If It's Not One Thing...

Life seems to be constant only in the number of things that pop up that you weren't expecting.
We have had to deal with major car repairs when we weren't really expecting them. (There goes the "savings")
At least we have the money, though we have to scrape, to pay for it. What happens to people who just don't have it? I will pray for them even as I listen to my whimpering bank account. What with gas prices driving up the prices of everything else, how is most of the Middle Class in America supposed to survive? How about folks like my Mom, on a fixed income?
I don't think much of anyone among our overpaid and overly wealthy government cares. They are also going to have to stick it to us even more to pay for their excesses soon. (They would never tax the higher income people, that would mean THEY would have to pay more taxes!)

On happier subjects, the weather is still Fall like without being too cold. None of my plants have frozen yet, though many need a drink of water, so I guess I better get out there tomorrow and do my watering. The trees are finally starting to turn pretty colors, and , alas, drop leaves. I will have to mow in order to pick up the leaves. The grass hasn't grown, but the lawns are covered in leaves, and I don't know about you, but raking them up just doesn't sound like that much fun.
I am not getting used to the time change very well yet. I feel drowsy too early in the evening, and I wake up before the alarm in the morning. At least I did today. We'll have to see about tomorrow. Usually I enjoy "falling back", but it feels very strange this year. Maybe because it happened so late.
Let us hope Fate is through playing games around here, at least for awhile.

Evensong

The day is fading in the West
Our weary souls and bodies wait for rest
But to Your house, O Lord we come
To raise our voices in Evensong.
We sing Magnifcat, and Nunc Dimittis
And O Gracious Light
To ask that you, Lord, remain with us
Through the darkness of the night.

We did indeed go to Evensong this evening, and sang in the choir. We had guest musicians, a trumpet player and an organist, both professors at a local university. The music was lovely.
Afterwards, a few of us choristers had an impromptu birthday party for one of our own in the parking lot. A man walked up (we are in the middle of downtown after all,) and asked for phone call money to call his sister to get some gas 'cause he ran out. We looked at him and decided he probably wasn't going to use it for booze or drugs, so we gave him some of the cider we were drinking, some birthday cake, AND phone call change, plus a few bucks in case his sister couldn't bail him out with gas. Hey, it was a Church parking lot, after all, and we are His representatives, like it or not. This sort of thing happens a lot in Oklahoma. People help each other out. If the person looks too obviously in need of love that does not involve cash to support a destructive habit, we can hook them up with St. George's Guild, which will see to their material needs and help them get help for their bigger problems, too. Nearly all folks in Oklahoma will do that. Most go to church, and know where to refer people for help if they fear cash gifts would only make the situation worse instead of really helping. Of course, you kind of have to have a radar for dangerous people. You don't want to get involved in a situation that could endanger yourself or others. Most folks around Oklahoma, at least in my experience, have been pretty tame, and usually just like this guy, they ran up against an unlucky circumstance, like they ran out of gas or something.
In other happenings, the weather is cooling off again. A brisk wind is blowing out of the North, bringing cooler temperatures, and granting us a chance to open the windows and air the place out.
My brother was on TV last week. (Well, PBS Wired Science). I just found out when he emailed me tonight. I got to watch it online. Pretty cool. He still looks good. Haven't seen him in a long time. (That happens when your family is all over the country. I keep telling my family that I am centrally located here in Oklahoma, and they can always come by on their way someplace else. It has been way too long since I have seen them all.) This is the brother that I tell people is MY big brother and nobody else's. He is, after all. He was the baby for 12 years and then I came along. He's a pretty cool big brother. Even if we did fight a lot when I was little and he was home from college. He taught me how to identify tools, and read the numbers on sockets and wrenches. I could tell a crescent wrench from an adjustable from a "dog bone" from an early age. And I could be counted on to find the right size, because my sister taught me to read before I was 3. I could also identify many parts of an engine that other girls didn't know anything about because Walt let me "help" him when he worked on cars, and he patiently answered a lot of silly questions. (Pop did, too, but I remember pestering Walt the most.)
Well, that's about enough out of me tonight. Voice lesson tomorrow!

