Random Saturday Thoughts

It's beautiful out today, just a perfect September day. This morning was cold! DS15 ran a road race, and I wished I'd brought my puffer coat, but that seemed silly for so early in the season. Later this afternoon it was more seasonable, and I was almost too warm sitting in the sun at DS12's soccer game. There's even a chance of a frost tonight. I might cover my basil plant because it will get warmer next week. Though I do mourn the end of our short growing season, I won't cover all the flowers. It's too much work. Hopefully they'll survive.

DD17 got her flu shot today. She has a cold (the September Cold) but the nurse said she could still get her shot as long as she wasn't running a fever (she wasn't). I'm just glad to get this round of shots over with. Now we wait for the H1N1 version. Like last week, the clinic was packed. I really don't remember flu clinics being so busy the last few years. I think everyone is just really nervous. A neighbor went to a local pharmacy for her shot, and they told her they thought they might run out soon, they were so busy.

DD17 heard second-hand that a classmate has the H1N1 flu, but I doubt it. If they are no longer testing for this strain, how can anyone be sure they have it, unless they end up in the hospital? I think we'll all wonder if that's what we have the first time we get a fever this season. After all, it can be a mild illness for some people. Who knows, maybe one of us already had it last Spring. DS12 did run a fever and felt very crummy for a few days last April. I did wonder at the time.

On the other hand, the paper this week said several local colleges have anywhere from 60-100 cases of H1N1 each, so I suppose it's possible that it's spreading out to the surrounding communities. Students are either being sent home if they live within X number of miles of the college, or isolated in "flu dorms." I'm just glad we're a year away from worrying about that with DD17.

Yesterday I succumbed to the whining about all the meatless meals this week, and purchased a boneless lamb roast. (The cooler weather had me craving some meat, too.) I used Julia Child's mustard coating from The Way to Cook to cover the lamb before roasting, and oh my goodness, the aroma and flavor were wonderful. Tonight's dinner will be lamb sandwiches. I love leftovers. I love not having to cook the next day after a big dinner.

This weather makes me want to knit. Other than a pair of socks languishing on the needles for the last year, I haven't really had any projects to work on. So I used a gift certificate I'd received last year to a local yarn store and purchased some yarn to make something for DD17. Of course, now I want to make something for me too, but I generally end up finishing only one big project a season. We'll see if I can make faster progress.