November is Here

By the numbers November is Oregon's rainiest month, and so far it's living up to the numbers.  Fortunately for the cross-country runners yesterday afternoon provided a sunspot.  Forecasters hinted that today might have some sun.  For the most part they were wrong.  I had thought about doing a backyard burn but about mid-morning it just felt like a wet day.  By noon it was definitely raining and by evening the rain gauge was showing a significant collection.  So the burn will be another day.  And I didn't get my steps or exercise in for today.

So we stayed inside and cut up the jack-o-lanterns, stewed the pumpkin pieces, mashed, bagged and froze the pumpkin pulp, ready for a Thanksgiving pie.  We also threw together some bread dough to bake some buns and sweet rolls, sort of a precursor for the potlucks at church.  We did good.  They went well with the evening ice cream.

Being a good day to stay inside, I worked on the writing of my conversations with my ancestors.  I tried AI for the first time.  I thought it might serve as a proofreader and editor.  I was not impressed; it mostly wanted to add questionable commas.  I also wanted to discover and correct why the Excel on Gail's computer won't save or print.  If you're reading this and think you know the reason, type me a comment.  I'm open to any wild idea.  I've tried everything I can think of including an extensive conversation with an IT pro.  Consequently something I try to avoid raised its ugly head - frustration.

At moments like this I wish I lived a couple centuries ago with my favorite horse and dog in the mountains of Western America.  I quickly realize how unrealistic that thought is and how nice it is to have a dry warm place to sleep and eat a tasty meal.  I realize that being eighty huddled under a Douglas Fir in the Cascades is not a comfortable place to be even if it's far from a frustrating computer app that goes in circles.  I regrouped, took a deep breath, and will sleep on the problem hoping for an inspiration and a solution.  Besides, there was no Internet under the Douglas Fir 200 years ago and I wouldn't have been able to write this.  So I'm just to glad to be where I am.

The forecasters are affirming that this first week of November will validate historic statistics and I will continue to work on writing and seeking computer solutions in the dry house.  I will also look out the window and acknowledge that with every raindrop a beautiful tree is flourishing,  Thank you God and Mother Nature.