Colorful rainy day

The leaves are still so bright that the cloudy, rainy day is not dreary at all.

S. answered the phone today when I called. His phone has just been turned back on today, having been off for awhile. I was happy to connect. He's in the process of moving out of his apartment and has just spent the last four days hauling things to the new place and to storage. He'll be renting a room in a fancy house in an elegant neighborhood. He texted me a photo and I also checked it out on google satellite. It's a very nice four-bedroom home. Apparently the owner stretched to buy the house and now needs a little help to meet the mortgage. S's rent will now be much less than the apartment's, though he isn't entirely happy about having to share space with a near-stranger. But he said it was the best situation of many opportunities that came up.

He's been getting by through selling his things on the internet. However, the last time he placed ads, he instructed potential buyers to phone him rather than email back because the internet would soon be cut off. Just after posting the last ad, his phone was cut off, so he couldn't receive calls from prospective buyers. But I think things are turning around. He's sure he'll have a job within a few days...he's been postponing pounding the pavements in favor of finding a less expensive living situation while selling possessions on ebay.

Paul started a tradition in our family. We go out and buy a birthday cake for every family member, whether they live with us or not. So we went out today and bought S's birthday cake in his honor and wired him a little birthday bonus so he won't starve.

We had a big lemon harvest, but not the way I wanted it. Yesterday, while in the attic, L. found a few mice winking at him. He believed they were gaining access to the attic through the lemon tree in the back yard whose branches now protrude onto the roof on one side. He decided it was time to do a little trimming. I knew this would have to happen. We practically have lemons dipping into the water of the pond. But I felt such a loss when those beautiful branches, laden with bright yellow lemons, came crashing to the ground. It seemed like a sacriledge, a travesty against nature. Of course the remaining tree is tall and beautiful and has enough lemons to stock a store, but it still pained me to fell those branches. I loved those branches! They had created a cover that I used to walk under. Now the yard looks so big and exposed. We filled up many bags with fallen lemons, to take to work and give away. I still feel depressed. Is it possible for a tree to be almost a friend?

L. still has back pain. He had an appointment tomorrow, but on Wednesday the doctor called and cancelled it. Now he must wait until tomorrow to re-schedule. Isn't that typical? I hope we can find some solution for his condition soon. I feel his pain too!