Too late to call this Indian Summer

Mercury in retrograde has been wreaking havoc for me this week: nitwits with shiny gold ornaments on their uniforms at my government job have made my workplace seem even more Rube Goldberg-esque than usual. (I'm convinced that the government's raison d'etre is mainly to make the most simplistic tasks seem complex.) My car dealership doesn't seem to understand the concept that I wish to schedule an appointment that is convenient for me, not them. My toaster broke (don't ask). And yesterday, my computer motherboard decided to lay down and die, necessitating a house call from the Dell guy who tracked his wet shoes all over my carpet. Whew! Mercury..get thee into a forward path, will ya?

It's been pleasingly rainy and gloomy here for the past few days, albeit way too warm for the waning days of October. I know I'm old now, because I'm starting to reminisce about my childhood, when it was properly cold in October. I own a fabulous, embroidered, light wool coat that I'm dying to wear, but people around here are still in shorts and shirtsleeves. It just ain't right, somehow.

I fell asleep last night with CNN tuned to the coverage of the California fires, and I dreamed of the desert, flames leaping on the summit of the canyons in the distance.

Today I'm staying in, indulging in my new hobby (jewelry making) and watching Raise the Red Lantern, one of the best movies I've ever seen, starring the impossibily beautiful Gong Li.