Falling out, falling in

We had our first frost this morning. The east wind, usually the scourge of most Columbia Gorge residents while it brings joy to kiteboarders and windsurfers, switched directions right before dawn. The thermometer plunged to 26, Mom said. I was up before 9 and it had warmed to 31.
The garden looked droopy. It means saying goodbye to the few remnants of bounty remaining. Still in my long flannel nightgown, I went out with a knife and bag and cut all the eggplant but one little straggler.
I sliced them into a glass casserole with a large can of chunky tomatoes plus some onion, garlic, fresh oregano, thyme, parsley and a little white wine, and baked them in the hot oven along with a chicken breast and dressing casserole for our Sunday dinner.
Mom stayed home from church today. She feels like she has the flu.
We drove into Vancouver yesterday and bought a circulating oil heater from Bi-Mart, on sale for $29.95. I had already given her mine to use in her bathroom for extra heat when she takes a shower.
I am not looking forward to this winter and the spiraling cost of electric heat. We set up the new heater in the living room next to her loveseat this morning, and she is cozily watching TV with the cat snuggling up to her and the heater.
I wanted to get her one of those snugglies, the fleece throws with sleeves to help her feel warmer, but that turned into a disaster. I found one in one of my catalogs, but the burgundy ones were on back order, and she didn't particularly want a sage one. I did a search and it popped up on one of those "as seen on TV" sites. I used my credit card (there was a choice of several colors and two for the price of one --- such a deal) and also ordered a spacesaver set of hangers for my cramped closet. Caveat emptor. Lo and behold, when the order had gone through and I tried to print out the final copy, the shipping was more than $30! I did a Google on the company and found a rattlesnake's den of complaints, with horror stories about orders not arriving, e-mails and phone calls ignored, items not ordered being billed to credit cards --- I immediately sent an e-mail trying to cancel the order, but the blogs I read said those were ignored. I got on the phone with my credit card company and tried to stop payment, and was told that it couldn't be done before it had posted, and once it posted, it would have to be a dispute. One online diatribe suggested the only solution is to cancel the card immediately, before the company could put it in for payment. That's what I did. With a second phone call (once again to an East Indian customer service rep), the deed was done. I cut up the card and will get a new number in the mail. This, too, shall pass. But it will be awhile before I order something online.
Some quiet Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the sky is graying, it's still kind of chilly, and I am worrying about getting the heater/defroster fan fixed on my truck before the weather gets worse.
There are still a few green tomatoes not ripe enough to tempt the deer, who wiped out nearly all my Cherokee Purples. I will leave the remaining paste tomatoes and grass-green heirlooms on the vine and hope a few get some color. It is supposed to start raining Tuesday.
I am bracing for the coming storms by taking more vitamin C and buying warm socks. New boots are next. And I feel like I may be getting Mom's flu. Gargle, gargle.