Yesterday morning, Ray, Vanessa, Janna and I went to a political protest in Oconee County. The Captain did not. He wasn't feeling very good, maybe from eating at Carrabbas the night before (including rare steak and fried calamari). He also seemed pretty depressed. I was very depressed after attending a rally organized by some Republicans to protest the health care reform plan. The Oconee County Democrats had organized the counter-protest. I will say that the speakers generally agreed that reform is needed. It seems they think that the free market will bring it about if we lift the government restrictions. We had yellow signs that said "Not True" that we held up when someone said something we thought was wrong. The upsetting thing is that they really believe that is what the bill says. They chanted, "Read the Bill" over and over. I don't see how we can come to an agreement and make this happen. One of the speakers talked about how nothing the government ever does works. One person in the crowd asked "who pays for your health insurance?" (meaning the government) I do not know how I can make contact with anyone and convince them to change their mind. And so, we will not get any meaningful reform and they will use it to say, "see, government programs don't work." They talked about the cost, which is definitely a concern. But we're paying now! And they talked about limits and rationing, but we have those now! I came home very discouraged and I feel it hanging over me still. Contact my elected officials? That's a joke. Can I write a letter to the editor that has any effect on anyone? The rally started with half an hour of prayer and patriotism--saying the pledge of allegiance, singing the national anthem (and I'm Proud to be an American). The minister said some people hate their country...and that our president should never apologize because we are the greatest nation on Earth, etc. It's hard for people to stand quiet when those things are being said and just one outburst ruins our attempt to show that we are reasonable and polite unlike the other side. God, I don't want there to be another side. I want us to all talk and listen.

In the evening, Ray and Vanessa and I went to ALPS' production of Brigadoon. It was very well done; there were some incredible singers and dancers. But I thought, "what a stupid play." I did see Gloria S. and tell her that I will not be able to act as Treasurer for the time being. So that is a relief.

Hello,

I woke up about 2, thinking about work-related stuff. I read a whole book and it still wasn't 5 o'clock yet. The book was about a young woman in India whose arranged marriage ended when her husband died, leaving her a widow. She did beautiful embroidery, though, and the story had a happy ending. I just lay there thinking about how I have never in my life had to go without food. My "problem" is deciding what to choose from my many options, and what to buy when I go to the store. I need to live a little more lightly, so I can give some to others.

The Board of Directors has agreed to give me a temporary increase in salary, the difference between what I am making now and the low-end starting salary for Executive Director! This morning, when I arrived, Mike was there to buff the floors. He stripped and polished them 2 weeks ago and called me earlier this week about coming back. I called Barron's about renting a buffer and arranged for someone with a truck to pick it up, but I couldn't reach him Thursday afternoon to confirm the timing with him. So I had to tell him I couldn't make the arrangements. I was a little flustered and then I could not figure what I had done with my keys. I eventually found them later when I emptied everything out of my purse. I need to put that on my list too--clearing out the stuff I carry around with me! Someone called from one of our granting agencies wanting the reports from May. I couldn't find them on Alison's computer (although July was there), but when Kerri got in, she had them. I looked through all the paper files in the office, but they mostly seemed very old. At lunch time, I went and picked up my notary seal--I am a notary public if you need anything notarized! Kerri and I talked about a family with mental health problems that we will ask to leave on Monday. She has a lot of trouble telling people "no," so appreciates having me there to back her up. She said, "where will they go?" I said, "that's not our problem. We have a program and if it works for them, great. If they need different services, they can't stay..." The interns are taking on some of the jobs that need doing, like the volunteer database.

I managed to leave about 3:30, picked up Ray for racquetball (yes he beat me twice). Then we went by the library, where I got books about Spain, as well as reading books. Then we went out to dinner--thanks Amalia, Molli and Adrian! Then we went to Janna's, where Becky and Kent joined us after a while.

Everything is great--if I can just figure out how not to be stressed. With exercise and relaxation and fun and friends, I should be able to deal.

I had a little trouble sleeping last night and my back hurts. I don't know how to fit in any exercise. Today I will go to yoga at 4, and Ray has the Democratic Committee meeting at 6, so we won't get home until almost 7;30. So, what to have for supper?

Yesterday, I was supposed to meet the board pres. for lunch to discuss personnel issues. She cancelled lunch, but we met at the bank to get her approved to sign checks. After about half an hour, we left and said we would come back to sign later when the cards were ready. It was the same woman I had last time. Possibly some of the problem is with the computer system, but she is incredibly slow! Beth signed a letter giving me authority as Acting Executive Director so I can sign the reimbursement requests. She said board members would be stepping up to meet with the staff individually and I should not worry about it. The next board meeting is Sept. 8; I doubt anything will happen before then. Then I went to the Housing Counseling committee meeting, which was pretty fun.

I picked Ray up a little before 5. We came home and made a salad with cherry tomatoes and peppers, went to choir and potluck.

My toes are cold again this morning, yay! and it seems a little less humid. It was pretty hot during the day, but maybe not over 90.

I took Vanessa to yoga and Ray to work (see how we save gas?), then went to Kroger to get groceries for the Shelter. When I got there, the pest control man was working--not a good combination, pest control and groceries. He said he did not treat in the living area because there was a small child. Lavender Pest Control donates their services every month, so that is very generous.

We had a staff meeting at 9 and it seemed to go pretty well. The treasurer was to come by at 11 and sign checks for me, but it was after 12 when she got there. She was very nice and apologized and we talked about when she would come back. I met Lisa L. for lunch and we talked about her house plans. The hour sped by. When I got back, I had an email from Beth that the Treasurer had resigned! They're dropping like flies...

