​A funny thing happened this afternoon. I was pouring warm diet soda into my mug. As expected, it began to bubble to the top. I have always been fascinated by that. I encouraged my daughter to do a science experiment on it in middle school to determine what causes the bubbles to overflow when pouring and how it can be avoided. Needless to say, I was considerably more interested in the topic than she was, but, back to my mug. Today when I filled it, it didn't overflow. I stopped pouring at the right time. Now this may not seem significant to you, but if you have spent any time around me, you will know that I am always either rushing to fill it (and since I am impatient, it overflows) or I am playing scientist and trying to continue pouring as the bubbles pop and time the flow of pouring it so it doesn't overflow. This requires focus and patience, (which I lack) so I usually end up making it overflow anyways. Today, I opened a brand new bottle, full of carbonation and poured the bubbles right to the top, then stopped and waited for them to go down to finish filling it. No mess. Not even a little volcano. I actually laughed and said aloud to myself, Wow. No spill. That is significant. I must have learned patience. It may sound funny, but the reality is that I was aware that something really had changed.

Last week was a week of ups and downs. The realities of listing the house left me with a "Cranky Wednesday" (see previous post). Just when I thought I was feeling better and was looking forward to settling in for a pleasant evening, life had other plans. A loud roar and crackle alerted me quickly that something was wrong. It seems that the weeks of using up the last of the wood that had succumbed to the weather, was just enough to coat the narrow liner of my chimney with creosote (despite my using the powder that was suppose to deter it) resulting in a chimney fire. ​