Cooler days really are here. Yesterday we arrived at 3:45pm, fifteen minutes early to pick up Julia from work. Not so many days ago, this would have meant we'd have cooked while waiting. But a warm, not scalding, breeze came through the open car windows, and the wait was quite endurable. The clouds billowed about, and on the way home, the occasional lightening streak hinted at rain.

In the evening, those hints gave way to a gentle thunderstorm.

I rejoiced in the cool wetness. But not all has been rejoicing today. Pesky mechanical devices had to interrupt my serenity.

Not that I can complain too much. It was bound to happen. After ten years with my sewing machine, it did something I'd never seen happen. Mid stitch, the whole tension assembly fell out of the machine, PLOP. I was utterly mystified. So I gathered its little pieces, put them in a plastic bag, and went on the search for a repairman. Casa Grande didn't even have someone who could repair standard sewing machines, let alone industrial ones. Onto the big city search, then, with UsWest Dex. I found, among many listings, a business that sold industrial machines, as well as repaired them. After calling them, I printed out the map. Yes, they could handle an ancient Singer.

With some reluctance, I told Laura about the problem. Only a few hours earlier, she'd complained of having so many problems to solve. And here I was, with yet another. She wanted to get there today, rather than waiting until the morning. She and Shayna lugged the heavy cast iron machine in the car and we were off. Laura knew the quickest way there.

The man was friendly and very helpful. he showed me how to repair this problem, should it happen again, as well as other maintenance tips. I'll recommend him to those who occasionally ask me where to have sewing machines repaired. Long may he prosper.

Leaving the repair shop, we found ourselves in Phoenix rush hour traffic. Timid me will not venture behind the wheel in Phoenix in ordinary traffic. It's been a task Laura alone has faced, for Julia fears it even worse. But Shayna bravely took the wheel, in the stick shift car, no less, and under Laura's direction, got us out of there and home. I'm grateful to be home safely and with a fixed machine.

September 16, 1999

"In Lieu of Words"

I'm not inspired today. I should at least be sewing, sewing, sewing, now that the machine is fixed. But instead, I peruse old pictures, these from the BTSW arboretum taken in April. One yellow bloom especially cheers me, and so I'll share it.

September 17, 1999

"Words, For What They're Worth"

While casually looking at a can of refried beans, I saw something new and disagreeable had been added to its ingredients. Laura suggested I write the company. I did.

To Whoever is responsible at Hunt-Wesson (AKA 'Rosarita') Code from can end: M( 46 N13 - No Fat 'Traditional' Refried Beans - Brightly emblazoned on the label is 'NEW IMPROVED TASTE'. Well, let me tell you, you didn't improve it for me. I am one of the quarter of the population who is sensitive to MSG (Monosodium Glutamate). The 'Natural Flavor' and most definately, the 'AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT' is a variant of MSG. The symptoms MSG and its variations causes are not a figment of our imagination. I can no longer eat your refried beans or anything else you've decided to 'improve' with this stuff. Sincerely, Joan Lansberry

It may not do much good. But if everyone just passively accepts the continually narrowing few foods available to us, they'll keep on 'improving' everything until there is nothing safe we can buy at a supermarket. We'll have to grow everything ourselves.

September 18, 1999

"Awakened By The Silence"

I was awakened by the deafening silence. Yes, really. When for years I've become dependant on various noise makers such as fans and air purifiers to drone out the outside world, and all that wall of sound is suddenly cut off, I awake with a startle. Not even the bright red numbers of the clock punctuated the darkness. The electricity must be off. But it couldn't be just us, as we sometimes overload the circuits in the hot heat of the afternoon. Wishing to investigate, Laura wanted to take a short drive. Two blocks of our neighborhood were uniformly dark.

Fact finding mission accomplished, we returned home and called the electric company. Yes, they were aware of the problem. So Laura, Julia and I sat in the dark, and talked. Well not completely in the inky darkness, for we did have a large flashlight. One lone moth found it and was circling around it wildly. Across the street, we could see a flickering candle on the neighbor's porch. Hungry, and wanting a challenge, Laura decided to fix breakfast. The electric skillet was useless, but our gas stove would be unaffected. In the pale illumination, I found the small cans of chopped chilis, mushrooms and olives and cleared off the table.

Nearly all done with cooking, Laura joked, "Turn on the fan, I'm hot!" Almost as if on cue, at that moment, a soft orange glow from the lamp we leave on all night quietly appeared. "I can do that!" I jubilantly replied, and clicked on the big round breeze maker. We were back in the modern world again.

Later this day . . .

Thought I'd check in with the Muse. Rather odd results, I'd say. I think it's the theme that flits in occasionally about the mysteries of life after death.

September 19, 1999

"Rain Brings Out The Silliness"

Laura's been hoping for a fun form of exercise she could stick with. Bicycling has gotten a little difficult, so she thought skating might do. Shayna, always wanting to accompany Laura in everything, was eager, as well. They got in-line skates, which feature a thin row of wheels down the center of the boot. Apparently they're more akin to the feel of ice skating and go much faster than ordinary skates.

