I can tell it's getting to be fall. No, not because of the calendar. Because I am starting to crave home and hearth and warmth. The last place I lived had a fireplace, and it was the first time I had ever had a fireplace, so we used it as much as possible. I remember that we got a cord of wood delivered, and they dumped it in our driveway, and Jim and Eric and Stacey and I all stacked the wood in our garage. Then we had various conversations about the best way to build a fire, and Jim got to be really good at it. So we would have fires and sit around and make S'mores and drink wine, and sometimes play board games or watch TV or just hang out and talk. I miss having a fireplace! It didn't really make our house any warmer, as a lot of fireplaces are incredibly inefficient, but it was nice. My cats enjoyed it - they would sit right up on the hearth, as close as they could possibly get without actually being IN the fire, and bask in the warmth.

I actually looked for my slippers when I got up this morning. I have no idea where they are. I have the best slippers. I got them at the Land's End Clearance site, and they are wool uppers with a rubber bottom, so I can wear them out to get the mail without getting my feet wet, if I want. And they are just the right amount of warm - they keep my feet toasty without making them TOO hot. Plus they are easy to kick on and off as needed. I have kind of a slipper fetish, can you tell?

I actually ironed the other day. Jim is having a big conference right now at his work and he had to give a couple of presentations. So I washed a bunch of his work clothes and then actually ironed them. I realize that most people iron all the time, but I specifically buy clothes to avoid ironing. Actually, I don't mind the ironing part that much. There's something sort of satisfying about taking a wrinkled shirt and running your iron over it until all of the wrinkles are gone. There's a part of me (probably the anal-retentive, control freak Virgo part) that really enjoys that. I just hate the lugging out the ironing board, finding a place to plug in the iron and then putting it all away when it's over. I inherited my ironing board and iron from my great uncle, and they are from about 1940. I told Jim I wanted a new ironing board and iron for my birthday, but he doesn't believe me. Molly was showing me her new house, and she has a washer and dryer in the basement. But the BEST part is that she can just leave her ironing board up all the time. I can't wait to have a house. I guess I could put our stuff in our basement now, but our basement is too scary for me to spend more than 5 minutes down there. Plus, I don't think there are any outlets except the ones for the washer and dryer.

So, it's almost fall. I like fall. It might be my favorite season. This is why I could never live somewhere that doesn't have real seasons. As much as I bitch about the snow and cold, it makes me appreciate the summer that much more.

My upstairs neighbor is vacuuming and it's making me feel guilty about sitting here doing nothing while my apartment is in a shambles. It's my birthday weekend, and I don't want to do any housecleaning during it, so I'm going to clean up today. My cats are funny - they can hear the vacuum noise, and then they see me sitting here doing nothing, and they can't figure it out so they are wandering around sniffing things. Cats are funny.

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I like the idea of the Dixie Chicks. I just don't know if I would like their music.

I don't link to other weblogs that much, but I really like the design at kottke.org. And the content.

Here's a site that tells you if your astrological signs are compatible. Jim and I are, but it says we have the cleanest house in town. Ha! Ha ha!

OK, I realize that Third Age is supposed to be a website for older people, but a headline like "Miss America - No Longer the Ideal?" is ridiculous. When was Miss America ever the ideal?

A three pound hamburger? My stomach hurts just thinking about it (courtesy of kottke.org)

If you send a lot of stuff via shipping (like if you sell stuff on eBay or something), iShip looks like a pretty cool service.

Does anyone else feel like there's more to this amnesia story than is included in this report? What is the deal with her and her husband? Why does she not want to go home? I need more info!