the last one. They screamed, but didn't bite or kick, just squirmed. We held on for dear life, walking over the rough farmyard to set them down inside the electric fence Paul had strung, making sure not to get shocked as it was "live." The three terrified pigs ran around and right through the electrified fence! Potential disaster and much excitement. Karen's style of farming appears a little haphazard, but there was another fenced area around the pigs' enclosure. They crawled under that fence and into another fenced area. Ray and Steve and Paul waved sticks at them and tried to keep them from getting out into the woods. They would not be coming back, with plenty to eat and no desire for human companionship. And probably something would catch and eat them. So long, $50!

Paul is the pig whisperer; Ray carries a big stick

goats looking on

Paul and Shannon worked quickly to put up another wire, while Steve and Shannon and Karen and I carried logs to block some of the places they had crawled through, and Ray herded them back toward the pen. We encouraged them back into the pen with the additional string of wire and turned the power back on. We tried to be calm, so they would calm down. When they were riled up, they would run right through the electrified fence, but once quiet, they would notice the charge and avoid it. We watched for a long time. Karen brought the dog food we had bought and a pan of water as well. They stayed in the corner farthest away from us, contentedly rooting and learning about the fence. Yay! Hopefully they will stay in. As they get bigger, the fence will be more effective. But mostly, once they learn to avoid it, they will not try to get out. And we will bring them food and water and keep them happy.

The pigs are a combination of three heritage breeds, not the pink commercial pigs you think of. One is mulefoot, one is black something-or-other...

That was the most exciting part of my day, which also included pancakes and a walk in the woods, followed by singing at church. For supper, I made pork with peppers and onions and mashed potatoes (without any milk!). I thought about the baby piggies as I sliced the pig meat...

Enjoyed it and some TV before bed, as well as knitting.