We are in the middle of a predicted stretch of wet, cool days.  I don't mind them.  They're conducive for getting indoor chores done.  We have a tendency to blow off chores on weekends that are nice and to go out and play.

But, with the weather cooling down, it makes me want to start to batten down the hatches and get ready for the winter (which as we all know is coming).  It's time to put away the garden and collect all the green tomatoes and put them into brown bags to finish ripening.  We have some mushroom soil left to mix into the beds so that come spring, we'll be ready to plant them all over again.

Last night for dinner I used a quart bag of tomato puree from the tomatoes that we grew this year.  Romas.  I  emptied the bag into a large, heavy pot and let it boil for about an hour.  This reduced it by half.  It was still thin but getting thicker so I put the meat balls and bits of sausage into the sauce along with some seasonings and let it finish cooking down.

By the time the pasta was ready, I had a thick, dark red sauce studded with meat balls and sausage and bits of herbs.  It was delicious and I found myself sorry that we didn't have more.  (there's one other bag in the freezer).  Next year, a whole bed of Roma tomatoes so we can have a freezer full of bags of puree.  I'm turning the leftover meatballs and sauce into deep dish pizza for dinner tonight.

Our anniversary presents to ourselves are twofold.  The first is purely decorative.  We are going to buy some rose bushes to put under the front window.  I am looking into which variety would work best for our soil and climate and I think we're getting floribunda in a range of yellows, oranges and reds.  I love roses but have never grown them.  Pk said he likes the idea of giving me flowers that won't die in a vase.

The other present?  Dvds of the entire 11 seasons of MASH.  Out of all the television shows we've every enjoyed together, that is one of the very very few that I want to own. 

Do you get a flu shot every year?  I wouldn't but it's a "condition of  employment" since I work with patients all day.  I got my injection on Wednesday.  My coworker decided to write his protest on the bar coded paper they have us sign to indicate we've gotten the shot.  They wouldn't give him his injection because he altered a legal document and now he's on HR's radar.  They told him if he refuses, he could be moved into another position where he wouldn't have patient contact (scrubbing toilets perhaps). 

I understand standing up for what you think is right but Pennsylvania is what's called an "at will" state.  This means they can fire you without notice and without cause.  You are employed at their will.  I am a 55 year old social worker who doesn't want to be job hunting in a very tight job market so I let them give me the injection.  I've heard all the arguments about "protecting the herd" but I still think it should be an individual decision. 

I think I may be turning into my grandmother.  I have been listening to people walk here in our hallways scuffing their feet.  One of my strongest memories of my grandmother(s) was to "pick up your feet!" if I was scuffing around.  They were adamant about it.  I just assumed it was the proper way to walk but as I've grown, it's obvious that not everyone subscribes to that.  When I hear someone scuffing their feet, I want to say loudly "Pick up your feet" but I refrain.  I am not the world's etiquette and deportment enforcement officer.  I also want to tell people not to yell down the hall way but I think that's a lost cause......