Only Change Is Constant

Once again, the season has changed, and I have not posted here in quite a while.
The library system I work for has a very large new building just opened in Norman, and our community is gearing up to scope out the possibility of a new building for our branch.

Things keep changing.  Old things pass away, new ones wait to be born.

From the journal:

Again golden Autumn reminds us that it is a season of change.
A season of old things passing, and new things waiting to be.
The days grow shorter,
The nights grow longer,
The air cooler
The light golden,
But growing thinner, and colder as time passes.
The leaves change color and drop,
Or they just drop
Household things need to be done in order for winter to be borne
Cracks caulked, and other damages repaired.


This week, I am on vacation from work because I need to use hours or lose them.  They get unhappy with my supervisor when I lose too many hours, so I took some time.

I have spent the first two days of the week doing tedious things to keep the house more pest and weather proof.  Filling too-large weep holes in the exterior walls with screen wire, so air may pass, but nothing else.  Caulking around windows and door frames, so the heat and cold will stay on their appointed sides of the boundaries.

Today, I have declared a strike.  I am sitting around, reading, doing small household things like running the self-cleaning cycle on the oven, and unloading the dishwasher, and hoping for the best for my voice at choir rehearsal tonight.
We have had an ongoing battle with a small furry invader for the last few weeks.  I think, (knocking on wood), we have finally won.  We caught what we believe to be the malefactor in a snap trap.  He went to his reward quickly, and I hope without pain.  I hate having to kill mice, but there is no other way in this suburban environment to deal with them.  If you live trap, you have to drive them MILES away to release them, and more will always be waiting to invite themselves in, no matter how careful you are.  I do not like to use poison for two reasons.  1:  a neighbor's pet, or a valuable predator such as an owl or hawk may be poisoned by affected mice, and 2: They may well die somewhere in the house, and cause a whole new health (and stink) problem.

The weather today is sullen and oppressive.  Mist, clouds, and heavy, turgid air.  The breeze is out of the south, and warm for this time of year.  It is now not quite three thirty in the afternoon, and yet, it  is so dark out that a neighbor's "dawn to dusk" outdoor light has come on. (Our patio light, also light controlled, has also come on, but I couldn't see it from where I am sitting, so I got up to look.)

I have done some other small household jobs over the last two weeks, installing new blinds in the dining room and in my office.  I also got some real drapes for my office, instead of the tablecloths I was using.  The blinds in my office also have wider slats, and the whole thing looks so much nicer and cleaner.

This was one of my goals for the week, to get a blog post done.  I also need to get a story finished, but that is going to be rather an epic battle, I fear. I know where I want it to go, but so far, it hasn't shown me how we get there.  Guess I'll just have to sit here and try things until something works out.

That's all for now.  May this season of change find your life changing for the better.