RAMBLINGS.........................October 2009

By Diane Sawdon

Do you remember the song, "What A Difference A Day Makes?" That song title is proof positive that Mother Nature finally decided to send my favorite season of the year, Fall, to Nevada County. In a short twenty four hour span, the temperature dropped over thirty degrees. It was a joy to wake up to a very chilly morning and grab some jeans out of the closet that have not seen the light of day for over five months and slither into them............and they still fit! But, the greatest thrill was to come home last evening after working for almost nine hours and find that my Sweetie had lit the fire in our Vermont Castings Gas Stove. I numbly walked down the hall, glanced into the family room and let out a hoot of joy! The old dog was sprawled out on her bed smack in front of the fire-----such a comfort to her old bones. She was even gracious enough to share her bed with our "virtual" cat. This feline is not a source of love to anyone, but she has shared our domicile for over ten years and she does give the dog a nightly massage. The cat sits on the dog's back and kneads her declawed paws into the dog's fur. The dog deserves a Hero Badge for putting up with this nightly occurrence.

I love fire! I admit it, I am a self proclaimed pyromaniac. In our old house we had three stoves and each and every one was wood burning. When we moved, we agreed to switch to gas stoves. I will concede that I miss the logs crackling in the fire, the smell of the wood smoke and the heat source that warms one to the very quick of one's soul. I do not miss the dirt, dust and bugs that accompany logs and Richard certainly does not miss chopping wood for three wood stoves. Another compromise well done on our part.

Since this is my forum, I need to send out a compliment to both of my daughters. I am not a particularly brave woman. Probably the bravest (and dumbest) thing I ever did was to go out in the middle of the night, in a raging winter storm, and tie up our houseboat which had lost one of the ropes and metal pins which held the boat on shore at Lake Shasta. I just pretended that I was Louisa Wanda Strentzel, wife of world famous Naturalist, John Muir. It was an insane act and looking back on it now, I am lucky to be sitting here typing this. Now, I consider my two offspring to be very brave young women. I see them handle obstacles that would have sent me into a tailspin when I was their age. Kudos to you both!

I think that fire is calling my name about now. The dog and the cat are well toasted and it is my turn! Enjoy this glorious month of October. Trick or Treat to all.....................