MINUTAE

Muh-NOO-shuh--(close enough)--Little Stuff!

Our temps are drop-drop-dropping, overnights are sinking to the 20s, daytime temps try to keep us encouraged with 40s (I guess that's better than 20s or teens!) . . . so I'm scurrying around trying to round up some Little Stuff to think about, mull over, smile at, even laugh! Little Stuff keeps me from sinking along with the thermometer readings.

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Couple of days ago I jotted down a list of Little Stuff that made me smile. Here's some of the list:

--the city leaf truck came by! Apparently there are leaves down in some neighborhoods. My street isn't doing its part because the leaf vacuum passed right by most of the houses on my side of the street and found a few little piles of leafy stuff across from my house.

--and while I'm on the subject of leaves, I'm really disappointed in this year's crop. Driving through the countryside I see trees in the distance--completely covered in gold--yellow to bright gold to bronze. Where's the red? Where's the orange? There are even green leaves, for pity's sake, still hanging on. The only red leaves I've discovered are on ornamental trees planted in landscaped yards. Ma Nature didn't come through this year.

--autumn photos for 2021 are few and far between, if I want color. You'll see repeats of pics from years gone by. Just saying.

--lunch with friends. While it's not truly Little Stuff, it's a once-in-a-while event in my life again and it makes me happy. A 15-20 minute drive through the country (see above reference to disappointing autumn trees) and I arrive at a great restaurant that serves good tavern food--large variety of sandwiches, five or six kinds of potatoes (I have to specify French fries, or I might end up with American, hashed brown, cottage, or a couple others), chili (obviously homemade on the premises), perpetual coffee. And that's just what we were served. The menu runs to three or more pages entirely full of choices and options.

--but food's not what lunch with friends is about--it's about catching up on over 30 years' worth of lives lived, stuff we didn't know about each other. Funny how life just interferes, takes a sudden left turn, and the next thing you know, it's been five years since you saw folks who used to hang out at your house at least a couple of times a month. And then it's ten years . . . .

--along with chili and French fries, I'm rediscovering what I think of as Winter Foods: thick vegetable soup, panini (homemade), fruit cobbler/pie . . . the list goes on and on. I'm not big on hot chocolate because I can't find one I like with faux milk (soy milk has its own flavor, and I'm not crazy about rice milk or almond milk; and definitely not coconut milk). So I stick with my coffee and the occasional pot of tea.

--the last few days I've been moving summer clothes to the off-season closet and bringing out autumn/winter clothes; amazing what I already had in stock--may not even have to go shopping! I'm well-supplied with coats, scarves, and gloves, sox, sweaters, pants of various weights, sweatshirts . . . could start my own shop!

--one fun thing is finding the blankets and quilts that were stored away last April. Already they're beginning to feel good on the bed. And they look lovely.

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I've saved the best till last--I fell in love. I know, I know--that isn't a Little Thing, but actually, it was!

I went to the feed-and-seed store to buy birdseed. The people who own and operate it are a local family. That day they were dog-sitting--in a small zipped doggie bed on the floor sat a 13-week-old Shih Tzu. The woman who worked there said, "Here, you can hold her." (I think my awwww look must've told her I was smitten.) That little pup snuggled up under my chin, after giving me a few dozen puppy kisses, and I think if I'd been quick enough, I could've hidden her under my jacket, paid for my birdseed, and smuggled her out of there. But I just stood there and absorbed. The episode was so entrancing I forgot to ask her name!

So I fell in love with a Little Dog, which I said I'd never do. Never, ever. I'm a Big Dog Person. Little Dogs are too easy to step on, or get lost in my house amongst the boxes of fabric and yarn, or once they find their voices, they are too high-pitched and hurt my ears. But after that Brief Encounter--

Fortunately, the pup was already spoken for, but I have sweet memories. I do wish I'd asked what her name is.

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So today I'm celebrating the Little Stuff--the Minutae--in my life. There's always something to celebrate--something to be thankful for--something to share with someone else.

Find your Minutae--and share it!

Blessings,

Thursday's Child