In the case of ye olde
kitteh, Cooder, absence does make the cat heart grow fonder. In the week that I
have been back, she has spent a good deal more time hanging out on the bed with
me, sitting on my lap for extended petting and shedding, and generally being
friendlier. She must feel pretty well, if she can do this in this crushing
heat. She even has a good appetite, if mainly for ... not Greenies anymore, kids ... kitty crack or Temptations. I do need to get her to the vet, however, to get her nails clipped, some hydration equipment, and a B12 shot. But it is a comfort to me that she is hanging in so well at 17.5 years.
Gosh, there's so much to catch up on, it is difficult to know where to start.
Okay, here's some here and now. Stupid-hurt-me-now-disorienting heat, but the only air conditioner is in my current bedroom, so that's a plus. It's hot enough that it is tempting to run it now, at 9:00 pm. On the positive side of the street, the city pool is open for lap swimming in the evening. It is only a 3 minute drive ... too hot to walk or bike ... as opposed to going to Whittier to the YMCA. Also, no Jesus propaganda! And the pool is outdoors, which is as it should be, and pleasant. Mom sprang for a new swimsuit, flippers, and hand paddles, which are all fun for me. The flippers make the 1/2 mile swim go SO MUCH FASTER. Unfortunately, this pool only offers lap swimming hours through August, but I am going to take advantage whilst I can.
Gardening is lovely, although somewhat overwhelming, given that I was overly ambitious to begin with. My tomatoes are producing beautiful fruit, but they were not spaced and caged properly, me never having done this before, so now I am trying to stake them. And it is hot hot hot in the backyard. I need to get some shading materials for my lettuces as we are at the beginning of a heat wave and they are getting hammered. Always something to do ...
Still unpacking and sorting, although it is too hot to be active in any way, including making decisions. I do need to keep working, though, as there is too much chaos in the house with my belongings strewn about. I do like some order but creating it is not always the MOST FUN.
It's 73 degrees at 10:15 and it feels much hotter. The alarm for the FIOS back-up keeps going off, reminding me I need to get a new battery. See? Something else.
Well now, another two weeks have passed, and I cannot say the world, my world looks any cheerier. Despondency is doing better than my tomatoes which were sloppily planted and not doing as well as I would like. I cannot tell if I am going to lose a few of them, although I have been trying to clip off the dead stuff, mulch, and fertilize. My mother cannot quite believe how much work there is to do in the garden. As with so many other things, the tasks seems never ending.
This is so out of date, but I'm going to go with it.
I went to a work reunion party this past weekend and had a number of interesting conversations about the states of our lives. Many people are not where they thought, hoped, or worked to be at this point. I came across this poem and, in a moment of uncharacteristic optimism or good will ...
THE GOOD LIFE
You stand at the window.
There is a glass cloud in the shape of a heart.
The wind's sighs are like caves in your speech.
You are the ghost in the trees outside.
The street is quiet.
The weather, like tomorrow, like your life,
is partially here, partially up in the air.
There is nothing you can do.
The good life gives no warning.
It weathers the climate of despair
and appears, on foot, unrecognized, offering nothing,
and you are there.
— Mark Strand, Selected Poems, Knopf, 1990
Gosh, there's so much to catch up on, it is difficult to know where to start.
Okay, here's some here and now. Stupid-hurt-me-now-disorienting heat, but the only air conditioner is in my current bedroom, so that's a plus. It's hot enough that it is tempting to run it now, at 9:00 pm. On the positive side of the street, the city pool is open for lap swimming in the evening. It is only a 3 minute drive ... too hot to walk or bike ... as opposed to going to Whittier to the YMCA. Also, no Jesus propaganda! And the pool is outdoors, which is as it should be, and pleasant. Mom sprang for a new swimsuit, flippers, and hand paddles, which are all fun for me. The flippers make the 1/2 mile swim go SO MUCH FASTER. Unfortunately, this pool only offers lap swimming hours through August, but I am going to take advantage whilst I can.
Gardening is lovely, although somewhat overwhelming, given that I was overly ambitious to begin with. My tomatoes are producing beautiful fruit, but they were not spaced and caged properly, me never having done this before, so now I am trying to stake them. And it is hot hot hot in the backyard. I need to get some shading materials for my lettuces as we are at the beginning of a heat wave and they are getting hammered. Always something to do ...
Still unpacking and sorting, although it is too hot to be active in any way, including making decisions. I do need to keep working, though, as there is too much chaos in the house with my belongings strewn about. I do like some order but creating it is not always the MOST FUN.
It's 73 degrees at 10:15 and it feels much hotter. The alarm for the FIOS back-up keeps going off, reminding me I need to get a new battery. See? Something else.
Well now, another two weeks have passed, and I cannot say the world, my world looks any cheerier. Despondency is doing better than my tomatoes which were sloppily planted and not doing as well as I would like. I cannot tell if I am going to lose a few of them, although I have been trying to clip off the dead stuff, mulch, and fertilize. My mother cannot quite believe how much work there is to do in the garden. As with so many other things, the tasks seems never ending.
This is so out of date, but I'm going to go with it.
I went to a work reunion party this past weekend and had a number of interesting conversations about the states of our lives. Many people are not where they thought, hoped, or worked to be at this point. I came across this poem and, in a moment of uncharacteristic optimism or good will ...
THE GOOD LIFE
You stand at the window.
There is a glass cloud in the shape of a heart.
The wind's sighs are like caves in your speech.
You are the ghost in the trees outside.
The street is quiet.
The weather, like tomorrow, like your life,
is partially here, partially up in the air.
There is nothing you can do.
The good life gives no warning.
It weathers the climate of despair
and appears, on foot, unrecognized, offering nothing,
and you are there.
— Mark Strand, Selected Poems, Knopf, 1990
One year in SF I had to cut my tomato plants whole and hang them upside down. It worked.
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