For the best part of four decades, my life has been spent in an oversize room. Yes, our house has walls (and doors), but the living space is contiguous (think about the 48 states, without borders, if it helps). Hadn’t really considered anything else, as our house (two of them, now) were built using an open area theme.
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I received the emergency call late in the evening. From the next room: “the television isn’t working”. We don’t have much else in the way of standard entertainment, so I took this as a serious thing. Checked the usual details, and went so far as to learn the sequence for a factory reset. Nothing. Our world had gone to black.
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Those pesky rules of the road: this afternoon, on my way in to get a few groceries, I spotted a two vehicle “meeting of the minds”, replete with an authoritarian light show. The police are rarely seen around here; in five years, this is the first time I’ve come upon such an arresting scene. What could it have been? Excessive speed? Incorrect passing technique? Failure to yield to whatever? Now, I want to know.
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Someone mentioned that today is Friday, or “just like any other day” for me. It’s hard to get excited about the mundane. After all, my highlight of the afternoon was my trip to fetch the mail, where I didn’t bring the right key. Home again, I made the decision to let all (any?) envelopes remain behind the locked box door. Nothing that urgent comes by surface mail, any more. On the other hand, we did receive an order of shelving, in 2.5 meter sections, via Canada Post, which has me baffled a full day later.
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I love my BBQ. Compared to all the other BBQs I’ve ever known, this one is the best. No hot spots, but lots of heat. A grill that even I can keep clean, now that we’ve abolished the wire brush and opted for a wooden shovel (that’s the shape, not the purpose). A scale that warns me of imminent fuel shortage. Large enough that I can cook what is required in one go; we even managed leftovers. A marvel of technology, and at a price that was barely more than all the failures I’ve dragged home from the discount hardware stores. Oh, you want the brand? Weber. Not a secret.
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While others checked out the beach, or the city, I stayed at home. Hanging out with my mother; what might have seemed commonplace to me, a half-century ago, is now a special moment. Given the passage of time, and the distance involved, we may never pass this way again.
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Reminds me of some Latin I learned, eons ago, “Veni , vidi, vici”… today our tinies left, having come, seen and conquered our hearts. Yes, the little ones were fun to have around. Could be years before they return (isn’t that how comets work?)
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What I won’t do, or eat personally, I will prepare for others. Tonight, four market size lobsters were reduced to a couple of bowls of cooked flesh and a bag of keratin. That went straight to compost. May the smell soon follow. I also provided some melted butter and a table where the willing could take their place in the food chain. May they have restful nights.
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Sleeping in the RV means that the early morning light serves as a wake up. The sound of a car coming in the lane? Not so much. When I wandered in the direction of the house, finding visitors at the main door was a surprise. Good thing I had dressed appropriately, avoiding embarrassing consequences.
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RDay one of the “real” summer: the tinies are in the house. I have to remember how quickly one can get tangled between my knees, if I don’t check my path in all directions. Yes, they move quickly, and I am invisible. By the time we develop a truce, they’ll be gone.
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