Rainy Sunday. Not a good foliage-viewing day.

Finally replaced the bad curtain rod in the bedroom.

Jett and Ron did errands and have been in and out in spite of the rain.

Applied for both low- and middle-income heating assistance programs.

Packed the gouges in the downstairs bathroom window with MinWax wood filler.

Ordered an inexpensive but attractive frame from Walmart with free delivery for the Jane Hudson painting. The driver dropped it off a little before seven. I put the piece together; placement tomorrow.

Finally watched “Call the Midwife” and enjoyed it.

After one more low heat session with water and baking soda, cleaned the last bits of stuck rice from the Dutch oven.

Found the cord for Ron’s electric shaver; recharged it.

Canceled the Diamond subscription and the latest order from Harbor Freight.

Jett and I drove to Adams for Jaeschke’s Jonagold apples. Thought about driving to the top of Greylock. Hahaha. Tried to find another spot that sounded like a farm but it’s on a short but crowded street in the middle of North Adams.

Jaeschke’s to Goodrich Street routed us East Street to Church, thus avoiding Curran Highway, the scene of a major accident that happened around the time we were out.

Ron worked on his “little room” while we were gone.

Jonagolds won’t be ready until mid-month. Can order them online or might find them in grocery stores.

Congratulated the neighbors on their addition-in-progress.

After doing some yardwork, we drove to Richmond and Hilltop Orchards.

Big disappointment.

Even though it was Friday, it was the start of the long Columbus Day aka Indigenous Peoples weekend.

So the place was crowded and no fire in the lodge.

We picked up some necessities at Dollar General and spent the rest of the day at home.

Did laundry.

We dropped off the Corolla at Flamingo Motors at 9 this morning for its 20k maintenance. It was done around 3. I made an appointment for them to check out the truck. Like that shop.

In the meantime we had lunch – soup, salad, sandwich, cookie – at Berkshire Food Project, then visited the Art of Resistance exhibit at Gallery 51 on Main Street in North Adams.

Later the three of us drove to Pownal for so-so cheddar cheese and two boxes of excellent cookies.

Ron and Jett did a long walk up the hill. I was lazy and did nothing else except start my essay for the writers group “Funny Thing About Adoption”.

Learned that our next door neighbor is expecting. Wishing good health to mother and baby, another boy.

Barely made it to the Pantry this morning. Was doing something or other earlier.

Vacuumed the stairs.

Cleaned up most of the ferns and the bean plants on the deck.

We are off to the first meeting of the new monthly writers group at the library. I will propose a funny book about adoption.

Ron broke down and brought the lawn mower to Aubuchon for servicing.

Finished hanging artwork and photos in the office/guest room.

Picked up passes for the Clark at at the library and went with Ron this afternoon to see the Griffa exhibition “Paths in the Forest”. Particularly like his interpretation of Ginsberg’s “Kaddish”.

Also enjoyed the new and fabulous “The Exquisite Eye” collection which is to be housed in its own building. On the way out we were delighted with the clever caricature portrait sculptures of famous people from the 1830’s including Liszt, Johann Strauss, and Paganini.

Took Ron to lunch afterwards at the Spring Street Market so we could see works by local artists. Filled up at Cumby after reloading their app. Returned the passes to the library.

Ron did laundry, we changed the sheets. I made a big pot of sage and cinnamon soup to be embellished tomorrow.

Gave Jett his Sentinel med.

Watched the North Adams Foliage Parade on TV. Got photos of Ben and Butch in the N/A Youth Football group. Watched Buffalo lose to the Patriots in a close, well-played back and forth game featuring spectacular passes, an astonishing one-handed touchdown from “undersized” Efton Chism III and a flawless last minute interception by Craig Woodson.

Soup for lunch, stir fry for supper: veg burgers with an Aldi frozen quinoa mix.

I think about food all the time, what to cook, what to eat, how to avoid buying it either cooked or uncooked, grocery store or restaurant.

After morning errands (disposed of Jett’s trumps at the transfer station), we took in the Hilltown Open Studio Tour.

Worthington may be the coldest town in Massachusetts, but from what we experienced, it has a generous and welcoming heart.

We were treated to mile after mile of gorgeous foliage, brighter than we’ve seen around here. It was explained that this is due to the higher altitude of the Hill Towns which have lower winter temperatures and more snowfall than we do.

We saw examples of wood collage, coiled basketry, amulet jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, painting and watercolor.

On the way back home we stopped at Red Shirt Farm for produce.

The trip was made more complicated when map apps failed in both the Corolla and my iPhone. With no maps, I relied on what I remembered of route numbers. I kept us headed north by routing us so the sun was mostly on our left. It helped that I was familiar with towns we’ve driven through for Jett’s grooming.

When we got home I fed myself with whatever wasn’t nailed down, fed Jett and cooked two ears of corn in the microwave for Ron.

We really maximized our driving today: senior center for Covid shots and a wellness fair, library to drop off books, transfer station for paper recycling, art shop and pit stop at the Bennington library, deli in Pownal.

Made our way from Bennington to Pownal via South Stream Road. Gorgeous road, a couple of beautiful mountain and valley views. Well worth the unintended detour.

The deli, which is under new ownership, has glorious cookies from a bakery in New York. We’ll be back.

Overcast today.

Trying to estimate what our heating costs will be. I think we used 500 gallons of oil last winter. That’s substantially less than the average of 700-900 for a single family house in Massachusetts.

Disgusted with Spot pet insurance, I signed Jett up for our old homeowners insurance company Lemonade, which has great reviews. As soon as the waiting periods are over, I’ll cancel Spot. Premiums will be similar with lower ($250) deductible.

Asked our furnace company for the location of the filter and if it’s really where I’ve been told it is.

I need to get going with selling the Blue Hills Cemetery plot.

Ron brought the compost to the transfer station and washed the bucket.

I cooked the 6 onions that have been sitting in the sunroom over low heat while I made mac and cheese and greens for supper. Soup tomorrow.

Blood draw results. Several measurements are high, a couple are low. Should be an interesting conversation with the doc tomorrow.