I know what that spot on the rug looks like after decades of cat ownership. Now I struggle with drifts of dog hair. I'm doing a lot of dusting and vacuuming (both dust and hair) in the office now.

Last night I made myself stop what I was doing in the office and go to bed. I've unplugged just about everything and am looking at how to set up equipment so each piece can be reached or opened or buttons reached if needed. All of this work swirls around the new UPS; if there's a time to do this work it's when you're already forced to unplug a lot of stuff. (I'm typing this on the little Sony Vaio on the library table in the den. Drinking a cup of tea.)

The worst part of computer setup is being about to see all of the plugs on the back of the tower during setup and later if you need to make changes. And making sure the cables reach their devices without being pulled so taut they will work loose or prevent other moves. A minor inconvenience is moving art off of the wall above bulky tall things and moving the TV so I can see it from wherever my chair ends up. There's also a small clock radio (whose AM antenna committed harakiri with the most recent shift) that lives near the TV. The computer desks and small folding bookshelves can be moved; the large cabinet bookshelves might as well be built in and are staying put.

I gave up on the search for a different electric kettle; too many of them have plastic in other parts that are no better and the steel ones have reports of leaks or rust. I won't go back to a kettle on the stove top; I've boiled kettles dry forgetting them. Even whistling ones. Years ago Cuisinart made an all-steel kettle with a steel lid on a separate base and the heating unit finally burned out. They don't make them any more but it was the perfect kettle. Need to know how much water is inside? Pick it up. These inserted plastic view windows in steel kettles are part of planned obsolescence.

I switched the programming on the heat pump in the bedroom side of the house to heat last night, and just now it turned itself on. A sign of autumn.