Curse of the Beard

Isaac grew a beard on vacation. Beautiful, lush beard. I loved it, though I'm a sucker for facial hair. Especially on Isaac. But this morning, the beard had to go.

Business the past several months has been great. We've done well, things are growing, word of mouth is kind. Plans have been made and we've relaxed. A little. And then we got home from vacation and things at work have been...let's just say slow. At first, we didn't think anything of it; just a lull. And then yesterday, we got a little nervous. Why the sudden drop off? What was it like last year? What can we do to help? We know that business drops a little in the fall, but not usually this early. So we're not sure why the 2 week finger drumming. We talked of things we could do until the lull ends. Very helpful. Grateful for the pantry that can see us through should grocery money need to be diverted and for reserves to live off of if need be. But still. Neither of us liked this feeling, especially after months of booked schedules.

By the end of the evening we were both feeling ok. We can survive a lull and we had no reason to believe this was anything but. But as a safe guard, I changed my hair appointment and cancelled my trip to the bead show. We agreed on some projects to delay and ones we need to keep up. Added up what we've recently spent and where accounts would be after the bill came. And then we started joking that maybe Isaac should shave the beard, since that's the only thing that is different pre and post vacation. And then the jokes turned not so joke-y. And then we started to take it seriously before saying, no. Just a lull; a beard curse is so silly!

However, Isaac still shaved the beard gone this morning and went to work facing another day of very little. And then he started to book up. This afternoon, tomorrow, Saturday. We both kind of laughed, but it would appear that the beard curse DID lift. Who's to say...?

Music for the beard curse:

(uninvited, alanis morissette)

Chill In The Air

I had to put a sweater on this morning to go grocery shopping. It's the first morning of real chill, here. Extra blankets were tossed on the bed, Sammy in a little longer jammies last night. I left the house about 7 a.m. and headed out for my weekly shopping. Pacific University capri sweats (yoga style), tshirt, cardigan and flip flops, I watched the car thermometer dip lower and lower until settling on 45*. Chilly, indeed. I walked into the store and was greeted by bags of cinnamon scented pine cones. The smell caught me off guard, as it often does for the first smell of the season, and I immediately thought of my and my ex's first apartment. I had scraped together enough money that first year, right after the wedding, to buy a bag and put them in a basket in our living room. The smell always takes me back.

I really enjoy these mornings of routine, memories and all. I hadn't really grocery shopped in a few weeks (months?), so it was nice to have a little structure going again. Plans for dinner (including a chocolate cherry pie), cleaning out the closet and pulling out sweaters, curling up with new tv tonight. The real return of fall (the chill in the air version, not the going back to school version) brings me home. I find myself reaching for my cookbooks, my hobbies, my books. All the things that were a struggle during the summer come back with ease. It always seems to be this way and yet, every year, I worry during the summer that I've lost something; lost a little of me. What I don't remember is that I'm not lost, I'm simply on summer hiatus and in the fall I come back.

Music for a chilly morning:

(crazy, icehouse)