random thoughts - Day 1,980 (Monday) - feeling fall

Today felt like the cusp of fall. The air was a bit crisper. It was warm without being summer hot. The denim capris were traded for full-length jeans. In a month and a couple days it will be officially autumn and once again, I've forgotten to have a summer. 

The morning was packed with activity. Trash and recycling were rolled to the curb. Four boxes and a big duffle bag were neatly stacked at the edge of the lawn near the street for pickup by Epilepsy Foundation. Coffee with Mom and Step-Dad was followed by an appointment for a Mass Save Energy Audit.

Fall on the horizon
and in the flower pot.

The energy audit was uneventful. The house is well insulated and there were no recommendations. The shower heads were replaced and a faucet aerator added to the guest bath sink faucet. Info was provided about converting from oil heat to a heat pump. 

Around 11:00, I swapped out Mom's laptop adapter with my own to test if she was having a laptop issue or an adapter issue. It was her adapter, and after checking the prices at Staples down the street, ordered her a new one from Amazon for half the cost. Then she and I went on an adventure to Leominster to check out a consignment shop for a sofa and curtains for me. The shop had a couple large black sofas. one in leather, the other in fabric. Both looked like they might overpower my living room. I saved a ton of money by buying nothing.

Back at home, it was back to the job listings and another application was submitted. It took about 1.5 hours for that one application (with necessary side quests). First, I popped over to my website to try and add a portfolio document, but couldn't remember how to add files to link to them. Then, I spotted a typo in my resume as I was about to upload it to the application system. Faahhk! It was updated and posted. The portfolio file was added to the application. Then the system asked for a cover letter, so there was a side trip to draft one as a Word document and then copy and paste it into the text block. So, yeah, 1.5 hours gone in a blink.

At 5:00, the light outside felt different than in recent days. Not as warm and golden. More like fall and less like summer. 

Around 6:00, I decided I wanted a potted mum from Price Chopper, where they were on display in the front of the store. That led to visiting the company website to register for their store loyalty program. Then there was a run through the week's flyer, where I learned they carry local beers (how did I not know this?). When I spotted pumpkin pie ice cream, it sealed the deal and I was out the door.

Chasing a flavor memory.

A yellow mum was chosen, which now resides on a metal stand at the front door. The evening walk to the mailbox required a cotton hoodie over the long sleeve shirt. A woman down the street was teaching a young girl how to climb a tree, which is something I never learned to do, partly because I thought I would get dirty, and when I was a kid, that was all the deterrent I needed to avoid an activity. Reading a book in my room or on the couch was my favorite dirt-free activity.

After fetching the mail, a bowl was loaded with pumpkin pie ice cream which was good, but not as great as my memory of my first taste of pumpkin ice cream.  Back in college, a boyfriend introduced me to it at Pinecroft Dairy once upon a lifetime ago. I'll be chasing that fall flavor memory for the next few months until it disappears and is replaced by some other seasonal flavor.