November - The Beginning of the End (of the Year!)

Why Men Shouldn't Take Messages

It's been a fairly quiet week, with the exception of the last few days.  At work, word has gotten out that I'm retiring and I've gotten lots of calls, emails and kind words expressing both regret at my leaving and wishing me well in my retirement.  It is really going as I had hoped.....I consider many of the congregants as friends and I hope to maintain those friendships after I leave.  As in the past, I'm likely to be surprised by the people I hear from, and those I don't.  That's life and it is usually something like this that really defines things. 

My only social outing for the week was to have dinner with Janeen (former assistant at work).  She has been in Illinois for several weeks, so she didn't know my retirement news; however, she can appreciate the whole situation.  Needless to say, she was totally surprised.  Otherwise, I muddled through the week as usual.  Friday was the rabbi's installation and I really hated not to attend, although an 8PM start is very late for someone who has worked all day.  I came home, ate, showered, changed and went back.  I was one of the last ones in and the first ones out, but I did speak to the rabbi and I hope it offered some moral support.  By the time I got home, I was wrecked! 

(Aside) When I got home Friday night, I couldn't just switch off and go to bed, so I surfed the channels and landed on a piece on PBS about men (Hawaiians) doing/studying/training for the hula - and, as is so often the case with PBS, it was totally interesting and captivating.  It was around 1AM when I finally gave up and went to bed, but I love finding those bits of totally surprising information that just takes your interest, like that.

Saturday morning I was slowly recovering with my second cup of coffee, when the phone rang.  It was a realtor wanting to show the house around noon.  That put an end to my leisurely morning - I hopped into gear and got the house as tidy as I could in the time available, then left to run errands while it was being shown.  It altered my plans for the whole day but I'm glad to have the house shown.  I've managed to get my house listed on the Multiple Listing Service for a very modest flat fee (even though it is basically "for sale by owner") AND I'm offering any realtor who brings a buyer at flat fee, NOT thier usual 6% of the selling price.  I really didn't think they would show it without getting their 6%, but they are.  Considering the number of foreclosures, etc. on the market, I think I've had reasonable traffic.  So, keep your fingers crossed that the right person walks through soon.  I would love to sell it without that 6% robbery fee.

Once things settled down, it was the usual weekend stuff - laundry, cooking....but cleaning was already done!!  You know I must have a cast-iron stomach if I can manage Indian Spiced Eggplant & Cauliflower Stew and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers in the same week!  Both are new recipes and turned out well - definte keepers.  I know going vegetarian would be difficult for some, but I really like things like eggplant, chickpeas, etc.  It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I don't find it that difficult.  It's opened up a whole new area of cooking and some of the best things I've found have been "ethnic" or "international" - and I really like the diversity.  This was my first taste of quinoa, which was nice in this recipe, so I'll definitely be open to other recipes using it.....and it's a great source of protein.

The time has changed and it was bright this morning when I got up, which is nice.  But, it will be dark very early in the evening and once that happens, I'm done.  I'm definitely a summer persons as I love the warm/hot weather and long evenings.  Once it's dark, I'm done.