I am back to making To-Do Lists. The cookbook and curriculum consume most of my time. However, my disheveled house and yard cry for attention. How to prioritize?

I should pull the weeds, but later today during a writing break, I am going to set up all the bird feeders and fill them to the top. Lots of birds should be coming by during the fall migration.

After that, I should pull the weeds, but I have a quick-fix plan. I will head out near dusk with scissors and cut off the seed heads. That is the troublesome part and if I don’t apply an emergency measure, by the time I get to a complete weeding, those seeds will be dispersed.

I am excited beyond belief about the Heritage Cookbook, a collection of recipes by local German settlers and their descendants .I had a steep learning curve using the Adobe software InDesign on my trusty little pink laptop. I have used InDesign before, but not for a project of this magnitude.

Last night at bedtime, I kept to my plan to sit outside more. I sat on the front porch (cement stoop) and watched the night sky for a while. Thin clouds floated by and a few cats cried out. A feral cat lives in my garage; he and Tango have verbal fights on occasion. Otherwise, the night was still.

I like the rhythm of being at home and working, but still on sabbatical.