Enough is Enough

Remember how I waxed rhapsodic about waking up at 6 o'clock without an alarm so I could greet the dawn doing yoga on the patio?  Yeah, I got over that real fast when my bladder woke me up at 5 o'clock this morning and my brain said, "no more sleep for you!"  I tried, people, I really tried to sink back into the Land of Nod but it was no dice.  I was so peeved that I didn't take a picture of the morning sky and I didn't do yoga until after 8:30.  Wake me up an hour early, I'll show you who's boss.


The other day I disassembled the fountain because it's leaky.  I figure that a toddler's tender handling plus all the wildlife that bathes in and drinks from that top saucer warrants an extra rubber washer.  Do you think I could find a similar washer at Home Depot?  I could not.  So I bought some o-rings with the same inside diameter and stacked them on when I reassembled the thing.  No good.  Do you see the steady stream of water drops?  Somehow the o-rings make it leak worse.  Maybe if I go to the fountain department at a place like Menards (*sigh* I hate Menards) they'll have the kind of flat rubber washer I need.  Maybe this weekend I'll park my dislike of the place and go.  Maybe.

On the plus side of things, look at this bowl of gorgeous tomato sauce.  I cooked up a bit of onion, some bell pepper, celery, carrot, and a handful of parsley to toss in too.  After tonight's supper pizza bakes I'll lower the oven temp and let the sauce reduce in there (so it doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan on the stove).  Later or tomorrow I'll portion it out and freeze it so we'll have yummy homegrown tomato sauce to brighten our winter meals.



The biggest plus of all is that after I got my hair cut I took myself and my writing stuff over to The Attic Books & Coffee, parked myself at a table in front of the window, and worked on the next chapter of The Seaview.  I didn't take my laptop so I still have to retype it but my aim today was to rewrite the beginning of the chapter because I changed the lead up to the big romantic scene which is where I'm at.  Awkward.

September 26--Ottoman, Helmet (Shishak)  The man's face was obscured by the visor but his eyes gleamed amber from the copper and steel helmet.  He wore the heavy thing like a crown.  His horse was the same copper color and stamped its hooves as if eager to leap into action.  I knew that this was a show, an act, but something about it felt real.  Maybe it was the smell of horses and sweat.  Maybe it was the wine drunk from footed metal cups, the armor, and fair maidens corseted and dressed in satin and velvet.  I waited for a cellphone to ring or some other piece of technology to break the spell but it didn't happen.

Can you believe that this is the last week of September already?  Me neither.  It's been hotter than the hinges of Hades for the last week but it looks like it's puckering up to rain soon so maybe that'll push that hot and humid off to the east and leave us with more seasonal weather.  Fingers crossed.
--Barbara