Stuck at Home...

So, I'm stuck in my house. Seriously. Seems the large iron gate that keeps others out of our driveway is keeping me in! Apparently the hinge at the top pulled out of it's anchoring pillar after I arrived home last night and the gate, once closed, can no longer open. I was tempted to just muscle it open and leave it, but considered its weight and size and the likelihood that it could somehow end up on top of me (Murphy's laws, you know) and used up what bit of common sense I had to back away and leave it be. So, I will work from home today and try to locate a sympathetic repair person to come out and fix it asap. Ahh, home-ownership. Meanwhile, John will arrive back in mid-afternoon and I have engaged a friend to pick him up from the drop-off location.

It's not entirely a bad thing to be "stuck at home". I like being here. Right now, the leaves have finally turned a blazing gold color and Autumn is definitely here. When I got up at 4am one morning this week, the temperature in the house was 62 degrees.Unfortunately, 4am has become more usual than not as Zoe needs to go outside at that time. Somehow, we have to find a way to re-train her lest we be getting up at 3am once the time changes! I suspect we will just go along and take her out, then return to bed for a few more hours.

I haven't seen or encountered any wild critters while John has been away this week. But a bear was sighted near one of the elementary schools locally. Where I had tornado drills as a youngster in school, they have bear precautions here. Parents are alerted to come and pick up their children. What happens to those kids with parents who both work, I wonder?

This weekend will bring some usual errands. The gutters for the shed need a day to get installed. It's been dry this week and, hopefully, we'll get a dry day this weekend. The shiny red tractor wants one more trip to cut the grass before more serious weather starts. Tonight we have plans to go to dinner with some friends and solve the problems of the world, no doubt. But for today, I'm stuck. And I don't mind that a bit....