At 4:30, I left and went to pick up Ray. His meeting ran almost an hour longer than expected. They were talking about furloughs. Everyone at UGA is being forced to take six unpaid days off. They are scheduled for days when there are no classes. You can imagine the discussion. In particular, people who are running labs and getting funding from grants are pretty upset.

The Captain and Vanessa had roasted one of our Nature's Harmony chickens--in the gas grill. Plus we had mashed potatoes, green beans and beets from the garden. It was very good.

Well, it happened. I am now Interim Director of the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. I am happy about that, but trying not to let excitement slip into stress. Yesterday morning I got an email from the Board President, Beth, asking to meet with me. She came about 1:15 and we talked about some of the things that need to happen while there is no director. She assured me that I was welcome to apply for the permanent position, but they are hriing a recruiter from Atlanta to find someone, since they have had so much trouble. The treasurer will sign checks in the meantime, starting tomorrow. Beth and I are meeting again on Wednesday to talk about personnel issues. I told her I was not willing to work full-time, I thought a lunch break was important, and I was planning to be gone for a week in October. I also said I needed a raise. We did not discuss the amount.

I left about 4, played racquetball, and was home by 6ish to make dinner.

It's cool here again this morning and dark at 6:00, when I woke up.

Yesterday, Vanessa went with us to the service at UUFA, when the choir sang for the first time this year, a lovely a capella song. As usual, we have an overflow crowd wanting to sing at the beginning of the year, which will dwindle down to about half by next spring. We sang some great hymns too: Let it be a Dance. There were lots of new faces in the pews, which is fun, and many young children. We have a new pianist, too: Thomas, who is an extreme knitter. Yesterday I saw two different projects. Of course, he plays beautifully too. I also credit Amber with introducing another kindred spirit to Unitarian Universalism.

It was the Fourth Sunday, so we had lunch as well. The Captain drove over to join us for lunch, and there was some musicianship in the back yard afterward. People brought their guitars and played and sang; it was a little humid for it, but fun to see all the kids--some growing up that we have known and others new to us.

We went home for a couple of hours. Vanessa made cookies and started supper. She called up to me to help chop some vegetables and the Captain said, "I'll do it." She and I were trying to get to a 4:00 movie, which we enjoyed very much. It's pretty unusual for us to pay full price for a movie (we did go to the matinee, so it was only $6.50). We split popcorn and a Coke. We laughed and cried. It was great.

After supper, the Captain said, "Why don't we ever play cards?" I said some people like to watch things on TV. He said there was pretty much nothing he'd rather do than play cards. I suggested he be more assertive in asking people to play. So he suggested right then. I said it was fine, Vanessa agreed; Ray was a little lukewarm--he said sure. So we played cards and the Captain won by a lot. I had a dismal score, but Vanessa's was worse. Ray got grumpier and grumpier toward the end.

I actually was too cold when I woke up this morning! The windows are open and the computer says it's 64 out; I had to find a bathrobe and slippers.

Yesterday morning Vanessa and I went to Tai Chi--a free class at the hospital. It was fun, with about 100 people on the lawn. It's not strenuous, but is good exercise. It was a little hot and humid by the time we finished at 10:30. Then we went to the Farmers' market to pick up some bread. We said hello to Lisa Lewis there. She is exhausted because this is the time of year there is still a lot to do on the farm, but her husband has started back to work teaching. When I got home, it was too hot for me to do anything outside, but I looked at some recipes to think about cooking for the week to come and had some lunch.

At 3, Dave brought Jeff to the house in his stroller. Jeff just turned 1 on Wednesday. He is a big baby with curly blond hair and blue eyes and a round face. He was almost asleep, but perked up enough to sit on my lap. I gave him a little ball to play with, but he preferred chewing it and I had to take it away again, since little bits of plastic are probably not good for him and his teeth seemed to work really well. He seemed subdued; he didn't cry, but just kind of stared around him. He did have some interest in our bird. After about an hour, we walked him over to Nancy H.'s house, where there was a party for three couples in KR who are celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries: Ray and Nancy, OC and Manita, and Dave and Suzie. Pretty amazing! Jeff was sound asleep and we parked him in a corner and checked on him regularly. His Dad joined us after a bit and before he woke up. The food was very good--excellent shrimp from EarthFare and a wonderful cake from Publix. The Captain and Vanessa came too and after awhile someone thought to ask how long they had been married--61 years! Ray and I--32 years!

Then we went to Janna's for dinner. Amanda was in town briefly. Becky had flown up to DC, they had driven to Athens with a horse and left it here and right now they are driving back up with a different horse and then Becky will fly home again. Crazy! They seemed pretty tired too. Amanda had some good stories, like when she was randomly selected for a lie-detector test because of her government-related job. Her hands were really cold and didn't sweat, which is apparently important for the test, so she had to take it over and over. Dinner was four different salads, kind of like Matt's wedding, which was a few weeks ago. The night before the rehearsal dinner, Janna cooked for everyone, which involved 8 salads. Last night, we had bulgur and white bean, arugula and cannellini, peaches and tomatoes, and strawberries and tomatoes. Unfortunately, it turns out Amanda does not like tomatoes. They were good, but I had a little trouble with the fruit and tomatoe combinations, with onion and dressing. Better to put the fruit together. Anyway it was fun and good.