choppy

fiesta mums or asters - cheery final fall blooms

A dead mouse on the kitchen floor this morning, not at all a surprise. I did do my best to try and rescue the little mouse yesterday before we left for our morning walk. I tried to trap it in a yogurt container so that I could take it outside and tell it to "run free, little mouse", but it had wedged its tiny body behind a large piece of furniture in the laundry room, which I would've had to dismantle to move and then there was no guarenntee that I would actually catch him. Gussie and Oliver took turns all day keeping a vigil, staring at the spot where the mouse had disappeared underneath a large pantry cupboard. Their quiet patience remarkable. At least it was dead. Dead, dead - not mortally wounded which would've been much more upsetting.

No wind this morning, still cold and a billion stars in the clear dark morning sky.

Today is one of those choppy days. I hate choppy days - days that are interrupted by appointments and meetings, meaning no groove will be gotten into, no roll will I be on. When working on a big project (like this new jewellery project) I'm most productive when I have hours of uninterrupted at-my-desk-time, it seems it takes me time to really get into a project (thankfully I'll be able to devote Wed-Fri to just that project). Today's a day which I must fill with little jobs as the day will be broken up into little pieces. I have a dentist appointment at noon. Chimney Sweep No.1 is finally coming around 2pm to do his thing, les chiens and I go out again just past 3pm and also to the post-office, I have a birthday party invitation to design, print and get to the mail. I'm planning a little surprise pot luck birthday party for my friend Carol (who we walk with every morning, who we've been walking with every morning for years, Auntie Carol to my dogs and their official legal guardian should anything happen to me). It's quite surprising, even to me, that I'm planning this little soireé, because I am mostly painfully anti-social, I don't really enjoy parties. But I know that this will make her smile, that it will make her happy and knowing that seems to be outweighing, for once, my own personal baggage. My friend Harry is helping me with the hosting & planning of this event, the party will actually be at Carol's house. We will all show up at her house at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, that will be the surprise (or shock) part. About 8 of us, bearing gourmet finger food, balloons, gifts, beverages and a spectacular birthday cake made by Harry.

Must go fill my coffee cup, hop in the bath & get ready for this new choppy day.

10:00 am - it's ... snowing ! and I just downloaded the music from A Charlie Brown's Christmas the most absolutely perfect winter-ey, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - music.