I've been reorganizing my office today. It had become so congested with boxes of Historical Society stuff I couldn't get to my supply closet, and frankly, since Fred is sharing my computer, I was a little embarrassed that it was so cluttered. I actually knew where most things were so it didn't bother me to climb over boxes to get to what I needed, but when I began going through some of the boxes I discovered some items I'd completely forgotten. Now I'm much better organized - at least I have a path to the supply closet. There is one more step in this process, and that's disposing of some of the junk that I've been keeping over the years but never use. I must either toss it or put it someplace else for long-time storage and just keep what I'm using close at hand. My office space isn't big enough to accommodate all of my keepsakes (my term for what is junk to anybody else).

The problem is that I have always had hobbies, a variety of interests and projects. There's been writing, art, gardening, crafts, home decorating - all that sort of stuff and from time to time started files and collected books on whatever my current interest might be. Then I have all the family pictures, notes, postcards, and albums from Boltons, McAllans, Dimicks, Mays, Wrys, Browns, etc., etc., I'm sure some of you know how this sort of thing builds. Like the saying goes, though, as soon as I throw something out I'll need it, so the solution is keep it neat and handy.

I just had a phone call from Homer Fitts. I had missed talking with Homer every now and then, so it was really nice to chat for a few minutes. Bill Rossi had just sent Homer and Margaret a copy of Bill's book, "Around the Pond" (Homer was a big help to Bill in doing the book). Homer tried to contact Bill but wasn't able to reach him, so asked if I'd let Bill and Diane know how happy he was to have a copy. Homer said he's doing very well and is enjoying life. He and Margaret have been to Maine a couple times and he sure sounded as if married life agrees with him - a lot!

We had dinner at Bill and Diane's last night - delicious, as always, and enjoyed the evening a great deal. They were heading off today to help a friend drill a hole in a rock in order to mount a statue there. It sounded as if neighter Bill nor the friend knew a great deal about working with stone, so I asked Diane to be sure and take lots of pictures. I hope it goes well and perhaps I can post some photos for you in a day or so.

Fred is sticking to his wood pile these days. Lots of work, but there's a sense of security in having enough ahead for the winter. I saw in the newspaper recently that various groups of volunteers are working up wood and distributing it to the elderly and disabled in the area. That's really nice. Wood is quite expensive, but more than that, it's a lot of work, even if you can afford to have it delivered. It has to be cut to the right size to fit your wood stove, and piled under cover where it's convenient. Lots of people simply aren't able to do that for themselves.

Our day so far has been very dreary. Around noon there was just a glimpse of sun but I doubt it lasted more than a couple minutes. We've had only a little rain, just dense cloud cover. It is still fairly mild - 45 or so, but I think it's heading down. I haven't had much rain to report in the last couple of days, but the precipitation maps show there's been a little more in some surrounding spots. It was breezy earlier in the day, but now seems fairly quiet. Everything is soggy, though.

Bonnie Dannenberg just got in touch to let me know she'd just purchased for the historical society an 1856 bible that had belonged to an Emma Osgood of Cabot. I haven't been able to locate who Emma was, but the Osgood family was one of the first settlers and were lots of them over the years. I'll continue to search for Emma. She probably married and that accounts for my not finding her in any of our cemetery records. I'll be anxious to see the bible and search its pages for clues.