Warm weather, time change and living in the moment

I looked up the definition of "Indian summer" on Wikipedia (with apologies if this is no longer a correct term, and I hope everyone knows I mean no offense) and it says it is "a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperature regions of the northern hemisphere."

It goes on to say some sources "describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost."

If I go by that last bit of information, what we are experiencing here where I live is not an Indian summer because we have not yet had a frost. But it is definitely warm for late October.  It has also been dry, but we are supposed to get some relief from that in the next few days. 

The days have been nice, for the most part, but we have had some in which it has reached the low 80s. That just seems too warm for this time of year. 

I don' remember much about the weather from year to year. I know we are not usually freezing cold by this time, although I do remember turning on the heat in October. 

The only time we have turned it on this fall is when we got back from vacation a couple weeks ago. I had turned the air off completely, and there had been a cool spell during our absence, so the inside was pretty cool. But other than that, we have not had the heat on, and, in fact, we are still running the air conditioner from time to time, especially upstairs during the day when I am working. By mid-afternoon it can still get rather warm inside. 

The most negative effect of this lingering warm weather is the bugs. There are mosquitos, wasps, ladybugs and "stink bugs" and unfortunately, some of them find their way inside. We need a freeze to get rid of them and we have not yet had one. Hopefully soon. 

Speaking of fall and the accompanying changes, we will change the clocks back to standard time this weekend 

This is upsetting to Wife, as she does not like how it will get dark in the late afternoon. We live on the east end of the central time zone, which means it will be almost dark between 5 and 5:30 p.m. She does not like this at all and always dreads this weekend. 

It does not bother me other than knowing it bothers her, so I try to by sympathetic. When I was younger, I rather relished the return to standard time because it reminded me the weather was getting cooler, which I found pleasing. 

At my age, now I try to live every day "in the moment" and not long for either the way things used to be or how they might be in the future. Time goes by so fast that I know, even if the time change bothered me as it does Wife, before I turn around, it would be time to set clocks ahead again. And, in fact, we are in daylight saving time for more of the year than we are in standard time. 

That's how I am with anticipating retirement, which I find myself thinking about more and more. It will arrive when it is time, and I'll keep plugging along working. 

In the moment. 

Recent travels and wobbly knees

 

Wife and I were fortunate enough to get to spend a week in New England last week. 

It all started when I told her over the summer I would like to take a fall trip, and I would like it to include a state I have not visited. She came up with one scenario that would have included South Dakota and North Dakota, both of which would have been new states; and a New England jaunt that would knock off only one new one, Rhode Island. 

We decided on New England and while I would have loved to mark off two states instead of one, the thought of New England in the fall was attractive. I think we made the right choice. 

We flew into Boston Friday night, October 11th. On Saturday we rented a car and drove to Lenox, Massachusetts, where we stayed until Monday the 14th. There in the heart of the Berkshires, the fall foliage was beautiful, and we enjoyed some scenic drives as well as visits to the Norman Rockwell Museum and "The Mount," which was once the home of author Edith Wharton. 

That was especially enjoyable since my book club read one of her books, "The House of Mirth," this year. I can't wait to share with the group members in December, when we do a recap of the year, that I visited The Mount. 

From the Berkshires it was on to Cape Cod, where we (ourselves and our car) boarded a ferry for Martha's Vineyard where we stayed until Wednesday. We loved exploring the island, walking along the coastline and visiting lighthouses (like the one pictured here). 

From Martha's Vineyard it was on to Newport, Rhode Island and a new state for me. The coastline there is beautiful, as are the old mansions with coastal views. 

It was a great trip and once I again, I am grateful to Wife for making the plans. 

The only negative involved my knees, which have been slowly deteriorating over the last year due to osteoarthritis. Injections have helped tremendously, as have the stationary bike riding and physical therapy I have been doing. 

But the fact is I cannot walk any significant distance anymore. On a trip like this one, ordinarily I would have hiked among the beautiful trees and certainly would have taken a long stroll on the Cliff Walk in Newport that goes along the coastline and in the shadow of the mansions there. I can only make it about a half mile before the discomfort (tightness in my knees) starts. 

