Because not much is going on in November

I think I'm going to try this: NaBloPoMo

Don't know how well I'll do but I'm going to try it. I debated only doing it unofficially because I kinda like my cozy half-dozen readers and I didn't know if I wanted to put it out there to the world. But it mostly is out there to the world just by process of being on the Internet and there's nothing to hide here (and not much to see honestly).

Looking at my index, I only average about 1 post every three days (that is posted--I think I write a bit more than that). That means that for 30 days (thankfully it's only 30 days, not one of those pesky 31 day months), there will be a lot of posts on my little blog. I don't know how substantive they will be most days but I'm going to try it. I'm warning you that there may be days when you read what I had for lunch (and that won't be that interesting because I normally just eat a sandwich and apple and see, now I've ruined the surprise). But I really want to see if I can stay dedicated to this and write every day for a month.

If I'm really going to tackle this, I decided I should create a list of possible topics. I don't think I'm dedicated enough to follow through with one topic for one month and I really don't care to get into political/religious/personal beliefs because that's not what this place is about (although I'm really not sure what this place is about) and I don't want to start an argument on my own blog. So a list of possible topics that I will be writing about for the next month (perhaps on these days of the month):

1. Me
2. Paul
3. Jubjub
4. life in Albuquerque
5. books I'm reading
6. remodeling/new kitchen countertops
7. the dance lessons Paul and I are still attempting
8. MY BIRTHDAY!
9. My OTHER birthday!
10. volunteer stuff
11. um, day 11 and I'm running low
12. librarian stuff
13. assorted pictures
14. more about me (hey, it's my blog--I could write about myself daily and no one can say a word)
15. some witty, funny story
16. maybe another witty, funny story
17.Oh, my annual Christmas wish list!
18. favorite recipes?
19. more books?
20. the horrors/mishaps of traveling on a holiday
21. a report from Bay City
22. Thanksgiving with the family
23. more Thanksgiving with the family
24. yes, we'll still be with the family
25. how we survived the family
26. family pictures from Thanksgiving
27. the Christmas tree may be up by now
28. how I've resorted to staring at the keyboard with nothing to write about
29. Book Fair/work stuff
30. Whew!

Maybe I won't feel so bad when I kill them since they were "free"

Yesterday was Make a Difference Day and in the spirit of the day, about a dozen in the Junior League volunteered to help the ABQ Rose Society mulch the rose beds for the fall (there were other JLA groups doing other do-gooder stuff as well). It was a beautiful morning and what better way to a Saturday morning shoveling dirt and pushing wheelbarrows. Not that I do this at my own house on any given Saturday morning--perhaps if I had 10 other women lending a hand. . . .

I didn't realize how large the ABQ Rose Garden is--I think it's size is deceptive as it surrounds one of the public libraries in town. At least, I now know it is deceptive since I've spread mulch in about half the beds and realize how large the garden actually is. But we braved thorns and rose bushes that wanted to hurt us to do our good deed for the day. We worked for about three hours--in addition to the Rose Society and JLA, there was a group from the city so the work went fairly quickly. Here I am taking a break with my friend Devlyn (who hates having her picture taken--I had to strong-arm her into this one):

When we finished, the head person of the Rose Society mentioned she had extra rose bushes that were free for the taking. So I took two of these. I don't know why I took two. I'm mostly good at killing things and we don't have room in the yard for one rose bush, much less two rose bushes. But several members of the Rose Society told me that these should do fine in a planter on the patio and what I needed to do to keep them alive and so hopefully I'll be able to do so. If nothing else, my in-laws' neighbor Mrs. Green is a member of the Rose Society and perhaps willing to give free advice to a rose novice. Because that might be the only thing I get for free after taking these. (So far, my "free" rose bushes have cost me over $50 for two large planters. It's like my "free" cat I got 10 years ago.)