Our local CSA takes all the leaves and manufactures compost in gigantic fields.   They use the compost in the growing fields and it’s a nice circular path for those leaves.  I rake them onto a tarp, pull the corners together and haul the lot to the compost in a 1959 Ford pickup.  That’s about all the driving that old…

“neighbors piling up 18 bags of leaves for the landfill.”

I hate these fucking things SO very much. The Devil’s lawn appliance. 

It’s possible to see leaves as biodegradable mulch which is good for your lawn and beds too. 

We’ve been training a crow in our backyard this summer. She definitely recognizes us and will “ask” for food. We’ve named her Monicaw

+1 on the steak

So I get invited to meetings sometime and the one lady at the table gets interrupted frequently (enough for me to notice). Is it too awkward from my position to interrupt the interrupter and say “What were you saying, Rhonda?”

She seems to roll with the punches, but it mildly pisses me off when it happens

That’s a good one, though I’d replace “sorry” with the word “please” and eliminate “before I forget.” You have nothing to apologize for, and I doubt you’ll forget -- saying so makes you sound like you can’t hold a thought. Who can argue with the word “please”?

What I actually do (not that it works every time, but almost) is continue speaking in a louder tone once I’ve been interrupted. If the other person still continues his/her speech even with this, then go up another level so that the other person understands you will continue speaking until you’re finished. Very few…

“Some of these ideas are a little half-baked, ...”