I have occasional bad days, usually when the meds I’m on cause digestive problems or when I’ve suffered a sleepless night, but on the whole, I’m slowly but steadily growing stronger. I now can cook a whole meal most of the time.  I am now able to dress and undress myself, wash myself and my hair, all those activities any five-year-old would be proud to do. I’ve also beginning to work on my annual intensive poetry workshop to be held in June

I’ve started my next book.  Most days, I can write a page before I tire.  Am I slowly putting away warm weather gear and bringing out and stowing cold weather clothing.  Yesterday, we brought out winter coats.  Today it was some of my sweaters.  It was unseasonably warm here until the last five days or so, when it turned abruptly chilly.  It was above average for a couple of weeks at least; now it’s below average.  We had our first frost this Monday, but we still have leeks [I made leek and potato sup two nights ago] and parsnips in the main garden and much lettuce, endive, escarole, arugula in my garden.  The garden down by the road is emptied of growing things.  The beans gave outin mid-October and Woody harvested the last winter squashes and pumpkins last week.

We roasted a couple of the pumpkins over the weekend and pureed them – one for a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and one for a dish for us later on.  The French cook pumpkins to eat and I use several French recipes, including potiron tout rond I adapted from Julia Child and serve every Thanksgiving. We’ll be eight this year, more than we’ve had since Covid struck.  Because what I can’t lift, reach, pull or push for 3 three weeks, I won’t be doing all the cooking this year.  Tasha will make hors d’oievres; Dale will make a vegetable and a 2nd dessert. Melenie and I will make the cranberry-apple sauce, the potiron tout rond, adapted form Julia child – a whole pumpkin roasted with a stuffing of gruyere cheese, light cream, breadcrumbs, onions and herbs and spices.  We will also make a dressing both innie and outie for the turkey that Woody will roast.  In the morning, we’ll make my rum pumpkin pie.  We’ll coo together, as we have many times.  I’ll do whatever I can and Melenie will cover the rest.  Jay will help Woody outside, straightening and cleaning the sheds and some garden work.

We’re way behind in outdoors work because for the last month, I can’t do anything useful out there am dot was very warm, often close to 70, up until the last Sunday when the temperature plummeted into the 40’s.  It’s going to stay cold in the foreseeable future.  Winter has arrived.  We may get a bit of snow this weekend.  Possible.

I finally have an appointment with a cardiologist on December 7th, thanks to dear Dr. Shay who arranged it from Ireland where he was vacationing with his husband. I will finally get the straight news on how I’m supposed to eat, drink and behave.  It Cape Cod Hospital, they put in the pacemaker and turned me loose with no instructions.  I was eating low salt, since that’s what they had me on in the hospital, but have since learned it’s unnecessary, or so I think till I see the cardiologist.