This and that

Time to catch up on the various things that have been percolating for the past day or so, just waiting for a chance to make it onto this space.

Sunday was time for the Kirking O' The Tartans ceremony at church. It is a ceremony that some Presbyterian churches in the United States have adopted to pay tribute to the Scottish heritage of the Presbyterian church. The ones I have been to involve bagpipes (and sometimes drums), and a procession of tartan flags into the sanctuary. My church in Austin does this, usually on All Saints Sunday in November, so I knew what to expect, but it is still a very cool way to start a church service. And the handout in the worship bulletin listed several historic Scottish Presbyterian church leaders, including George Wishart, who was martyred in St. Andrews (where I went to school - I love that frisson of excitement that comes when you recognize something because you were there or knew a person etc.) - there is a cross in the cobblestones outside the chapel that marks the exact spot. It is supposed to be very bad luck to step on it...

Hard to believe, but we've been here a month, and fall is most definitely on its way in. Friday was warm and sunny, near 80 F, but Saturday barely got above 55 F! Today is quite nice, sunny and warmish, but it was pretty cold when we got up. We haven't turned on the heater yet, so it was about 63 in the house. When I told my mother this, her first response what that it was very cold - then I pointed out that this was where she kept the temperature the entire time I was growing up, warmer in fact. Anyway, the cats have been letting us know they are cold. Cleo keeps burrowing into the covers once we get out of bed (and after she has bullied us into feeding her) to capture whatever warmth is still there. I know, it is still a long way from as cold as it is going to get - but you have to admit that it is a big change from 93, which is what it was a week ago. Austin won't hit 40 until December or January.

I've gone a little overboard with books in the past week. I visited the library and came home with 4 books, and had 5 more on hold. On my way home from my bike ride this morning I stopped to pick up what I thought would be one book, and it turned out that all of them were ready. I had to leave two behind to pick up later in the week because I only had my Camelback backpack, and the cargo space in it isn't that big. It turns out that the library charges for holds, 50 cents a book. I am of two minds about this: as a librarian, I applaud the library system's attempt to help cover the costs of a very convenient service - I mean, moving those books around all over the county costs money, and gas ain't cheap. But as a patron (and a cheapskate) I resent being asked to pay for something at the library - don't our taxes go to cover that kind of thing? Late fees yes, I understand, copies yes, but charging me for getting a book on hold? Also, why was there no very visible warning on the web site when I first placed the holds? I might have thought twice about a couple of the books. So, I paid the money without any protest (but they were lucky I had money in my wallet for once), trying to be understanding, but I did some muttering under my breath as I unlocked my bike and headed home.

I passed two boats on my ride this morning, as well as a great blue heron. I was within 10 feet of the heron, twice, as I rode past. The first boat was a sailboat that had unstepped its mast (thanks to Bonny Anne for teaching me that term - I just hope I have used it correctly) and was puttering along slowly. The second was a largish cabin cruiser type boat named "Posh," like the Spice Girl. It was going rather more quickly, and kicked up quite the wake. I passed this boat twice - once on the outbound leg of the trip, and again as I returned. The second time I had to peddle faster to get ahead of it, and out of the smell of diesel, but I didn't have to peddle too hard, because boats just don't go that fast on the canal!