Journal - Saturday, car troubles, reading

I had made plans to see my mother briefly Saturday 12/5/2021 to pass on to her some things I had promised but had not yet sent. Because my car has been giving me a low tyre pressure reading for about a week now, and is scheduled to go in for regular maintenance on Tuesday, we were taking my husband's car. Unfortunately ... or perhaps fortunately ... just as we got onto the road that leads to the interstate - before we were committed to the interstate - his car blared an alarm that something was wrong with a tyre on HIS car, so we had to turn around and go home. He's planning to take it in Monday.

My mother goes home to Florida Thursday. I'm working 6 - 2 every day this week; I'm not sure I'll have enough spoons to make the drive to the Cape after work.

I have disappointed my child. I shared a memory of when she was in college and referred to her by the masculine that she used then because that is the memory. She feels I should retroactively edit all my memories for gender but ... I have enough trouble remembering things and memory is what makes us who we are. I don't think I can. I am willing enough to refer to her as daughter going forward but ... My past and my memories are mine and I don't want to risk who I am.

This week I read three books by Karen White - The Girl on Legarre Street (finished Friday) and The Strangers on Montague Street and Return to Tradd Street (both finished Saturday; Return was an e-book because I HAD to find out what happened next).

Mercedes Lackey has another book coming out in March 2022 and Michael discovered that Michelle Sagara wrote a book about Severn from the "Cast in" series (Chronicles of Elantra) which I have requested from the library. Severn is not one of my favorite characters; I don't dislike him - which M does - but ... he's always there, in the background, as support. He fades away, I guess.

Yesterday, I finally patched the hole in the side of my ankle moccasins - not a great job but I can wear them again imho. I found both sets of Household needles and have put them someplace where I HOPE I can find them again next time I need one of the special needles. The curved ones are very useful for book making, but it was the scary long leather needles I needed this time. I discovered that the bear pattern I thought I used to make the bears for my baby sisters kids but when I compared it to an actual (uncompleted) bear, I found I am mistaken. I can't figure out what I did with the pattern. I mean, I made photocopies of EVERY pattern I used through the years and put them all together in a large three-ring binder, but I cannot find it.

Maybe I need to look through the doll patterns again. ::: sigh :::

Journal - scheduling services

I know that I mentioned the last week in November my aggravation with the tree service for simply showing up and doing the work without giving us advanced notice or allowing us to schedule their visit when our pocketbook could handle the strain but I neglected to notice that another service did that week.

We had contacted the gutter cleaning service we use back in September ... or maybe the beginning of October (it's in the Budget book to contact them at the end of September so that was when the note is on the calendar - but I'm not the one who made the call). They told my husband that they would come "toward the end of November". He got the call on 30 Nov. that they would be there in a few minutes.

That was scheduled in the Budget (capital B - it's a book); the brake work on M's car and the tree removal were not and those totaled $1000 over on a month that was expected to be high already.

::: sigh :::

I do NOT want to draw money from savings to handle the unexpected expenses. We can manage it, but it will be tight.