Time . . .

Now that I'm laid off, the days all seem the same. My son was going to a bonfire last night (Friday) and I told him to be home by 10pm. I thought it was Wednesday night! So today is Saturday and it's no different than Tuesday. This must be what it's like to be a cat. Do they know what day it is? I don't think so. But they do know what time it is. Have you cat lovers ever noticed that they know what time their dinner should be served? My Sam sits in the kitchen, or wherever I am at the moment, and meows until they all get fed. He starts meowing at 6pm and their usual dinner time is 6:30pm. Sam must be the offical kitty time-keeper.

Cold Cider - Hot Donuts

It's Autumn in Michigan. My favorite time of the year! There are a lot of cider mills in our area and they're really a big thing around here. When my son was little we used to go through the haunted houses and the corn mazes, Sometimes we'd pick a bushel of apples. Some of the cider mills around where we live have hayrides out into the orchards. My favorite time to go on the hayrides is on a cold, cloudy, dismal day when the trees are all bare and gnarled. It's a real spooky Halloween feeling. You can almost expect a headless horseman to come galloping out of the woods. After that it's time to head to the mill and get a bottle of ice cold, fresh cider and a bag of hot donuts. Bliss!! My hometown is in upstate NY near the Vermont border and the fall leaves are spectacular up there. The colors are more brilliant than here in Michigan and all the leaves seem to turn at the same time. They don't have cider mills up there though!

Cats are lovin' it!

My three cats love having their mom at home with them. After breakfast, Sam and Heather find a cozy spot and go to sleep, and Jack gets in my lap as soon as I sit down at the computer. Jack is a lot younger than Sam and Heather and he likes to play all the time. He has a favorite ball that he brings to me so I can throw it. He chases it and brings it back and drops it at my feet. and if I don't pick it up right away he meows until I do. I wonder what he did when I was working? When the others wake up they want a lot of attention too. Keeps me busy.

Black Tuesday

Yesterday was one of those days that you have a gut feeling that it will happen sooner or later, but you're stunned when it really does happen. About a half-hour after lunch was over our group manager at work called us all together to announce that our program had ended and most of us would be laid-off immediately and the ones that were left would finish a project and then they too would be laid-off. That meant that 16 of us were out the door (literally) and there were 6 left. We were all escorted out the door with whatever personal items we could carry, the rest would be boxed up and we could come in to pick up our box at a later date. So life goes on. Tomorrow will be "apply for unemployment day" and then the job search begins. It feels so strange to not have to get out the door in the morning and rush to work. I'll miss my co-workers. Some of us will keep in touch, some we'll never see again. Nobody even got to say goodbye to each other because they took us out one-by-one in alphabetical order. So surreal.