It Wasn't my imagination.

 I always suspect that when I take my car in for an oil change and mention that there might be another problem, the mechanics look at me and wonder.  Is this for real or is this old lady imagining things?  For example, yesterday I took my car in for a basic oil change and mentioned that I thought there might be a problem with my brakes.  It was hard to explain, but sometimes, when I step on the brakes  they stutter before they stop.  Little hesitations.  This didn't happen frequently but it did happen often enough to be a concern.  They checked and discovered that the right rear caliper needs to be replaced.  Turns out that break was sticking, causing the unusual wear.  Happily, the mechanic agreed with me that that really shouldn't have happened on a car with only 23,000 miles on it.  So he contacted the company, explained the situation, and even though I'm out of warranty, they will cover most of the cost of repairs.  Thank you, Fiat.  Of course, because I'm just a little suspicious, when I got home I googled the cost of replacing a caliper and their estimate was just what the mechanic told me.  So it's all good or will be when the parts come in.

no surprises

 Well, I did it.  I watched the presidential debate this evening all the way through.  No surprises.  It certainly didn't change my mind about who I plan to vote for.  It was a much more lively debate (aka shouting match) that they usually are.  It will be fun to watch the VP debate next week, just for the contrast.  The only definite thought I came away with is that I would not like to be the moderator if the presidential candidates debate again.  Someone commented that the moderator should have the power to turn off the mike of the person who is not supposed to be talking.  I think he needed a gavel.

best joke

 Here's the best joke from today's exercise class:

A German Shepard, a Doberman and a cat have all died and gone to heaven.  As they stand before God he asks them to state their beliefs.  The German Shepherd said "I believe in loyalty, strength and obedience." to which God responded "Excellent, sit here on my right side."  The Doberman responded "I believe in dedication, love and faithfulness."  God said "That's good.  Sit here on my left side." Then he turned to the cat and said "What's your belief?"  The cat responded, "I believe you're in my seat."

Personal note, anyone who has ever lived with a cat is not surprised at this response.

using my teacher voice

 This morning it was my turn to facilitate our adult Sunday school class.  We are still meeting by Zoom and sometimes that creates some awkward moments.  Ours is a discussion class with everyone chiming in.  We are a very opinionated group.  After last week's class (I didn't lead last week) someone complained to me that one particular person had monopolized too much of the conversation (she had) and asked me if I could get her to talk less this week.  Zoom is a wonderful program when you can't meet in person but sometimes it's hard to keep things equitable.  So I gave it some thought and decided to take the class back to the basics.  At the beginning of the class I told them I had some ground rules for our session today.  I told them, very nicely of course, that it would help me if they would raise their hands when they wanted to speak.  I also reserved the right to cut someone off when they had made their point to give others a chance to comment.  It worked like a charm if I do say so myself, and hopefully no one's feelings were hurt.  The person who is leading next week called me this evening to tell me she plans to use the same guidelines.  Isn't it fun when grade school rules still work with adults?

About those pink shoes

 Once upon a time, when I was young and, if not hot, at least relatively attractive, I owned a lovely pair of two-tone pink shoes with three inch heels.  Since I am five feet 10 inches tall and skirts were short back then, those shoes, worn with a matching pink suit (short skirt of course) made my legs look pretty good.  I wore that outfit to a job interview in Monticello, New York.  I was applying for the job of junior high art teacher.  As I was driving across New York state, a much longer driver than I had anticipated, on a well paved four lane highway, through a very thinly populated area, I had a flat tire.  Happily, I was able to pull into the median.  As I stepped out of the car to assess the situation, long legs first, two pickup trucks stopped and two very nice young men had that tire changed in nothing flat.  Then they led me back to a bar/service station where they treated me to a drink while I called the superintendent of schools who was expecting me in an hour to explain why I would be late.  He agreed to wait for me and I did finally make it to my appointment.  He and the principal were waiting for me, the interview went well, and I got the job.  It wasn't until a few months later that the principal told me that before I showed up he had told the superintendent that he wasn't going to hire another woman art teacher unless I was at least six feet tall.  Thanks to those lovely pink shoes I was.  A friend told me later that I was the only person he ever knew who had been hired by the yard.  

shoes then and now

 My daughter and I went shoe shopping yesterday.  I wanted a new pair of fall color shoes, brown or tan or black.  How boring is that?  I found the perfect pairs (yes I bought two pairs, one black, one tan) and they are very comfortable and will serve me well, but sometimes I miss the good old days.  Before we were married my soon to be husband and I spent a weekend in New York City.  We had a lovely time, ate at some great restaurants, and did some window shopping.  Sometime on Saturday afternoon he bought me a pair of shoes.  They were wonderful shoes, beautiful teal blue paten leather with three inch heels, a thin strap and pointy toes.  It was the style.  They were wonderful and I wore them when we went out that evening.  By the end of the evening my feet were killing me, but they looked great and that's all that mattered.  There have been other memorable shoes in my life - strappy red sandals and an amazing pair of platform shoes with four inch heels and some lovely pink on pink heels that matched the pink suit I wore for a job interview..... to be continued.

my kind of job

I like mushrooms so I was delighted to learn that September is National Mushroom Month.  Hooray, they get a whole month.  I include mushrooms, preferably fresh, in lots of dinners, especially in casseroles.   Many years ago when I was a child (many, many years ago) while visiting relatives in Pennsylvania. my brother and I were taken to visit a mushroom farm.  I remember being inside cool, damp buildings with mushrooms growing all over the floor.  Years later, and I don't remember the exact circumstances, I was in a meeting with several other women discussing our jobs.  At the time I was working as a mortgage loan officer, a job that kept me talking to people all day long.  I also had two pre-teen children who needed lots of my time. Not to mention a loving husband and two cats.  One lady in the discussion group told us that her job was raising mushrooms in her basement.  I instantly remembered those cool dark very quiet mushroom barns and thought "What a great job."   Now it occurs to me that this could be a good retirement job.  All I need is a basement.