by the light of the harvest moon

I was blogging my recipe for pumpkin coffee cake last night. While listing the ingredients I came to pumpkin. How much pumpkin did I use? I used approximately half a can. But how many ounces were in that can? Well, it was garbage night and that can was out in the recycle bin alongside the street. I dashed down the stairs past B working at the kitchen table and out the door to retrieve that can. I didn't even tell him where I was going and I didn't return until at least twenty minutes had passed by.

As I reached the end of my driveway, my path crossed with a lady walking her two Springer Spaniels. They looked exactly alike except one was half the size of the other. I stopped to pet them and inquire about them. She told me that they were from the same litter but the girl, Eleanor, stopped growing at six months while the boy, Rigby, kept on going. I told her that she looked familiar and she said we were in Girl Scouts together. I told her that couldn't be it because I only had a boy. I asked her name. She told me it is Julia. She remembered that I had an exotic name like Helena. I laughed and told her it was Ramona. We figured out that we were in PTA together when our kids were in grade school. I told her why I had come outside. She told me that she loved to cook and was a retired nurse who now worked in the prepared foods section at Wegmans. I told her that I dreamed about working at Wegmans. She told me it wasn't all that great. You work hard and it is intense. I told her my sisters were nurses. We talked about how we still live in the same houses. She lives on the street behind me. I told her that we have talked about moving to Arizona. She told me that she and her husband bought a house in Green Valley AZ a couple years ago. I told her I had nieces in Tucson and a sister in Scottsdale. She told me that her husband left her last year after 32 years of marriage so she doesn't have the house in Green Valley anymore. He has it. She lives alone. Her daughter moved to Ireland and her son lives near Hertel Avenue. I told her my son lives in Rochester and teaches at Rush-Henrietta. She told me that is a good school district. She told me that she is from Rochester. I told her that my best friend moved away to Rochester and that we should get together sometime and do something fun. She told me that she would love to because her husband had never liked having fun.

Then my neighbor, Karen, crossed the street and came over. She petted the dogs and we talked some more and looked at the harvest moon. Then Karen's husband, Bob, came out to find Karen and he came over and we talked and looked at the moon.

It was nice and friendly and a warm fuzzy feeling under the orange glow of the harvest moon.