To remedy this unfortunate situation, I will have knee replacement surgery early next year. I'll start with my right knee and, if all goes well, eventually have the left one done. 

Not how I would choose to spend my time, but I want to walk normally again. I will endure the short-term pain to accomplish this. I am told by my orthopedic surgeon that I am a good candidate for the surgery and will do even better if I continue the physical therapy exercises and bike riding before the surgery. I certainly plan to do so. 

Right now, I am enjoying the effects of the most recent injections. It does not enable me to walk distances as I would like to do, but it helps a lot and other than the inability to walk very far, I get around just fine. The other time I had it, in May, it lasted about four months. 

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As to the states I have left to visit, they are Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Iowa (be on the lookout, Ed), Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Delaware. I have been all around Delaware but have never step foot inside its borders. I should make it to Washington next year, to go to my last MLB park in Seattle, and maybe I'll make it to Oregon in the same trip. 

I hope to hit the 50th state within the next couple of years. We'll see. 😉

Helene packs a punch

 Wife and I had a rather hectic week last week. 

She was scheduled to leave Wednesday for a girls' beach trip. She was headed down to the Fort Myers/Naples area where friends of ours have a home. The lady of the couple had invited Wife and another friend to visit for a few days. 

Monday morning, Wife hollered from the hallway into my office, asking if I had heard about the hurricane heading toward the Gulf Coast of Florida from the Caribbean. Knowing our oldest and his family (who live near Atlanta) were vacationing on the Florida panhandle for the week, I said yes, and I guess that could affect Daniel's family. 

"Uh, yeah, and remember my trip?" she asked.  

I had had a momentary lapse. 

During the day Tuesday, she received a text from Southwest Airlines saying her flight, which would have gone to Fort Myers, could be delayed or canceled. 

She spoke with her friend in Naples, and they decided to call it. Even if the storm passed them by (as it did), it would likely rain the entire time they would be there (Wednesday through Sunday).  Also, Wife did not relish the idea of flying into all of that. 

As it turned out, the storm did pass by that area for the most part, and Wife's friend reported not as much rain as she thought there might have been. You never know. But I think they made the right decision anyway. 

In another turn of events, a dear friend of ours in Little Rock passed away Monday.  She had an aneurysm burst and a stroke back in April. She was in our wedding (and Wife in hers), and she and her husband were part of our friend group during our single days and later as young marrieds back in the 80s and early 90s. He died of cancer two years ago. They had four beautiful daughters, roughly intersecting in age with our children. 

Much more to that story but suffice it to say it was and is a tremendous loss for us, and it was important for us to make it to Little Rock for the funeral Friday of last week, which we did. 

It's about a six-hour drive for us, five and a half f traffic is not terrible and we don't stop much, and we started out mid-afternoon Thursday as I finished work. We arrived at our friends' home where we were staying about 9 p.m. We came home Saturday. 

Daniel and his family cut their beach time short Thursday morning as Hurrican Helene was headed their direction. His class reunion was here this past weekend, so all along they had planned to leave the beach and come here for the weekend. Obviously, they came a little early and arrived not long after we had left. 

We were glad for them to stay here while we were gone, and happy to see them here when we got home. Of course, it was especially sweet to get time with those two grands, seven-year-old (in a week) Hank and four-year-old Ruthie. 

My point with all of this is that we were preoccupied during the time the storm was making landfall and making its way inland. With learning of our friend's passing, getting ready to go, driving over to Little Rock, attending the memorial service, visiting friends, driving back Saturday and arriving home to part of our family being here, we did not realize the extent of the damage and devastation until mid-day yesterday when we had time to catch up on current events. It's just unbelievable. 

Here where I live, just south of Nashville, we had substantial rains off and on for about three days and maybe a stray limb here and there from some wind. In other parts of the state, however, there was terrible flooding. Western North Carolina was hit hard, especially the beautiful mountain city of Asheville.  (Blog friend Jeff is in southwest Virginia; hoping Helene missed them.)

With damage affecting at least a half-dozen states, although I am sure it has happened, I don't remember a hurricane in my lifetime having such a wide path, and having effects as far inland as Helene has. 

Hoping things will calm down now. Blessings and peace to those who must deal with the aftermath.