Wednesday, Sept. 15

Up at 6:30 to go to water aerobics. There was a nip in the air again this morning, and I noticed that some of the trees are tinged with color, getting ready for a fall display.

Parking spaces were at a premium, as usual, so I had to walk down the hill to the gym. There is a parking lot directly across from the gym, but I've always avoided that one in order to leave spaces open for the ladies who have trouble walking. But today, I noticed many of the spaces now have names on them...recently (since last Monday) reserved for staff members, I assume. There are only two handicapped spaces on that lot.

The pool was really chilly this morning. Girded my loins and dipped down into it anyway. Once in it, I got used to the water and enjoyed myself.

Back home, after I was ready for the day, Mother came over, and we gathered stuff for Thursday's scrapbook club meeting. I also called our Extension Service office to ask the agriculture agent if he knew anyone who grows pumpkins. He gave me the name of one person.

At last night's arts council meeting, there was a discussion about decorating pumpkins for sale as a fundraiser, and the council director asked me to check with the agent to help locate someone who might be willing to donate or make us a deal on a bunch of pumpkins.

There is a lady who will be holding a workshop in October to lead artists who want to decorate pumpkins. She has several stencils to work from...the wicked witch's legs from "The Wizard of Oz," a raven with the word "Nevermore," a haunted house with the word "Boo", etc. She said she already has orders for some of her designs.

Received an invitation in the mail from my Alma Mater college about an upcoming 20th anniversary reunion, with an R.S.V.P. request, so I acknowledged it with an acceptance.

While I was doing these things, Hubbie went to the camper to check on the refrigerator, and found a couple of soft drink cans had frozen and burst. He turned the fridge off, cleaned it, and waited a while to turn it back on, hoping the thermostat would correct itself. Right now, it seems to be working again, but we'll know for sure in another day or so.

After lunch, we decided to take a little road trip to a town near us. We'd received promotional fliers in the mail from a car dealership. The fliers had keys attached and code numbers for a chance at winning a car, $100, or $2 bills. Our expectations were low, but it was such a beautiful day that we felt like getting out.

We got exactly what we expected...$2 bills, one for us and one for Mother. Since we were in the area, we visited a new package store. We learned they were giving a 15% discount today, so I called our arts council director to alert her. She said she already had an order there for wine as part of the refreshments for a musical concert Sunday afternoon, and since we were there, could we pick up the order and bring it back to the gallery. We agreed.

From that town, we traveled a few miles to a state park to take a look at a paddle wheeler boat that sprung a leak last winter and sank. This boat has sunk before and been raised and repaired. This time, the damage was too great to repair. All that is left of it is the paddle wheel, the black smokestacks, and the inner workings on the steel base. The cabin and wheelhouse are gone. It's a sad sight.

Disturbing, too, is that two guys were accused of sinking the boat (police officials found their footprints in the snow on the ramp leading to the boat) and arrested them. They were in jail for months before being proved innocent.

Back home, we stopped by a grocery store to pick up a couple of loaves of bread, then drove by a house to see a yard full of red spider lilies. I'd seen them last evening on my way to the community theater board meeting, and wanted Mother and Hubbie to see them. They are spectacular, and I'd like to have some in our yard. But Hubbie says the bulbs are too expensive.

We delivered the order of wine to the art gallery before returning home. Relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, and then had leftover chili for supper. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch TV.


We saw the movie, "Brideshead Revisited," a 2008, PG-13 film based on the 1945 best-selling novel of the same name, by Evelyn Waugh. Starring Emma Thomson and Michael Gambon, the story is about a middle class young man who is invited to the estate of a wealthy family, where he is caught up in the opulent lifestyle, in which his friend desires a relationship with him, even as he becomes attracted to the friend's sister. His life is further complicated by his friend's mother, a bitter, unyielding, fanatically religious woman, whose husband has for years been living with his mistress in Italy.