September 9, 2005

• It’s fall, I think.  I just went on a walk with dog treats in my pocket and a leash, and it was a huge success.  She came when I whistled and, when another dog owner using a leash appeared,  I leashed her up.  She was able to stay at a heel, with not too much resistance, so this idea that I can’t walk her because she’s not leash-trained won’t work as an excuse anymore.  It’s high time I got back out there.  I bet I’ve written that before.

  
  

  The other good thing was that I made a friend.  There’s this woman who lives by the river and I was on a bike ride once, marveling at the amount of dirt she’d had delivered.  She’d used gargantuan rocks and made a bed around the front and sides of her corner lot.  Cool house, too. Today I noticed that all the dirt and rock was in place and planted with mature plants.  It looked like they’d always been there.  Well, I didn’t remember it was her but she joined me on the walk with her dog and we all got along famously.  She even remembered my dog from the dog park (fenced with no leash law) I go to every once in a while.  It’s a drive and sometimes the dogs are a little crazy.  But she remembered mine for the way it runs and runs and runs.

  
  

  I have absolutely no excuse to put off hiring some of the workers, now that it looks like I’ll have some money coming in.  I went by a guy’s house on the walk, who has a truck advertising his woodworking services.  He saw me getting a closer look and was peering back at me.  I decided I’d keep looking.  I want to be my own contractor so I’m going to start hunting people down.  I need tile people, and plumbers, guys to do finish work, and an electrician.  I can do the painting and make curtains.  Fall is so invigorating, don’t you think?

  
  

  I always am relieved when summer’s over.  I try to cram so much fun in, remembering to do all the things I love because the sun comes and goes so fast here.  Today when I looked out to see the first bit of rain, which was brief, I went back and had another cup of tea, figuring I should maybe get to work finally.  I ended up on the phone all day.  But that was a good thing.  My girls and I are really close right now. We were all talking to each other back and forth today, plus my ex MIL, who I’ve been avoiding but miss.

  
  

  Today when I was walking I felt good about life.  Most of the time I feel bad that I’m not getting more done on the book and the house and that my dog isn’t getting daily training.  I look in the mirror and wonder why I’m so lazy about my hair, and I open the refrigerator and eat leftovers, chiding myself for not cooking more.  But on my walk I looked out over the river and felt the first rush of fall breeze blowing the leaves off the trees, and I congratulated myself on another good summer.

  • 8:59 pm
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