Scraps Before Thanksgiving

I am feeling like my attention span has been ripped into scraps.  I'm not too worried.  It's that time of year:  close to the end of the term, but not quite there yet.  Let me record some scraps that I want to remember.

--It has been a week of very long commutes back from Spartanburg Methodist College.  On Thursday, there was a terrible wreck that shut down the interstate.  On Monday and Tuesday there was road construction on the westbound side of I 26, my fastest route home.  On Monday, I got off at the Saluda, NC exit, and took the winding road up to Hendersonville, a road also under construction.  Yesterday I took SC 11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, over to Highway 25, a much easier trip.  It still takes longer than I 26 when there's no construction on the interstate.  When there is construction, heading cross country is much easier.

--The long commute does leave me even more tired than usual.  I have decided that I just don't care--I'm going to bed when I'm tired.  So last night, I fell asleep at 7.

--I've been texting with my uncle and cousin about Thanksgiving.  We've strategized food, of course.  My cousin's daughter wants to do something with fabric scraps and a sweatshirt.  I plan to show her all of my fabric stash and let her have fun.  I'll also explore my new sewing machine.

--I started reading Michael Cunningham's The Hours again last night.  Yes, I read it back in May (according to my Books Read 2025 document).  But reading and discussing Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway in my British Literature class made me want to read it again.  So yesterday, when I was at the library, I checked it out again.  What a delight of a book!

--We finally had a plumber come out yesterday to fix things that seemed beyond our capabilities.  Did you know that wax rings for toilets come in different sizes?  I did not.  I realize that most people can go their whole lives without even knowing the inner workings of a toilet.  Some days, I envy them.

--I'm told we now have two working showers.  But the hall shower will always be my favorite.  We chose tile for it that still takes my breath away in certain lights.

--In past houses, the slow pace of home repair aggravated me.  In this house, I find myself not caring.  It's a pleasant aspect of late midlife that few people mention:  many things that once aggravated me or took up lots of brain space no longer concern me.