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In the week and a half I was gone, autumn tightened its grip. The leaves that are still on the trees are brown and yellow. So are the ones on the ground, and they're everywhere. The pussywillow is almost totally depleted, and the wisteria is well on its way.
It must have rained a lot while we were away, because the big back yard is coming back to life, and nothing in the garden seems to have died. There is much more green than there was before. The side yard is still overrun with dandelions. I'll have to do something about it, one day when I have some free time.
That might take a while. I kept a low profile today, as far as work is concerned. It helped me get through the early part of the day, which was devoted to opening all that mail. The time came when I had to find out what some of that mail meant, so I let it be known that I was home. I had conversations with first Tim and then the Boss.
They were polite enough to ask me about the cruise before they started piling on the work. They each had pet projects that they thought I might be interested in spending my afternoon working on. I had other ideas. It's going to take me two days to pay all the bills that will be due in the next ten days. That's why I worked until after 8:00 pm tonight. That wasn't in my original plan for the day.
It's just as well that I got a good start on my work week, though. I can see that I'll be paying for this vacation in more ways than one. Now, it's extra work. Later, the bills will start coming due. Still, the memories are still fresh, and they keep me mindful of why I go through all this. If it weren't for this job that so often wears me out, I'd never have been able to take the cruise at all. | 
