Autumn has arrived, and overnight the temperatures dropped and the winds began sharpening their edges, warning of the impending winter. This is my favorite time of year, when the trees change their dresses to bright reds and golds, and the smell of apples and dying leaves fills the air. It is the time of gathering root vegetables and making soup stocks, of setting the kettle back on the counter and finding where all the sweaters got put.

It’s also the time of staring down having to make plans for heating oil and nightly panic attacks about how we’re going to afford this year’s heating bill, with the oil prices still almost twice what we usually pay. This year we also have to come up with the money to get the Goblin Boys neutered by the end of next month, and this summer’s unexpected flood of vet bills already washed away the buffer we usually have set aside for winter’s expenses. Púca, in particular, is going to be very expensive, as his neutering is very probably going to involve an ultrasound to find a wayward testicle, followed by invasive surgery to extract it. All told, that’s going to run close to $3k, and we have not been able to afford get them onto an insurance plan yet. Oh, and my truck needs new tires before I can get it inspected, and I’m already overdue enough on that, that my driver’s license may get suspended, because Mass. is kind of a dick about that sort of thing.

Stressed? Me? Nah…

*hyperventilates into paper bag*

On the plus side, at least rice, soups, and stews are reasonably inexpensive to make a large quantity of and it’s the season where cooking them doesn’t make me want to die? It’s not the first time I’ve had to feed us on a shoestring budget, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Back to the studio…things to paint and stories to write…