The Big Chill ~

An overused but apt title this time of year as the first real cold snap settles into Tidewater. This second blast of cold air came in late Sunday and as I left for DC on a sunny Monday morning, I decided my sport coat was all I needed for warmth. When I got out at the Costco in Fred'burg for gas ($1.68! Woo hoo!) I realized I had miscalculated just a tad; the sun was gone, the wind was blowing, and temps were in the 30's. Yowzers! Global warming alert! Just Saturday we had 80F here.
As I rolled northward I got a call from the LPBA Executive Director, asking me to confirm that I was planning to attend the meeting in person. Yes, I said, I'm on the interstate now. Are you close? she asked, which I thought was odd, since the "where-does-LPBA-go-from-here" session wasn't scheduled to begin until 1pm and it was only 10am. Not especially, I said, why? Whereupon she reminded me there was also an Exec Committee meeting in the morning which I had completely spaced. D'oh!
The afternoon meeting went okay. Like many charitable/professional organizations, LPBA is struggling with declining membership, especially this year. So everyone thrashed around with What Must Be Done. Fortunately we have a rainy-day fund that can keep us afloat for several years even if the sky falls in. We're hoping many of our members who haven't renewed were flummoxed by this year's electronic-only notices, so we're reverting to snailmail and hitting 'em again.
It was interesting to hear from a couple of respected economists on the news who have written for Time that they expect a recovery beginning late Winter. Sounds reasonable to me, though I'll sure miss the cheap gas. I filled the tank on the van yesterday for $35; last time I did it, before the cruise, I groused to M that it had cost $77. I find it interesting how little news attention this gets; remember all the stories of anguish and heartache as prices went thru the roof? Where are the ones now of people turning handsprings and ordering rounds of pizza and breadsticks for the fam with the money they're saving?
We had a great chat with The RewCor the other night, out in heat-soaked LA where it's been topping 90F for several days nows. Her new job is going great and the company prides itself on treating its employees well, so it looks like a good fit. Now that she's driving to work, Rew is learning pleasures of Pubick Transportation. You can get the very amusing details at RewAllen.com.
We had a trio rehearsal Sunday afternoon and sales for our concert this Saturday night are reportedly going well. Nice to hear since we get half the "gate." Dwight & Robin are coming down and it will be good to spend some time with them.
Today M and I each had meetings all afternoon today, M with the Gourmet Group and me at the Club. Then she had a professional association meeting this evening while I attended the annual meeting of our GovLand homeowners association which somehow is utterly bereft of the llamadrama that goes with the Club.
It's 33F outside with window-rattling winds. I saw a few flakes today and there's on-shore snow squalls over in Norfolk right now, coming in off the warm waters of the Bay.
Kinda cozy. Time for bed.