Fall?

Well leaves are starting to yellow here and there. Berries are turning red or black and attracting birds. The temperature feels a little cooler. It is gray and rainy (oh wait...it was that in high summer, too). I am beginning to see signs of Fall. Perhaps it is the planning that goes into the Jewish New Year -- different here, since the planning is less directed inwardly into how to make ammends for the wrongs that I have done in the past year and more frantically outward trying to find a community at all.

Eileen seems just happy as can be to stay in the house all day, but even though the socks are slippery on the tile floors and she has had the ability to remove them since 2 months, she has actually started bringing them back to me when she removes them at all to put back on her tiny frozen feet. This while learning to walk. I do make sure that we walk outdoors for at least 15 minutes a day -- no matter how gloomy. Eileen is still the toothless teether, we think -- though she awoke sticking out her tongue and would not even put it away for me to feed her the greek yogurt and banana mixture I made for breakfast - guess who got a wipe down over the kitchen sink? Maybe one or two of the six just below the surface have decided to emerge.

We seem to be settling into a rhythm of sorts. Market at least one day a week. Grocery on an intervening day. Laundry amounts to about a load a day, but I save it for two big laundry days. Coffee with local friends when I can. A major base related thing a week - though I actually missed the Italian lunch day yesterday which was to be my major base related activity. That said, I had two the week before, so I am still doing fine on average.

Otherwise, I am truly missing my worldwide cadre of friends. Thanks for checking the blog!