It is Sunday, September 6 and there are only 110 days until Christmas.  No seasonal music allowed yet, but every once in a while I sneak some in.  Today we remember the birthdays of the Marquis de Lafayette, Joseph P. Kennedy and Bryan D. O’Connor.  On this day in 1620 the Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England to the new world, in 1853 the Women’s Rights Convention was held in New York City and in 1978 Begin and Sadat met at Camp David to discuss peace.  In Pakistan it is Defense Day, in Swaziland it is Somhlolo Day and tomorrow is Labor Day in the US.

I’ll bet that some of you were going through your useless information file and realized that you were a little lean on Labor Day information.  I don’t want to overload you, but I do feel like I should share some information like I do with other holidays.  So here you go –

Labor Day constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.  The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886.  In 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday.  There is so much more I could tell you, but, like I said, I don’t want to overload you.  If you feel you need more, feel free to google it.

Well, the movers came this past week, loaded all our stuff and brought it to the new house.  We are now in the process of putting it all away.  We are trying to figure out how we want to lay the kitchen out.  We have a lot more cabinet space than we had and the kitchen is configured differently than in our old place.  So now we have a two-fold problem.  First we have to figure out what will go where in the cabinets and then we have to remember where we put everything when we go to use it.  I am sure that during the first few months, the kitchen will ring with the phrase, “Where the hell did we put (pick a pot, appliance or utensil)?”

One of the biggest issues we are dealing with is where to put a lot of stuff.  In our old house we had a basement.  When we could not come up with a place to put something, it was consigned to the basement.  We do not have a basement now, so we have to find alternative storage.  My son and daughter-in-law are only going to accept a minimal amount of our castoffs before they say no more.  When we were first packing, we decided that if something had not been touched for two or more years or it had a ¼ inch of dust, we did not need it.  The problem now is that we still have more than we need.

We briefly considered using the garage as a hiding place for the excess.  We realized that was not an option when it was explained that the only way our driveway could be cleared when it snowed was if our cars were out of the way – in the garage.  We are trying to work through the problem, but there is room for only so many shelves in there.

We have met a number of our neighbors and they all seem very nice.  Unfortunately, we do not remember most of their names.  They would come by while we were unloading our cars, introduce themselves, chat briefly, welcoming us to the neighborhood and the community and then go on their way.  The lovely Elaine and I would carry our boxes inside and then ask, “What were their names again?”  Generally, we would recall one name but not the other.  We have started doing what many people do in this type of situation.  We wave, say hello, chat and do it all without having to use their name.  I would bet that they are fine with that because they probably do not remember both of our names.

We are still learning our way around the area and finding the important locations like the supermarket, drug store, pizza place, Mexican restaurant and liquor store.  We have found most of what we need.  I have found a Dunkin’ and a Starbucks, so I am good.  As time goes by I am sure we will locate other interesting stores and restaurants.  The exploring will give me something to do so that I don’t have to get involved in the kitchen organizing.

I have been working to get my weight down.  As a diabetic, I know that part of the problem is caused by weight.  With that in mind I have been walking and trying to watch what I eat. Not watch it as it goes from the plate to my mouth, but watch it as in being aware of what I consume.  I recently did a questionnaire to determine my body mass and correct weight.  Based on my age and height, the result told me what my weight and body mass should be.  According to the results I need to lose at least 40 pounds.  If I do that my concern will not be for body mass but for a funeral mass.  I would like to see the size of the people who conceived this chart.  I would be willing to bet that they do not conform to the body mass index they are pushing, either.

This week our fact tells us that over 10,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows.  If this tidbit ever becomes public knowledge, animal rights activists will want to start requiring window manufacturers to put some kind of decal on windows to prevent birds from smashing into them.  Others will claim that it is not our place to mess with the natural order of things.  Imagine how many more birds would be around if they weren’t flying into windows.  We would be overrun!  My advice is to just not walk too close to the buildings with lots of windows and if you must, wear a hat.