A Jumble

I have lots of ideas for posts but I don't have the focus or energy to work on them. Instead, I've just got all these small comments I want to remember to make. I was trying to think of what to title the post and thought of the word jumble. Did you know in England a garage or yard sale is called a jumble sale? I like that usage. It makes more sense, really. I mean, no one is selling their garage or their yard. They're selling that jumble of stuff they've dragged out and displayed.

It's definitely autumn. I've heard and seen the Canadian Geese flying overhead several nights this week. The other day I was standing in a parking lot in town when a beautiful formation of geese flew overhead, lit from beneath by the setting sun. I just stood and stared and then realized I should have grabbed my camera. Another set of stragglers flew over shortly afterward and I manged to snap a photo or two of them. They were a bit less clear on the whole "V" making formation. Maybe they were the dyslexic geese. But still pretty with the sun on their wings.

I made a minor mention of some birthdays recently. August and September in our family is a huge string of birthdays and anniversaries and I am sad to say that as the years have gone by I've gone from being the one who remembers and creates memories to being the one that says "Yeah, I suppose I should do something about that. Maybe I'll call." I'm not proud of my celebratory inertia but, there it is. The one positive in all this is that hubby has taken it upon himself to be the official birthday rememberer and cake maker. A role I did fanatically for several decades. Where I was just going through the motions in recent years, he seems to be enjoying the role. So, that's a good thing. As women, particularly as mothers, it's so easy to buy into the unwritten rule that we have to be the one to plan the parties, write the thank you notes, buy the gifts. I have to remind myself that someone else can do those things without me feeling guilty about it.

William is the tallest helmet, on the left. His buddy James is the shortest helmet, in the middle.

Football is taking up a lot of time. It's one of those annual activities that I both love and hate. Sort of like camping. Or traveling. It takes a lot of time and money and planning to make it all happen. But then once the planning is planned, the money is spent, the driving and schedule times are carved out, the campfire/the holiday/the football game make it seem all worthwhile. Until afterwards, when all those activities generate a lot of laundry, and you start to question things again.

The Moonlight Fire is finally winding down after almost two weeks. The incident website calls it 99% contained, full containment expected on Monday. The smoke cleared out a day or two ago. Today I smelled smoke again when I was out running errands. William pointed out the window of the car - it was only coming from someone sitting in a parked car next to us, smoking a cigarette. I have to say it was the first time I was happy to have it "only" be a smoker.

The fire trucks are disappearing from motels, the clusters of tired, charcoal smudged fire fighters are disappearing from restaurants up and down Main Street. (There hasn't been a motel room, a baked potato or piece of pie left to be ordered for weeks!) Signs thanking the fire fighters are being displayed all over town. Everyone has been commenting on the fire, or lack thereof (knock on wood), with voices full of relief. Some people were certainly affected by the fire more dramatically than others but I think we were all suffering, to one degree or another, from a bit of crisis fatigue. Others have mentioned how, they too, have been fuzzy minded and unable to focus. William said he was really started to feel it in his lungs, running during football practice, even on days the smoke seemed barely there. October is usually the end of fire season. I sure hope so.

I've been doing something odd lately. At least, odd for me. I've been watching "Disney-esque" movies. A few weeks ago I watched High School Musical on the Disney Channel. I haven't watched the Disney Channel since William was two feet shorter than me! Tonight, much to William's distress (I noticed however, although he turned his head and pretended not to watch it, he didn't actually leave the room) I watched A Cinderella Story with.... that blonde teen star. I'm not quite sure what's gotten into me. Maybe I'm just craving some "sugar" in life.

I haven't really watched a lot of television all summer. Mostly I've been reading. I've caught the occasional new Jon Stewart. I have managed to watch all the new episodes of Eureka, which started a month or so ago. I've only caught a couple shows of the new season of Monk and Psych. Hopefully I can eventually find all the new episodes in rerun. I'm woefully behind on the new season of Doctor Who but I've got them all recorded so I can eventually find time to watch them in order. I'm so far behind that I'm deliberately not watching the new ones until I can catch up.

In a few weeks the new fall season returns, with all the shows we like to watch - Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, Medium, Ugly Betty, Supernatural.... am I forgetting any? And I don't really want to know about any new shows. Do I really need any more shows? But I'm, in about equal measures, both excited at the return of the new season, a consolation prize for losing all those extra summer hours of evening daylight when one can be outside, and dread at the prospect of keeping track of all the nights and hours. I am so ready to be a Tivo family. All that's left to do is convince my hubby, the quasi-luddite, how much easier our life would be if we could be in charge of our television hours.

I'd like to say that I'm intellectually above scheduling my life around the boob tube but alas, that would be a lie. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" - See! I spend time reading Shakespeare as well as waste time watching Family Guy. And then there's that whole angle I could argue, that there's intellectual validity to the idea that one should be as fluent in "pop"culture as one is in "classic" knowledge.

I think I rather prefer this latter defense, if for no other reason that it will annoy my husband. We enjoy a rather active game of "Who's smarter?" with each other. His favorite argument is.... well, maybe that's a topic for another post. It's late. Time for me to be off to bed and a book. The only question is - fast paced, fantasy whodunit or intellectually stimulating, philosophical, New York Bestseller? Oh puh-leeze. It's too late to think that hard. I'm going for the vampires.