As I approached civilisation early (for me) in the morning, the capital city was totally fogged in. Crossing the river, there's typically a gorgeous view of gold capital dome and soaring church steeples--and at this time of year, changing foliage. No such luck--everything was curtained over by dense fog.
I wasn't called upon to to contribute very much to my 9:00 a.m. meeting, which is fortunate because I went in undercaffeinated.
The next meeting, at 11:00, involved more activity. As we talked over the agenda for a diocesan convention, we strung olivewood crosses on hemp string to hand out to attendees. Interestingly, the crosses were made by Palestinian Christians. I stringed/strung/strang approximately 50 of the 400 seen below.
The workers laughed a lot and worked hard, and were rewarded with lunch. (The only solid food I'd see all day.)
The third (impromptu) meeting, me and one other person, took place between 1:30 and 2:00. It involved numbers and finances, not exactly my forte, but a helpful and informative conversation.
Then I had an hour-long break. So I went to Borders to buy a magazine and the Old Farmer's Almanac for 2006. And I had a new photo made, because it's time to renew my passport.
Next meeting was at 3:30, same place as before--a really good and productive session.
At 5:30 I raced home, grabbing "supper" along the way. (Medium Mango/Raspberry milkshake from McDonald's). Picked up the husband and the cookies and brownies an drove to church for the last meeting of the long day, attended by representatives from 6 area churches. And I was co-chairing it. I kept myself going with lots of sweets and de-caf (a faux stimulant, but by then my brain was too depleted to realise it was a placebo). The meeting was well attended. All the presentations and reports went well. The reviews were mostly positive. We ended more or less on time. I was pleased. And oh, so tired.
Throughout my day away, I was missing my dogs, mostly because I kept hearing stories about other people's dogs. The kind that make you want to hug and cuddle your dogs, and keep them safely in sight.
And yet there's joy in the sorrow. My friend, a priest, who tragically lost her four-year-old lab in late-night emergency surgery on Sunday is already approved to adopt a homeless Hurricane Katrina lab. She and her husband are planning to take their Norwich terrier on a "get acquainted" road trip.
Last night I saw another friend whose Border Collie had an emergency at exactly the same time on the very same night in the same animal hospital, with a far happier outcome.
I believe both incidents were caused by dogs eating things not meant for dogs.
Our Lola and Shadow don't chew on books or plants or shoes or stuff they shoudn't. Like proper canids, they gnaw actual bones--holding them upright between their paws as they chomp away. When they are distracted and move away, sometimes the bone is still standing--a phenomenon we call "Bonehenge." Illustrated below is a Bonehenge created by Lola. (Yes, she needs a manicure. Bad.)
At this very moment, Shadow is waking from a nap at my feet and eyeing a bone. So Bonehenge could reappear very soon.
When a bone is worn down to a nub, no longer able to stand up and be a Bonehenge, we toss it and get a new one.
Today I'm assimilating back into my quiet hermit-like existence of reading and writing and admiring the colorful fall foliage and watching for Bonehenges. That's my basic plan for the rest of this week!
It didn't seem like it yesterday, but there's an advantage to having 2 weeks' worth of meetings all bunched together in a 12 hour period! So much free time to look forward to...and enjoy!
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