It’s been a busy October as well. I think I thought after the show at the Fox (Ain’t Too Proud) finished I would be more free, and while I am, it’s really only an extra two hours a night! Life is busy, I have all the students, plus extra concerts (playing with the Who today, for instance), and additional appointments like physical therapy for my rotator cuff or the like. I’ve also mentioned in passing that we are house hunting and truthfully looking to buy a new house, and a lot that goes into it. It’s a big deal, and feels like a dream, and there’s just so much to do before it becomes reality, but I’m excited. I remind myself that people move all the time, and just because I haven’t moved in 8 years doesn’t mean I can’t do it again!

I had a period of time where I moved every year or every two years. My 20’s were a time of moving a lot, changing cities, changing apartments, etc, and moving wasn’t a big deal then. When I moved in with Louie I was in my 30’s and it was my 3rd move in as many years! So I was happy to sit and I honestly thought I might live here for the rest of my life. But as it turns out, it seems that’s not going to be true, and while I don’t like to get ahead of anything, I can say with certainty that I won’t live here the rest of my life: we have decided no matter what happens with this particular house we are looking to buy (and it’s looking promising) that we are moving.

Of course, interest rates are through the roof, and things are uncertain in the world, and perhaps we don’t even want to be in Missouri or the United States anymore, but we live here now and there’s no reason to make yourself suffer more than needed, ha! I remind myself that people buy houses all the time, that people buy houses even when they are sad to leave their current house and its memories, and it is okay to have mixed feelings about things, when mostly those feelings are that it’s a good thing to move. It will change things for my students a bit, though I’m not going far, but in case any are reading: I will let you know when things are certain and you’ll have plenty of time to work things out.

Anyway, the cats are snuggling more lately as the weather cools down, which is of course adorable. And we got out for a nice hike last weekend at Greensfelder Park. We took the Eagle Owl Trail and got a bit lost at one point, but we were always on a A trail, just not the Eagle Owl, and we found our way back. I think that has happened before as well, so who knows what the deal is. Perhaps we will go the opposite way on the loop and have slightly better luck next time. The fall leaves were beautiful, though I didn’t take many pictures, and the weather and temperature were absolutely perfect.

I have a busy weekend ahead: I had thought I might be able to take Sunday off but I needed to do some makeup lessons for things I missed, so I’ll work in the afternoon.

I did have time to read a fantastic book: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Highly recommend! (I love all of her books, especially Station Eleven, but this might be my new favorite).