We have to have our roof re-shingled. Sixteen years ago Dear Husband and I went up the ladders after work and on weekends to shingle this roof. At that time, I emphatically announced that I would not be going up onto the roof again, when it was time to re-shingle.
This has been an exceptionally dry, and HOT, summer. We waited for cooler weather to arrive before we began soliciting bids. I found three places, and DH found two more. Only one of his choices came through with a bid, so we had four to choose from.

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Last night, I had the pleasure of going to a Christmas Faire preview with some of the women in my family. My oldest sister arranged the outing, and she invited a friend, two of her sisters, one of her daughters, a daughter-in-law and a soon to be daughter-in-law. SHe would have taken all the women of the family, but some were too far away to participate in this evening out.
The preview included a buffet dinner, and the the chance to roam the fair for the evening. Of course we shopped right up to the last moment (and a few beyond.)
It was on the way home that I had the biggest laugh of the night. Soon To Be Daugher In Law (STBDIL) was sitting in the back seat of the car, and she said she had been trying to catch up on her reading lately. She likes the Oprah magazine, and she was currently immersed in the May issue. (A girl after my own heart…..I have about four months of four or five magazines to catch up on.)
STBDIL said that she had just read that research says men’s way of thinking is closer to that of a chimpanzee than to that of a woman.
(laughing) What more is there to be said???

I’m glad to see that our scientists seem to be making inroads on the treatment of breast cancer. Our evening news was rife with stories about “Herceptin,” a new drug that is touted as cutting in half the chance that breast cancer will return. The studies will have to continue, because they’ve only followed women with cancer for three years. Breast cancer can return in up to 20 years. Still, this is a positive bit of news.
So much of our health care has been based on studies that used men, but not women, for research. It’s been within my lifetime that scientists have come to recognize that it’s not safe to generalize that treatment that works for a male body, will necessarily work for a female body.
Have the drug companies focused their research on men because men have had more discretionary income than women? Probably.
Have drug companies generalized drug use from studies that were male only. Yes.
Will we begin to see any change in that pattern, as it has become obvious that it’s not possible to generalize how a woman will respond to a drug that hasn’t been tested on women? I hope so. I’d hate to think that women might be blindly participating in field research for drug companies.
It’s possible that this is one area where insurance companies might actually be of help in managing women’s health. If enough women have to file claims against a drug company for selling drugs that are inappropriate, through insufficient research, perhaps the insurance companies will actually do a service.
Now that women are a larger part of the work force, I think it’s become profitable to see to their needs. After all, why would a smart business turn their back on a demographic that large?
I’m really glad to see that strides are being made in women’s health care. I hope Herceptin is the wonder drug they think it might be.

The farmer who has the fields closest to us has harvested his corn. We were afraid that his crop would be a total loss because of the drought. Geese in this area depend upon what he drops as he harvests to fatten up for the trip south, or for the winter here.
It seems there must have been more corn than we thought there would be. It’s fascinating to be driving through rolling fields which have been harvested and see what looks like a field of black stalks. Actually, that’s the necks of the geese we’re seeing. Parts of the fields are covered with our feathered friends. Every region has seasonal changes they watch for, and the geese gleaning the fields speak to Midwesterners of fall.