Autumn Equinox approaches

I ran four miles this morning! I'd only meant to run 3.2, but went beyond the turning point a bit, to take that low hill, and then kept on over the top and down to the little bridge over the creek. I thought I could walk whenever I needed to stop running, but I started calling cadence for myself and kept on past my lane to take a bit of the big hill.

I started running again, finally, in St. Louis, around the base of the Arch. But I foolishly ran some (low) hills or rises of land, and was extremely sore for 3-4 days when we got back. But the next week I started running, just a mile or a bit, and settled on a plan. (Remains to be seen how long I follow it.) What's most important is to GET OUT THERE, but my knees are bad. (I've also started a strict regimen of glucosamine.) So I plan to run 1 mile on Monday, 2 on Tuesday, and 3 on Wed, then 1 on Thurs., 2 on Friday, and 3 on Saturday, then walk 3 on Sundays, when I have the time. My goal, aside from getting into size 10 jeans and feeling better about myself, is to run the breast cancer race at St. Luke's. But the mornings are dark these days, so I may have to run after work, at least on Tues., Wed., and Friday. The idea is that I would at least sometimes walk whatever remains of the 3.2 miles.

I think/hope I've broken the reading barrier. I read 12 Trollopes over the winter, then all of Mary Stewart, ending with the Merlin books. Then for something completely different (Henry Gibson died this past week), Gorky Park. Then Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Then Camille, which was pretty minor for such a well-known work. Then Diary of a Young Girl and a biography of Anne Frank. Now I'm reading The Time Machine and Other Stories, by HG Wells. Up next will be the 4 dystopias -- Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Animal Farm. Also Trilby by George Du Maurier, and then maybe Daphne, or Edith Wharton.... we shall see!

I planted all those little buddleias beyond the daylilies -- hope they take! The past couple of days I have brought a carload over from the old house. The ceilings haven't yet fallen in, as I feared the constant rains this summer would have caused, and which kept me from going in for the past three months. But we've had NO RAIN all September. Things in the old house are moldy but mostly okay -- some of the paper items are done. Today I brought the big gold balls for the winter porch, and most of the canning things. Tomorrow I want to bring the canning jars, the very last of the books, and maybe some shelves for the garage.

Pete wrote Thursday that Jules has learned she has colon cancer, and must have her entire large intestine removed.