Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Day of Ups and Downs

I've had a day of ups and downs. I guess lots of people feel that today with the market going up and down all day.

Last night I went for my nearly daily check of Goodwill to see if they had any glassware I needed to bring home. I was talking to Teresa on the phone when I pulled up and noticed my hood was steaming a bit, as if it were hot. So, I walked around and saw - yes, you guessed it - antifreeze pouring out onto the ground. I ended up having the car towed to my mechanic. It didn't really make sense to bring it home since I couldn't do a thing for it here.

But, early in the day, Steve called to tell me it was just a loose hose - nothing major. He tightened them all up and checked over a couple of other things at no charge. When I took the car in for an oil change a month or so ago, I had intended to take the guys some baked goods, but just ran out of time. So, today seemed like an occasion for celebration. I whipped up a lemon cake to take down to them when I picked up the car.

This is Patsy's Tip for Making Nice with People. Baked Goods. Baked Goods involving butter, cream or sugar - all three when possible. I love to bake and sometimes just need to find someone to eat the stuff. Fortunately, I have a few people in my world who are always willing to take things off my hands.

I have a somewhat unnatural love of bundt cakes. I'm not sure why, but I love them, particularly when they turn out perfectly, without even a dimple, like this one did. Of course, when they don't turn out so well I glaze them so it's less noticeable.

This afternoon the MHA was hosting a depression screening as part of National Depression Screening Day so I was pretty occupied. Afterwards, Greg and I met at Carl's Bar for a sandwich. I hadn't been to the new Carl's location. It will be nice to sit in there and look out onto Main Street when there are Christmas decorations up.

I'm not really a bar person, however. There's just not much about the environment that appeals to me. It never did - not when I was in college, not when I was in my 20s, not in my 30s, and not now. Just not much there I find fun. It's hard to talk to people. I don't like beer. TVs everywhere. Ultimately, the very things other people love just don't attract me. But Carl's is a nice mix of people and the sandwiches are good. I'm sure I'll be back.

After a quick sandwich I went over to the Art Center for the Gail Gallagher concert. She put on a really fun show - a musical journey from the 20s through the 40s.



Sharon and Jocelyn were there, and it was fun to talk with them. Mark did his usual superb job of pulling things together. David is doing a great job with the Art Center, too.

I'll have more to say about the concert but for tonight it's time for me to go to bed. It has been a long day. Mark is here for the weekend. He has already gone to bed. I hadn't even moved things in the sunporch to make room for him until after the concert tonight. I think Mia is coming tomorrow since she had Monday off. We have five cultural events going on in town tomorrow so we're deciding what to do. I know Mark, Greg and I are going to the Fox to see Mark Russell tomorrow night. I'm planning to see Gail before she leaves town. Other than that, we're not sure yet. We'll see how the day progresses.
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