It is leaf-blowing time and although it is not something I relish, I do find some degree of comfort and relaxation while blowing the leaves. Mama Kay’s tree is still holding on for dear life and shall do so for another couple of weeks pushing a strong, quick advance to complete the blowing, raking, and piling before the city leaf disposal truck passes by.

Tuesday, I joined Mama Kay and several others for Taco Tuesday. I returned home to blow more leaves, feed the pooches, and head downtown for a training session with Dayton Live. At the training’s 7:30 PM completion, I was greeted at the 2^nd Street Entrance by my very dear friend, Kellen White. Kellen and I became Facebook friends in 2007 when he was living in Richmond, Virginia. Kellen moved to Centerville when he was in middle school and graduated from Kettering’s Alter High School. We finally met in person for a chilly hike in December 2013. Kellen moved to Maine with his family where he has lived until this past August when he and his family returned to Ohio. Kellen’s daughter is one of my new piano and voice students. Last night, Kellen and I went to my Chinese buffet and returned to The Haasienda for another 90 minutes of chatting. It was refreshing. Tonight, I will join two friends, Linda and Karen, both former studio moms, for dinner, and then Linda and I will go see TITANIC: THE MUSICAL on the large movie screen. I am excited to see this musical which is one of my favorites.

I wouldn’t say it has been restful for several days, but I do feel more rested this morning. Stress seems to invite itself into every corner, crook and cranny, and tiny pinpoints of life and it has been exhausting. Naturally, stress exacerbates the MS and gut issues which make life even more unbearable.

The weather has been beautiful the past several days and shall continue this way for today and tomorrow before dropping into the 60s and 50s. Today, we shall see a high of 76.

November 8^th has always been a day with special connections for me: my maternal grandfather, Leroy D. Barmes was born on this date in 1921. One of my neighbor ladies from my childhood, Susan Fortner, was born in the late 1940s. And the author of GONE WITH TH WIND, Margaret Mitchell, was born in 1900.

In 1972, Home Box Office, more commonly known as HBO, was launched while in 1895, X-rays were first observed by German physicist Wilhelm Conrad. 1971 saw a coup in Thailand, 1939, an assassination attempt was made against Adolph Hitler, and in 1966, Scottish chef and television host, Gordon Ramsay was born.

“How Happy I Was If I Could Forget”
Emily Dickinson

How happy I was if I could forget
To remember how sad I am
Would be an easy adversity
But the recollecting of Bloom

Keeps making November difficult
Till I who was almost bold

Lose my way like a little Child
And perish of the cold.

Make it a great day!