2006-11-08

The dampness of warm and rapidly drying leaves touched my nose as I got the paper before Morning Offering, but the day turned pretty by afternoon and we ended up with shirt-sleeve weather. After the Offering, Jim headed out to mow and I came upstairs to write the UPI article for the week.

It was a tough morning for me, spent mostly in the bathroom, but I did write the column somehow. It was a topic I had wanted to address – the breath, and how central that is to our spiritual nature – and I enjoyed telling the story about Jean-Claude and me last January in Palm Springs. When I sent the column off to Larry M, my UPI editor, I sent Jean-Claude a copy also. And, just before lunch, I discussed Christmas plans with Brother Tommy, who has started to look for a nearby B&B.

After lunch I dealt with the damage the morning had brought to our new bookkeeper, Pam M. Being quite unable to balance the accounts left in sad disrepair by Lynn, I had called in Pat S of our tax firm. He had spent the morning getting things shaped up. Unfortunately, his style of teaching Pam as he went was to rattle off directions while changing screens at the speed of light. It was completely useless – nay, otiose – as a teaching method and put poor Pam in a swivet. She did not know what he was doing. She was not capable of doing this job. Her confidence vanished like smoke before a storm.

I took a deep breath! Thanks for the catalyst, Pat. I told Pam she was just fine, which she most certainly is. After a few minutes of reasoning, she WAS just fine again and we were ready to tackle things together.

While Pam was at lunch I sat down with Pat and talked through her way of doing things. I felt sure it would work. She runs seven other small businesses’ books and has met all tax needs for them for the last six years. Pat said, well, yes, that would work. He was reluctant. He likes the more baroque ways which he taught our previous bookkeeper, to our woe. I said, Pat, if it will work, we’re changing over at the first of the year! He agreed.

When Pat left, Pam and I sat down and agreed that by January first, we would have a plan for changing the books so we could do things her way. So we are now on a positive track.

Of course, we did not manage to get every piece of paperwork on the desk done because of the majority of the day being spent by Pat hogging the books in order to balance them. However Pam and I sifted through all three accounts’ loads of paperwork, seeking out the bills to pay and getting them paid, so we can wait to record all the other transactions until next week.

By five o’clock, when Pam left, I was very weary and sore of body. I chose to take another week off from church, and stayed home from choir practice, accordingly. It was lovely to get all clean and then to rest for the evening. I did a lot of napping! After the Gaia Meditation, we came upstairs and ended the evening snuggling with the cats. We said good night around 11 PM.