September 2006: More Time in VA ...

30 September 2006: Doctors appointments have occupied much of my time this week. I'm reading This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff, as recommended by Susan Ohanian. Dad and Mom bought a new Dodge Dakota truck, a shared vehicle. Tom continues to develop his software program for recording our travels using Ruby on Rails. A windstorm came through this week and shredded our table tent to pieces. We only used it when Henning was with us anyway. It's raining again tonight which is a good thing for this area that has suffered a severe summer heatwave and long drought. Some fall colors have come to the trees. Tom and I had dinner with Marion and Johnny at the Eagle Nest Restaurant over the mountain and through the woods toward WV. This restaurant is an old log cabin situated by a creek with a waterfall, although it's running rather dry at this time. We were welcomed by a very friendly kitty and a skinny, young "Sadie" bid us farewell.

25 September 2006: I finished reading The Glass Castle. Mom Walls says: "Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy ... You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more." But the Walls children had much more tragedy in their lives than comedy fending for themselves while their Mom read, painted, wrote, and slept, and their Dad spent their escape fund from their piggy bank on booze and smokes. This is a story about children who survived woeful neglect and hard times, but more than that, it is a story about their resilience and strength.

Dad Walls was born in Welch, WV, near where I was born in Iager. The family returns there during one of their many desperate times. Welch was a fighting town where hard times make people hard, just as the author describes it. Spring flowers and winter snow cover up the dirt, but only temporarily. This story reminded me of some tough times in my own childhood, especially when my Dad lost his job on the railroad and we had to move north to MD for him to find work. The move proved advantageous for our family in some ways, but it caused some heartaches, too.

21 September 2006: Tom continues to be one with his computer, computering most of his days away with Ruby on Rails. I've been updating websites and doing some fall cleaning. Mom and I will be making new curtains for the RV next week. I still haven't tackled another lesson in the TESOL course. I have started reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, an amazing memoir of her challenging childhood. We have been watching some of the season premiers of our favorite shows: House , Bones , and CSI Las Vegas still rank as our top three. Autumn temperatures have arrived and I'm glad that the noisy air conditioners are not running and that it is once again sweater-weather.

13 September 2006: While I was standing in the line at the check-out in the grocery store today, I was glancing at the tabloids. One said that Britney had a baby girl; another said she had a baby boy. One said that Brad and Angelina are fighting over their kids; another said that they were secretly married. One said that Tom and Katie are sleeping in separate bedrooms; another said that they're ready to marry. What's a movie star junkie like me to believe? And Tom says, "Who cares?"

I have made an offer to assist Susan Ohanian with the Special Needs page on her website. This work will be slow going for awhile until I get the hang of posting information.

I've taken a break from the TESOL lessons, but need to get back to work soon. I have 20 units to complete in 6 months and they are quite time-consuming. I bought some supplemental resources recommended for the course, and today I bought the necessary notebook, dividers, and hole-punch, so it's time to get organized!

A few leaves are turning yellow or brown and falling to the ground very quickly because of the summer heatwave and continuing drought conditions here in southwest VA. I don't think there's going to be much color to photograph this fall.

11 September 2006: Five years ago on 9/11, our country was attacked by terrorists and much has changed since then. Our President has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and now Iran is on his list of "evil-doers." Airplane security has been increased causing much longer lines but hopefully safer flights. Americans have tasted fear in their own land.

I drove Mom to visit two of her sisters in WV for two days. We had a pleasant time.

Tom and I continue to laze about and think about our options for the future. We're still thinking about buying or building a house near WVU in Morgantown WV. Property prices are reasonable and we both want to get back to civilization where we can walk to a store or restaurant. Our age is catching up with us. We have been against living in a housing development for years, now we think we need a community.

Tom moved ImageNomads to a different server and one of my emails are not working. I hate it when my email is not working ...

04 September 2006: Labor Day. Summer is over. Time to go back to school. It's raining and beginning to feel like fall. Tom and I are being very lazy since Henning left us. We're thinking, perhaps too much, about where we want to live and what we want to do. We change our minds daily, if not more often. For now, we'll be here in VA at my parents' place until early November. Then, we'll head south to SC and FL for the winter. I'll complete the online TESOL course, just in case I want to go back to teaching. Tom continues to study Ruby on Rails, a computer software program, just in case he wants to go back to work, too.