Cold is coming.

It's going to be cold tomorrow. Midwest cold. Yesterday it was 90. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 50. "Sounds like Midwest weather to me," said my neighbor as he ripped out tomato plants. Then I confessed to taking some of his Garden Peach tomatoes--only the ones that had grown on my side of the fence, and he said early in the year I could have any I wanted--and went inside, my neighborly duties fulfilled for another day. I like the neighbors, but I have little social grace. I'm working on developing a good professional telephone personality, though.

We're supposed to go to Cedar Point this Saturday. It's pretty much our last chance, so cold won't stop us. (Besides, Shel and I got very warm matching jackets when we went to Costco.) Rain will, so I'm hoping it all comes early. I'll gladly use the umbrella and the coat now for some screams and french fries later.

The housewife thing is getting to me a bit. I'm trying to stick to the not-complaining thing...I had to resort to calling Bev last night, though. Only two months left. I tend not to wish my life away, but I'll be very glad when it's December.

Another point in favor of the West Coast.

Have I mentioned that possibly the greatest point of contention between Eric and me is where we're going to live? I've promised him Toledo until he graduates, and he's promised me the West Coast for a few years, but after that we'll have to decide based on who hates the other's homeland least, where the jobs are, where the good school systems are, etc. Frankly I'm counting on his dislike for change to work in my favor, once we've lived in a house in Portland (or wherever) for a few years. Today we were in Ann Arbor, celebrating our eight-year anniversary of knowing each other (and one-year of being engaged) by going to the same cafe where we first talked, plus out to eat and also to Trader Joe's, because Toledo has no Trader Joe's. We've pretty much settled it that if we do move back here, we're going to move to Ann Arbor rather than Toledo. I like it better, and the job market would be friendlier for both of us, and apparently the schools are better, too.

We were in Trader Joe's (yay Trader Joe's! Except: boo Trader Joe's not having Granny Smith apple rings or eggplant cutlets or frozen peaches!) browsing the cheese aisle when someone who knew Eric walked by. He started talking to us, asking how he was, and were we stocking up for the snowstorm?

"It's supposed to snow?" we said. He said yeah, that's probably why the store was so full (and it was packed). When we got home we checked the news and yes, we're supposed to get ice accumulation of a quarter-inch tomorrow. That's ice. It may prevent me from going to work Monday, and I'm already having problems with the Valentine's Day snow day because my boss said to put it in as vacation, but the HR people said no because I'm not allowed to take vacation until I've been there six months (great place to work, stupid benefits policies), so I'm supposed to resubmit it as a floating holiday but now the pay period's passed so I don't know what's going to happen. Stupid Midwest winters.