well... it's the weekend already. .. .and I am grateful.

Let me preface this post by saying; that my laptop has died (as of last night)... and taken all my info with it.

What I usually do... is keep a running bookmark list of cool things I see on the internet during the week....
and come time for the weekend post; I have lots of ammunition--- so to speak.
Well... that is gone.
And so I am winging it.

I am also winging the photos.
I am working with cell phone pics... random shots taken over the course of the past couple weeks.
And so... they are not "the best" either. But alas. It is what it is.

The photo above; I took 2 weeks ago while briefly stopped at the red light (we have 2 in town).

Fall at it's finest in small town America... and today (as below) it is snowing.

It's also the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Who... and frankly, that makes it something of a major holiday around here. Even Google.com has a cool (very cool) graphic and game you can play. Then there is Wiki, BBC, and this... all cool sites. Needless to say, we are having a TV marathon. Yes, TV. We got it installed this week... after being without for 3 months. And to give you an idea of our "tv watching" ... the first 3 shows we watched were Dr. Who, Project Runway, and CSI.

This am, we had a visit from one of my cousins... who is something of a financial /insurance dude... and while there were moments of talk about economic apocalypse... wall street doom and gloom.... and a recurrence of 1929 and the aftermath thereof... it was a good visit. And while I have long likened our current state of affairs to that of the dustbowl times... it is still shocking to really let sink in.

I was reading earlier this week about Dorothea Lange... and loved this article about her most famous photograph, and wanted to share it with you.

And speaking of "a chicken in every pot" times..... today I made garlic roasted chicken in my new small tabletop convection oven. I had one when we were first married... and used it 'til it died... and was never able to find another... until a week ago. I am a happy girl.

Also this week... we managed to settle some of our financial affairs.. paying off everything... save the "new" house... and one credit card. And while that one card still has a significant amount of debt still on it... it is good to have just the one open account. It is strange how things can change in a minute. And while we were fortunate to have some warning... I couldn't have imagined that we would go from "comfortable" middle class (with a ton of debt---which was the kicker) ... living in a big city... would end up... without jobs... without savings... without alot of things... and in the backwoods of PA. Not a bad change; mind you.... but a big one.

And I am happy to be here. I am very happy with our house. And while it needs lots of TLC... it definitely feels like home already. We see lots of birds, the occasional deer, and just last night... our local bear (he's fairly young) came and decimated my bird feeder. I'm not upset at him... just surprised he came so close to the house.
But then... it was empty for over a year... so I think nature is still getting used to us being here.

~~~~~

And so I am settling in. Trying to get ready (at least mentally) for the holidays.

I had a big scare this week when a close friend fell... it could have been so very bad...
and I am grateful for so many good friends here... family... and how precious dear ones can be.
How we need to tell them.
How we need to appreciate them.
How we need to cherish them.
And not just at holiday time... but all year long.

...and I am grateful for you all too.
Best wishes... and see you all on Monday.