Endings and Beginnings

This month I have sung at two funerals. Both times as part of a choir. These two services were very different, but both were very emotional. The first was the funeral of the son of a friend. This young man was the victim of a random, senseless accident. This was a shocking and very painful death. Yet the service was uplifting, an affirmation of his life and an acknowledgement of his family's pain.
The second was for the 90 year old father of a friend. This was a peaceful end, more or less expected, but still not welcome for those who love him. The part of the service we sang for was at the graveside, and what a peaceful and beautiful place and day for it. This was a sad farewell, but not a wrenching one.
These endings are also new beginnings for both families. They have to get used to life now without their loved ones being around. They have gone for their rest, and we believe we will see them by and by when we go to ours, and that we will all have new life one day.
This time of year is also a time of endings and beginnings. All of nature is winding down, waiting for its winter nap, and the new life to come in spring.
At work, we have people leaving, people changing jobs, and new hires coming in.
In my music studies, I have finished the recital pieces, time to move on to new things and maybe some Christmas things in preparation for the next recital.
Our newspaper carrier is quitting after years of loyal and dependable service. Next month a new carrier starts. One wonders if the newspaper will indeed be waiting every day as it has been for so many years.
I guess this all boils down to life being about change. In case you haven't noticed, to live means to change, grow, evolve, become something new, learn something new or die. Even in death, many of us believe that we go on to a new life, to learn even more new things. If we know that life means things change, why then do we resist change so much? We all long for the days of childhood, when our routines seemed written in stone, we KNEW what would happen and when, and there were few if any major bumps in our roads. (At least my childhood was pretty much that way, your mileage will surely vary.)
When we get used to a certain situation, way of doing things, group of people, place, we don't want things to change. We are comfortable. We don't want the discomfort of change.
Yet we often find that the changed situation is better, more interesting, easier to deal with, than the one we clung to so desperately.
I find myself to be resistant to change, but to go with the flow when I must. I am used to it at work, the library world changes constantly. Procedures, shelving locations, call formats, all these change all the time. My personal world, though, I like to have the same because it makes me feel in control of something. This is an illusion, and deep down I know it, but it's my illusion, and I want to keep it.
Just my random thoughts on change.

When Will Fall Fall?

That is the question around here these days. The days are getting shorter, but not a whole lot cooler. Fall is usually the most pleasant time in Oklahoma. The air is crisp, but not freezing, the skies are usually very blue, and the leaves on the trees start to turn colors and fall.
The weather people are forecasting cooler temperatures soon, but it still feels too warm out to me.
I haven't had to put the blanket on the bed yet, the quilt is still enough. (By winter, I will have flannel sheets, a blanket, a heated mattress pad, and the quilt on the bed. We turn the heat down at night to save energy.)
I have always enjoyed the Autumn season. Autumn colors look good on me and make me feel good. I use a lot of those sorts of colors around the house. Unfortunately, I like to cook a lot in the Fall, and I don't need the calories. There are so many dishes that I get inspired to try this time of year. Casseroles and stews, soups, breads, things to make you warm and comfortable.

The sad part of Autumn is putting the garden to bed for its winter sleep. Having to say goodbye for now to the roses and mums, and hope the winter freezes don't kill all the herbs. (If I can get the pots they are in to a sheltered spot and remember to keep them watered, they'll be all right.)
This is also the time to start holiday preparations. In my case, that means rehearsing Christmas music. I also ought to make something for gift giving , but I have about used up my repertoire of easy projects that make acceptable small gifts.
Ah, well. Something will come to me, I'm sure.
This was my night to work closing shift at the library, so I am rather worn out at this point. We got a lot accomplished, but I am still weary from it.