Wanderlust

Been watching a bunch of travel shows on the teevee lately while working on my little evening tasks -- like getting envelopes ready for the mailing, cutting the little cardboards for the soap, snipping up ribbons, etc. I also need to get a brighter light for the living room. It feels like a cave in there and I can't see anything, especially my knitting, which I've had to rip out a couple of times because the stitches look like a kindergartner got ahold of it. But I digress. So I'm having little daydreams about sipping espresso at an outdoor cafe on the piazza, or hot air ballooning over Stockholm.

Maybe because I'm facing the next two months with a little trepidation about how much work I have ahead. I've decided that this year will be different. I will at least TRY to actually notice the experience and find something each day to enjoy, rather than just ducking my head down and trying to get through it to the other side. Take a few moments here and there to look around at what is whizzing by, take a deep breath (or any breath at all besides the usual hyperventilating) and enjoy the so-called "holiday season." That's my challenge for myself. I'm making the statement here, out loud, and so be it.

The starlings have finally arrived. Wow! When they flock over to my little corner of the block in the afternoon it's a cacophany of chaos. All of them chattering, swooping from tree to tree, corner to corner, little bunches circling and dropping. We had to make a quick errand downtown the other evening and the real population is hanging out there on 5th Ave between the rooftops of Macy's and the trees across the street at Westlake. It's unbelievable. Sort of makes your heart skip when you look up at the thousands of birds packed into the little treetops, the sheer volume of noise (and poop). It's almost impossible not to feel fear -- flashbacks of the film "The Birds" running through your head, visions of the apocalypse or something. But also awe, at how organized and coordinated that huge number of animals are together. Magnificent.

Hmm, well the bird thing doesn't count today, since it was a few days ago. And the weather. Good heavens, it's so warm and gorgeous. I can hardly believe it's mid-October. Feels like the first week of September and that summer was just a week ago or so. How can we possibly be receiving Thanksgiving cooking magazines in the mail? The pumpkins and squashes seem so out of place. I haven't even needed to don a single sweater yet! What? There is snow in Buffalo? So what, they probably get snow in July. And today looks like another 70 degrees and sunny. The leaves are beginning to turn such pretty colors. I need to get over to my favorite little row of burgundy and gold maples and take photos this afternoon, see if they've gotten close to their peak of color yet. Maybe I can squeeze that in as my "moment" for today.

And yes, I made more patchouli soap last night. For all of you "patchouli only" fans. Where do you all come from? I'm not complaining. It's just curious. I've never had this many loyal fans of patchouli before. I'm guessing it's not a "trend" because then it would be a bar of this, a bar of that, maybe 2 of the patchouli . . . that sort of thing. This is "4 bars of patchouli," "I'll take 8 bars of patchouli - that's it," and "a dozen bars please, just the patchouli." No worries. I've got you covered. There's enough for everyone.