Autumnal Update of the Paul Branch of Clan Mathers

"Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,

When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!"

-Whittier

Well, the flash doesn't quite capture it, but there's the Guy Fawkes Jack-o'-Lantern. I sculpted it last night, blasting Camille Saint-Saens, and baked and then over-salted pumpkin seeds. Also, it would appear from this picture that I've been over-watering the toy pomegranate bush. Duly noted. In the end, I am both proud of my jack-o'-lantern and bracing for mentions of Col. Sanders.

My parents are coming up for a week. They should be here in a few hours. I think my Dad is going bear hunting and my mother will have a lot of time to spend with the family. Tony, my step-son, is coming up with them and it is our understanding that it is his intention to stay.

In other news, our church is moving. We found a space that is both better for our purposes and significantly cheaper. Just in time for Reformation Sunday, we'll now be meeting at the Seventh Day Adventist chapel (they're renting to us as, you know, they meet on Saturday and don't use it on Sunday.) Our Monday night men's study through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the week. Laurie's Jonathan Edwards study takes place across the street on Mondays. I'm in awe of the great work she's done on that study. It continues to be a seemingly endless conversation source in our house.

Also, Laurie and I are reconsidering home-ownership. Considering it enough for me to feel okay remarking on it on my blog. Options are being studied. Pros and cons listed. Much more on that soon I'm sure.

I am still unemployed, but we are still entirely above water, by the grace of God and the American Unemployment Insurance system which, like everything else, is in His Hand. I have at least two job plausibilities at present and they both would a) bring in adequate money and b) I think I would enjoy. I am endeavoring to avoid placing too many eggs in those mental baskets, but I hope at least one of them pans out (although I think I just mixed myself into a scrambled egg metaphor. What does this portend?) I also have a business venture I am actively putting into motion. Also more on that soon.

Other than that, I'm reading Alexander Woollcott and Evelyn Waugh. I've taken to having black tea in the afternoon and I've taken to milk and honey in my tea. I've also taken to afternoon walks up Park Avenue by our house toward Midway on the surprisingly under-used bike path through one of the most heavily industrial districts of Chico. Singulair seems to have my asthma entirely under control, almost undetectable in my day to day life.

Our cat Agnes has filled out and is looking much better than she's probably ever looked in her life. Her coat is thicker and her eyes brighter. She still has some sort of kitty asthma and, of course, her ears will always be mangled from the fights in her outdoor past. But she seems very happy with her life now. The other cats still haven't taken to her, but Ginger and her are fast friends. Ginger defends her and they take naps curled up together on the couch. Agnes is very sweet, but seems to take deep offense if one closes the blinds at night. She'll sit next to the offending window and beat at the blinds with her paw until one of us (usually Laurie) gets up and opens them. Afterward, her signature wheeze sounds suspiciously more like a chuckle.

So, all things considered, life is fair to middlin' for us right now. Laurie and I remain very happy. The near future is a bit uncertain for us, sure, but I would add that yours is too whether you know it or not. Ta!