Keen to try them out today, they headed to the empty nearby airport parking lot. I didn't join them, for I was exercising my monster killing skills in removing some mercenaries from Harmondale. As I was slashing away, the weather outside caught my attention. The winds blew strong and then the rains came down hard. Thunder and lightning, even, and there they were, in the midst of it all. Would they at least have the sense to wait inside the car until the worst was over?

An hour later, they returned thoroughly soaked, but laughing and happy. Laura, of twinkling bright eye and wide smile, padded up the stairs and into the house like an overgrown kid. At sixty, she's more in touch with her 'inner child' than I am at forty.

They weren't the only ones to get into mischief this afternoon. Weentsy, one of the kitties, tried this perilous stunt:

 

September 20, 1999

"It Wasn't Just A Nightmare"

Julia told me, "You can write about this in your journal." I laughed weakly in response. Still subject matter is subject matter.

Yesterday morning I lay semi-awake in bed, occasionally tossing and turning. Laura's spot in the bed was empty. She often gets up while it is still dark. I stayed in bed, hoping to get back to sleep. I was half way there, when I saw someone walk in briefly, light a cigarette lighter and walk out. I startled when I saw the small orange flame against the velvet blackness. "Huhhh??", then trying to answer why. The first thought was Laura got up because the air was too hard to breathe, and she's using the match to test oxygen levels. If the oxygen were too low, the lighter wouldn't have ignited. But that didn't seem plausible. The dark silhouetted figure was about Laura's height, however a little narrower in the mid-section. Who do we know with that build? I thought of VDP's drunken threats that he was going to come over anytime he wanted, plop down in the middle of the living room and smoke a cigarette any time he wanted. Was he walking in to taunt us with that threat? Or did I just have a bad dream?

Not able to sort this out, I stumbled out of bed to seek Laura's advice. As I passed the back door in the kitchen, I thought I saw Laura on the back porch. "She's probably playing with the dog." But then I heard the clickety-clackety at the computer. Laura's doing e-mail. Thinking I was just interpreting the shadows falsely, I went over to her.

Still, I shared the mysterious things with her. It wasn't logical that VDP would do that. He's long forgotten his drunken tirade. Yet, it left us quite distressed at the time, and the subject matter could still come up in dreams. And besides, Laura was up at that time, outside in the front yard, playing with the dog. It HAD to be a nightmare.

That settled, we got about our day. Laura needed heavy socks for her skates, so we went to Walmart and Walgreen's to pick up Julia's medicine. I no longer thought of the strange events. Until later yesterday evening. We had a video to return, and Laura was searching for her wallet. We couldn't find it anywhere. Perhaps she'd left it in Walmart or Walgreen's. After dropping the video off, I went into Walmart and asked if they'd had a brown wallet in lost and found. They didn't. Neither did Walgreen's.

All four of us were circling the rooms of the house, looking for any place it might be hidden. Around and around, over and over. Then Julia glanced at the large, empty hook on the kitchen wall. EMPTY??? Two of Julia's purses had been there. She hadn't gone anywhere all weekend. They had to have been stolen. A chill descended through me. Prehaps it wasn't a nightmare this morning. While waiting for the police to come, we remembered other mysterious disappearances. Glen and Mother kept telling us cans of food were disappearing from the laundry pantry shelves. We didn't take Mother's tales of seeing a man running out of our yard at 2:30am very seriously. She can't see very well. Glen was just 'sneaking food' because her serving portions were too small. Still, we'd been having an awful lot of disappearing items.

All of those disappearances add up to one awful conclusion. We must take security measures. Mistakingly thinking we were safe because there's always someone either here or at Glen's and Mother's, we'd frequently neglect locking our doors. We can't do that anymore. While Laura and the dog were occupied in the front yard, this man was busy entering through the back door. He walked into our bedroom, while the rest of us were sleeping. If he'd had the desire, he could have killed us.

September 21, 1999

"We'll Come Out Swinging"

That feeling of being hit in the head by a brick is gone.

Vulnerable No More Gianna, my wizard of a sorcerer   To the left is my sorcerer, Gianna. He used to be weak, and always needed rescuing. Not any more. Thanks to some nifty potions, he's now '75 might' and '82 speed'. He's the ablest member of my Erathian team. Like him, we won't be vulnerable anymore. All it takes is some thought and preparation. Yes, Nancy, in the future, if anyone tries to break in, there will be 'many pieces of creep all over the floor by morning'.

September 22, 1999

"Not Much"

In order to be able to afford the security system, we cancelled the Primestar cable. This is not a hardship, for even with all those stations, there still usually wasn't anything to watch. The best shows are usually on the major networks, anyhow. And now the new seasons are beginning. We saw the first Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode, which was quite engrossing. Buffy gets a surprising 'aspect of the demon', when one touches her before she kills it. Expecting horns, or leathery skin, she instead learns why the demons have no mouths. They are telepathic beings. She begins hearing the thoughts of everyone around her. It's a fascinating premise, and other subplots are drawn in. One of the students is suicidal and thinks everyone hates him. Buffy has a chance to help him, aided by her recent insights. Of course, at the end, they give the phone number and URL of a suicide counseling organization.

The next Buffy episode will be a two hour special, afterwards of which Angel will have his own show. That will probably air right after Buffy , but today, a sneak preview of an animated cartoon called Mission Hill followed. It looks promising, got a few chuckles out of me. I'll watch it again.