1. The first week of August, the local newspaper called my husband to see if it was true that there was a woman who worked evenings at our gas station cum bookstore who only wore dresses or skirts. Having that confirmed, they told him that they were a bit busy just then, but would it be all right if they came by later to take a picture and maybe do an article?

They have never gotten back to us. I guess maybe they figured out that it isn’t news that a grown woman wears a skirt to pump gas and put books on shelves and run a cash register?

2. The woman in question is me. I have worn skirts more often than not for a long time, but back in June I finally took the plunge and took all my pants to a thrift store. Being pantless puts me in good company around here. We have quite a few women around here who never wear pants, starting with the Mennonite ladies, but also including some of the Baptists and other Christians, plus women who just think they don’t look good in pants, and right on down to a woman or two or three who just find pants uncomfortable to wear, plus some who are trying to make a fashion statement or develop a recognizable style. What with one thing and another, on any given day you’ll run into a goodly percentage of women in dresses around here. Most of the dresses are modest and practical, too. Just like the ladies who wear them.

3. This year, two of our outside cats had kittens. In the second litter, three of the four had extra toes. One kitten has since died and is buried in the back yard, and another (the pretty one with regular feet) fell ill and disappeared and is presumed dead. The remaining kittens are gray, with white toes. The extra toe is offset, and looks rather like a thumb. At this age, with such large feet, they look a bit as though they are wearing white baseball gloves. Well, no, not quite that. But close.

4. I made moose stew the other day. Now that’s something I thought I’d never say. But the landlord went on a hunting trip up north, and bagged a moose, and gave us some of the meat. I told him I hadn’t the least idea how to cook moose, and he suggested treating it like very lean beef, and using it in stew. So I did. What makes this even more fun is that for two years I have been working on a novel in which (in a subplot) some colonists make moose stew for some stranded travelers, but this month I’ve been spending all the time I can put together working on what I hope are final edits of that book. (That’s one of the big reasons I haven’t been blogging much, by the way.) When I first wrote about moose stew, I had no idea I’d ever make any. Life imitates art work in progress.

5. I have been having a very ecumenical month. I’ve attended services at the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, the First Baptist Church, and the Church of the Nazarene, plus I’ve attended a History of the Church presentation at the Catholic Church. The visit to the Nazarene Church was to celebrate the second anniversary of answering an altar call there.

6. We have had some lovely snowstorms this last week or so, worthy of midwinter. (And, yes, I was out there in the blizzards in a dress, pumping gas. If you wear layers and leg warmers, dresses are as warm or warmer than pants.)

7. Coming Saturday, November 14, Christian women around the world will be joining in a special day of prayer for schools and children. Arise! Cry Out! is being organized by Moms in Touch International. You don’t have to be a mother to participate.

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