Weekend Chores

The weekend is here and Thanksgiving is close at hand. And we have already begun to shop, buying a large turkey and some of the other required Thanksgiving staples. We will wait till mid-week before buying the necessary fresh vegetables for the dinner. I heard that our granddaughter wants to make a dish for the holiday table. Great! And I will be trying out a new vegetable dish, as usual. I’m probably batting .500 on these trial dishes, but no one has died!

Although I did some of the chores on my list, I didn’t get around to burning any leaves. The pile grows higher and the leaves keep falling. But, I did get some trim painting done in the living room and I enjoyed a great walk in the park, doing the 6.33 miles in 1:17 minutes. That’s a very fast time for me and indicates that I am still fit, despite a more relaxed training routine.

My list of chores for this day needs to include the finishing of all the work in the living room. And then I need to clean up the garage again. It’s been too long since it was last neat and orderly…or was it ever? No matter; I have a new Shop-Vac and it needs to be used. And I can’t forget that I need to finish up the pomegranates and get ready to make some jelly.

It’s also time for me to get the orchard and garden chores done. I guess I don’t really understand what “retirement” means. If I did, I would practice it more often. I haven’t had a nap in months now. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I actually do too many things; it’s that I think about doing too many things. Procrastination just wears me out!  

The news for the day? The only headlines that caught my attention were the ones for the “food fight” in the House of Representatives yesterday. I guess the few grown-ups in the House membership had left the chamber temporarily. See what happens when you leave them unattended? (“At one point in the emotional debate, Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.

"He asked me to send Congress a message - stay the course. He also asked me to send U.S. Rep. Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do," Schmidt said. Murtha is a 37-year Marine veteran.

Democrats booed and shouted her down - causing the House to come to a standstill.

Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., charged across the chamber's center aisle screaming that Republicans were making uncalled-for personal attacks. "You guys are pathetic! Pathetic!" yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.

Democrats gave Murtha a standing ovation as he entered the chamber and took his customary corner seat.”)