Funny about the auto lights; yesterday I pulled in somewhere with a glass front and could see in the reflection that one of my front running lights was out. I ran by the Auto Zone, popped the hood, pulled the pins on the top light, reached in to release the lower set, removed the burned out bulb and went in to get a replacement. I was out in 5 minutes, popped it in, closed up the fixture and the hood and was on my way. In 1973 when I bought my first car, a VW Bug, the salesman said something about seeing women pull in next door to the auto parts store and work on their cars, but suggested that I wasn't one of those women. How Wrong He Was.

I also picked up topsoil, birdseed, and mulch at Home Depot today. And met the most charming little woman, an Irish immigrant who is a nurse here. We started talking gardens, got into organics, talked about dogs, children, families, and you know how sometimes you just know this is someone you want to keep in touch with. All of this in 20 minutes at Home Depot. We hadn't exchanged names until I handed her my card with my personal email on it. "Couldn't get any more Irish than that now, could it?" Funny, I saw the difference as being an American with an Irish name talking to someone who actually has a history in the place, but my name immediately took her to the old country and seemed to take me along.

The same thing happened a number of years ago with Malachi McCourt, the brother of Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes). They're both writers, and I met Malachi at a writer's conference. He said that the Irish in America have a lot of the same sentiments but without all of the Old World baggage. There were a couple of us he preferred to hang out with who had the Irish names but didn't have the experience of the life there.

Anyway. Back to decluttering (but I hope Kate Fitzgibbon sends an email).

It's probably down to 30 tonight, and in the next couple of nights it will freeze, rising to about 50 during the day. I finished mulching, and I got more work done on my keyhole garden. The lights aren't up, I'll save that is for tomorrow, and won't take too long. I stopped at 3/4 of the way around the keyhole garden layout, and I've prepared about half of it for planting. I'll put in seeds and mulch tomorrow at the same time I put out lights.

A friend came over for dinner tonight; it was simple, homemade stew, rolls, a salad, and sparkling cider to go with it. Mandarin oranges for dessert. And telling the kind of stories that nearly make you pee your pants you're laughing so hard. The laughter is probably the healthiest part of the meal for both of us.

It's late, and I've about wound down from the evening, so I'll spare you any more details. Kat, tell Morgan I'm so sorry he isn't feeling good (I'm one of his Mudcat Aunties, I hope!) and that the one good thing about that kind of bug is that usually when they hit so hard they also go away pretty fast, in 24-48 hours. And in the meantime, you get lots of good sleep and maybe watching TV in bed.

SRS