it's getting dark at 5:30 these days......most of the trees have now reluctantly given up their beautiful foliage and stand naked in the harsh november winds....it does'nt feel like fall anymore, but it does'nt seem like winter either.....it's like a weird in between time...

i feel............incredibly sleepy......i've had a 5 day off stretch from work and i have slept away a good deal of it.......i blame a lot of it on the weather.....it has been dreary and drizzly and cold and even had a dusting of snow on the ground a couple of times.......the skies have been dark and overcast and all i've wanted to do is curl up in bed with pong and my fuzzy blanket and just retreat into peaceful, warm oblivion....my pattern has been to do this, then get up and do a few things around the house, let the dogs out, maybe eat a bite, then go back to bed...and so on and so on...

i have gotten quite a bit done though......made some christmas gifts, generally tidied up the place, washed numerous loads of clothes and dishes, rearranged my dining/craft room.......*at an auction a couple of months ago i got one of those cd cabinets with the doors that swing out at either side and lock ($12) and one of those old fashioned looking stereo systems that plays albums and cd's($40).....believe it or not, i'd had my cd's boxed up ever since i moved in here, just pulling the occasional one out every once in awhile (cause i really had no place to put them).....anyway, got them all filed in the cabinet with the stereo on top and it looks lovely.......i've been pulling out and listening to stuff i had'nt listened to in years.......loggins and messina...poco....badfinger......leon russell....feels great to have my music back where it's accessible.........

randy's going thru one of his grumpy periods....*i think he gets scott on his mind.....i hate it when he's like this....have learned that it isn't good to try to speak to him about it......he drinks too much during these times and jumps down my throat with little or no provocation...*for instance, when i told him the other day he owed me $170 on the bills, he informed me (not so nicely) that from now on not to say he owed 'me', but to say 'his half of the monthly bills is.......blahblahblah........whatever.....he stays in his bedroom a lot and i just try to stay out of his way........*and i don't mean to make him sound like an ogre....most of the time we get along fine....he's just never learned how to handle his bad moods and not take them out on others.....i recognize this and try not to take offense...

mom seems to be making slow but steady progress and i'm hoping her stay at 'brookhaven' will be over by the end of this month....*it helps that the food at this place truly sucks (and when my mom complains about food, it's bad)..in other words, this place isn't posh like her previous place, which is good because hell, even i could have gotten used to that place...she was kind of upset today because she 'got a girl fired'......it has happened with this girl on several occasions, that she would answer the call light while talking on her personal cell phone....but today she almost let mom fall and mom mentioned the incident to her physical therapist who immediately went to the director of nursing....and 'poof'...next thing she heard was the girl was dismissed on the spot......good riddance i say

work is going fine and i like these long breaks, but i know that by this time next month i'm really gonna start feeling the financial pinch...hopefully they will find me somewhere to work an extra 12 hour shift once a week (which is all i need).....i've lived most of my life in close (if not dire) financial situations......it's really only been in the last 5 or 6 years that i've made enough money to pay my bills on time and have money left over to play with......i've gotten used to that and going back to worrying with money woes is not something i want to go back to.....

i've still got a couple of days before i have to go back to work.....tomorrow i plan to make jewelry all day.....and sleep....and wait for winter....