a VERY busy week!

I finally figured out how to restore the font size back to normal. Hurrah! Hopefully, this will allow others to read the blogs easily again and make my version look fairly normal.

If I remember to do all the things I have to do this week and get to all the places I'm supposed to be going to, it will be a miracle. I have evening activities Mon - Thur. Most of these are related to ceramics. I have my usual daytime activities, which keep me on the go every day. I am also trying to be available in case my neighbor (home from the hospital) needs me to drive her kids somewhere or help in some other way. So far, my help hasn't been needed.

Saturday is the Raku firing at the arts center, as well as being Halloween. The word is that we should wear costumes on Saturday, but I cannot imagine trying to handle VERY HOT pottery while wearing a costume. (For Raku, you remove the piece from the kiln, using asbestos gloves and tongs, and place it in a barrel filled with flammable material.) I'm sure I have explained this process before. It's a good idea to have long sleeves and old clothes for this. I don't know of anyone who has gotten burned doing this, but still, one must be careful. So, my costume, if I wear one will consist of jeans and long sleeves. Maybe I will be a hobo? I expect to be home in time for the monster and goblins who will come knocking on my door.

Today we have had some morning rain. My newspaper, which is delivered rather early (before 6) was soaking wet. This happens almost every time we have rain. The delivery person throws the paper from a vehicle and aims at my sidewalk. Unfortunately, the sidewalk has a low spot right where the paper usually lands. If it's raining, there is a shallow puddle there. I am usually not up before 6, so the paper has plenty of time to get wet. Today it was in a single plastic bag so of course every page was wet. When they remember to use two bags, only the edges get wet and I can salvage the paper by spreading out the wet pages all over my kitchen floor. Today I called the Post. I cannot use the automatic system because their records show that there are two people with my name, at my address, who have subscriptions. Of course, only one subscription is being paid for and delivered, but the computer insists that there are two and therefore I have to talk to a customer service person. Normally, this would be a good thing because, strangely enough, I prefer to talk to a person rather than a computer. However, in this case the person had an accent (perhaps English is not her native language?) and a soft voice. This meant that I could not understand her and had to ask her to repeat herself. I know that my hearing loss is part of the problem, but still it would be nice if the people handling the phones were easier to understand. I did not even try to explain to her about the two subscriptions supposedly coming to my house, but just dealt with the wet paper issue. She said I would get a replacement copy in 90 minutes. If that actually happens, it should arrive at 9 AM. This would be good. If it comes much later, I won't be home and the paper will sit out in the rain all day. Then I will have two wet papers! I probably should just have bought today's paper and forgone the replacement. But, I shouldn't think negatively. Perhaps the paper has already arrived - NOPE. Half an hour to go.