"Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes." - Henry David Thoreau

As I type this we're sitting in Starbucks for our normal pre-church coffee (me) and tea (Pam) and high speed internet binge.
Someone recently entered wearing an empire waist dress with a fairly short hem, frizzy hair that's cotton candy pink, over-the-calf socks, and sport shoes.
And a full, bushy beard.
He/she (what term is appropriate here? I can't keep track of the options) is sitting at the bar along the wall of windows putting on makeup, using an iPhone camera like a mirror to get the lipstick just right.
Ah, Eugene.

Most people have heard of Eugene, OR. It's the third largest city in the state (barely behind Salem) and home to the Univ. of Oregon. So it's easy to forget that, at 163,000 it's still basically a small town. I was reminded of that this morning when I turned on the TV to the local CBS station and realized that at 6:45 a.m. it was off the air. Programming doesn't start until 7 a.m.
When was the last time you saw a test pattern on a network affiliate?

I'm still sleeping in my chair so this cold and my coughing fits don't keep Pam awake. At 4:30 a.m. the animal that has taken up residence under the kitchen floor was very busy. Whatever it's doing sounds like the rapid popping of bubble wrap.
At 6 a.m. I caught out of the corner of my eye a sizable 4-legged creature scamper across the floor on the other side of the living room.
All part of living in the woods. But I'll make work of both issues this afternoon. Mouse traps in the living room and maybe some rat poison under MoHo.

+++++++++++++++++++++

We're just home from church and I consider the time a success; I didn't have a coughing fit OR fall asleep.
Re. his treatment of the verse on election (see last night's post), the verse that begins the passage for this morning's sermon...interesting. He skipped that first phrase and picked up in the middle of the verse, literally began reading in the middle of the sentence omitting the reference to God having chosen them.
That's one way to deal with it.
No problem thought; it was a good thought-provoking message.

"America was born with a birth defect - slavery." - Condoleezza Rice

I spent time this afternoon cleaning up the Kia, getting it ready for a 1,200 mile trip (one way). You might live in the country if the back of your SUV is filled with pieces of straw and hay. But it's now clean inside and out, looking as good as a vehicle with 133,000 miles can look.
Pam will be home for about 5 days before she heads back to MI to help with her mom's transition to an independent living center. She'll work on getting the condo cleaned out, a job that will give her more than enough to do for the week she'll be there. Meanwhile, I'll be here finishing up the goat barn extension, working on Sally, and getting the other two raised beds ready for planting.