There I was, taking a nice long soak.....

...as I often do on weekend mornings, when I suddenly remembered that Louise would be ringing my bell at 10:00 for our walk. I lose all track of time in the tub (some of you may recall where I dreamed up the whole idea of this near-weekly walk) and for all I knew it could be 9:59 at that very moment. I leaped up and out of the tub in a single bound, now in clear view of the Kokopelli clock and....phew, only 9:40. Twenty minutes later, complete with mascara and the wet-look still a reality, I answered the doorbell and off we went.

Diane & Louise at Jamaica Pond by the Boat House

Across from Jamaica Pond

A little cooler than I expected—or was willing to believe on this gorgeous fall morning, it was too late to go back and change out of my capris and sandals. At least I wore ankle socks with my sandals, Israeli style. We caught up with Diane by the Brook House and chose a different route than usual: we took the walking path along Pond St. and Leverett Pond. Louise was excited because she'd never been this way. We made our way to Jamaica Pond and walked all the way around, 1.5 miles. Hard to believe we were still in the city. Only the guardrail along the road gives it away.

And how about that beautiful foliage? It's the only thing that keeps me from disliking fall—and the gorgeous climate, of course, doesn't hurt. The only thing that makes me want to dislike fall is winter being right around the corner. My friend Janice told me I should take up snowboarding, then I'd love winter. She's probably right. And a new set of clothes always helps :)

We talked about so many things, we covered the "gamut" from our children (only briefly, can you believe?!), to geese and their aggressive and abundant ways, to whooping cough and shingles vaccines, to living in warmer climes some day, to bird watching, to dogs and their personalities (namely Diane's sweet dogs), to floods, and to rugelach—which Diane and I baked yesterday with the Sisterhood. Yummm! 

Enjoy your week,
Ellen



;)