October 30 Update

I know many parts of the country have had some terrible weather. Compared to them, our fall so far has been calm. In fact, our fall has been non-existent. We seem to still be in summer.  This past week we have one day that set a new high temperature record. It was 91 degrees. But it may be that fall has finally arrived. Right now, Saturday at 6:30 AM, the temperature outside is 59. On Wednesday when I went to work it was 78. The big changer was a cold front that moved through. I love cold fronts as they almost always bring cooler and drier air from the north. I think the only real problem we have had is no rain. In fact I am not sure we had any measurable rain during the entire month. The forecast for the next few days is dry. It has been so nice that Elizabeth moved her office outside. She and Candi love to sit on the porch. Elizabeth does her thing and Candi runs.

Yesterday was a bit different kind of Friday. I had to work in the afternoon to finish some stuff before the end of the month. Typically I take Fridays as vacation. So Elizabeth and I got going a bit earlier than normal running errands. We made many of the normal stops. These included the Post Office, grocery store etc. We also had to stop at the house Elizabeth is watching while the owner is overseas to let the bug guy in. In Texas you really need to have houses sprayed routinely to keep the bugs out. It is especially important this time of year. As it gets coller outside many critters try to move inside to stay warm. I also had to stop by the Title Company and give them a check for $2000. It seems when we closed on the old house, they sent our mortgage company $2000 too much due to a keyboard interface error. Also known as a typo. For a couple of days we thought we were going to get a $2000 refund from the mortgage company. But then we learned it was actually their error and we would have to give them the money. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

In the afternoon I went to me office. I am actually on an assignment that has me working at an engineering contractor’s office. I have not been to my real office in weeks. I have been away so long, my badge no longer worked to open the doors. After 4 weeks of not being used, badges are automatically deactivated. So I had to stop at security and get it reactivated. On top of that, this week my company moved me to a new office. In fact they moved my entire group to new offices. All my stuff was there it just was all in boxes. So first I had to unpack everything. Of course this also means I have a new phone number and will have to get new business cards. The good thing is this should be my last office as retirement is not far down the road. I am not sure the exact date but it will be in the next 2 years. After unpacking I got the work I came to do finished and headed home. I got home around 4:30 when I told Elizabeth I would be home around 2. Oops. After supper we took Candi for a walk. She has to patrol the neighborhood to make sure it is safe from squirrels. Back home we watched a show we had recorded and then I had to go to a meeting. When I got back home we had a snack and called it a night. At least I did. I am a morning person while Elizabeth is a night person. Mornings, such as right now, are my quiet time. Elizabeth’s is at night after I have gone to bed.

There are some hazards when a morning person lives with a night person, especially if the night person is prone to rearranging stuff. One day I got up and since Elizabeth is a very light sleeper, I did not turn on the lights. I promptly fell over the couch that had been moved while I slept. I learned my lesson and I no longer walk around the house in the dark.