Readers Guide to . . .

Part of the great cleaning involved vacuuming the floors. To do that, I had to pick up the box (I don’t even know what came in it) that had been lying around the dining room for a week or so. Jimmy in particular is quite fond of this box, but sometimes Lucy tries it out, just to see what Jimmy sees in it. Sometimes he can chase her out. Sometimes he tries to climb in with her, but she bats at him until he desists, and then he sleeps outside the box, but with his back against it just to reassure himself that it’s still there.

Anyway, for a day or so the box was up on a chair. The cats knew something was missing, but couldn’t quite tell what it was. Last night, K put the box back on the floor. (This is in the middle of the dining room, by the way.) Within minutes Lucy was in it. Jimmy tried to climb in too, but she wouldn’t let him. This morning order is restored, and Jimmy is sleeping happily in his box.

As you can see, it’s just the right size for him.

Look!

Of course, the hard part is going to be hanging it from the ceiling. That requires the ability to find joists, etc. Carpentry of a higher order.

I thought having it out of its box and put together might provide incentive, though.

In an update to previous posts, the biographer of John Donne is John Stubbs. Really, I had no idea that John Donne and William Shakespeare were contemporaries. Hmm. I suppose I should have —

K and N and I and the BF went out for Indian food last night. We’re taking advantage of M’s absence to eat foods she doesn’t like (which is pretty much everything with a sauce, although she does like Italian food. Good thing.) Anyway, it was really fun — he is a very sweet kid. Also, I should note that he and N assembled the porch swing. We had ten minutes to wait for K to get home, and that’s about how long it took.

What did we do before someone thought to invent the tiny allen wrench?

N is upstairs right now signing up for classes. The freshman seminar she wanted was gone by 7:15 (signing up opened at 7:00), and for a time it looked like Calculus was gone, too, which put her in a quandary. I went back up a while ago and Calculus had opened up again. Good thing.

So that’s what’s going on around here.

I’m glad I got the bathrooms cleaned. Suddenly the rest of it seems quite manageable. That and having our bedroom clean. It seems twice as big. Now if only we had a mirror –

Now I have some stuff to do before I head off to work.

Bye, then.

I finished Bridge of Sighs, which I loved. I want to think about it — there’s a lot of doubles in it — two paintings of the Bridge of Sighs, Sarah loves 2 boys, boys who look like their fathers, boys who are named after their fathers, Robert has two girls, Robert’s father has two wives, 2 painters, 2 beatings by people who would rather not, probably —

Don’t know what to make of it, but it’s there.

I’m cleaning furiously (sort of). The spanish exchange student comes on Wednesday, and I’m taking the day off Tuesday for K’s birthday, and I’m leaving for Portland on Thursday … So anyway. I’ve cleaned the bathrooms, which is the big hurdle. I’ve sorted out most of my clothing, and my room is almost reasonable. I’ve vacuumed once, but now need to again, and get M’s room ready for Ana. Also dusting …

There is a limit, though, and it’s such a beautiful day. I’ve spent a lot of time out in the garden, too. It’s looking better and better. There are a few more structural things I need to do. I think this will always be the case. But it’s looking better.

K is at work, invoicing, but was home all morning, and did watch tennis. N went out with her buddies for Thai food — there’s a local temple which serves sort of a brunch every Sunday. The BF came by to pick up his bike. He’s very sweet.

So I’m home alone. I’m covered in sap, but can’t take a shower until the bathroom floor dries.

That’s what’s going on around here.

But also, I got the most beautiful flowers at the farmers market yesterday. A bouquet of cosmos, chamomile and butterfly bush, and then another that’s a bunch of different hydrangeas, to which I added a few stems from our hydrangea. It’s so beautiful. My mission now — to have a ton of different hydrangeas so I can make such a bouquet from our yard. Good idea, no?

And no I’m reading a biography of John Donne. It’s really interesting. I read him in 12th grade, and it was the first poetry I ever really liked. It’s also interesting since he lived so long ago (15xx) that it’s actually difficult to piece together his life. Interesting to read a biography that’s almost as much detective work as anything else.

I am sorry that I dont’ remember the author’s name, but the interesting thing is that he looks a lot like John Donne.

Ha!
Alright.

If I had a car, I would go buy new shower curtains, or go for a swim, or go buy a new hydrangea. But since I have none, I will have to stay put.

Very sad.

Bye.

So.

N is off with the B’s — they went to the county fair, and then with G to eat and, I presume, watch the fireworks.

It’s really been the oddest day. I did finally vacuum, which was heroic, but I just can’t seem to face the deep cleaning that I really do want to do. Like, you know, take the turtlenecks up to the attic so the t-shirts will have room in the drawer. That kind of thing. Throw away the things that are worn-out, etc.

Actually, I just started. I shifted the winter things to the back of the closet, and now I’m trying on skirts.

Then I got distracted by thinking about my week off — the week between when we drop N off for one orientation and when I have to come back and say goodbye one more time at the second orientation.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense, I know. It would be great if K and M would stick around, but for various reasons they can’t. So I’m on my own. I think I may head north to Quebec and then drive in a big circle — heading east to the Gaspe peninsula and then south. I really do want to see the bay of Fundy.

It actually would be a lot more fun if M and K would come with me.

The truth of the matter is that no matter what I do I’m actually a summer person. I’m the sort of person who goes somewhere for the summer. When I was little, I went to my grandmother’s lake cottage in Minnesota, and now I go to mom’s house on the South Coast of Massachusetts. I just really cannot bear to be where I am for the rest of the year, going to work every day. I try to fool myself — “oh, a summer in B will be fun,” but it never is. I just want to go somewhere where you can wear shorts every day and each day is defined only by the fun thing you do and what the weather is like. I think I need water, too — and some kind of boat.

It’s not such a bad disability. I just need to have a job that shuts down for the summer.

The fact that I’m not going away until the middle of next month is killing me.

Oh well.

I’m trying to psych myself up, here.

I’m home, N slept over at E’s, K’s at work — what I have here is the perfect opportunity to get the house clean …

I’m just not feeling it, though.

I think I’m feeling that I’d rather do something else.

Anything, pretty much.

huh.

Well — I’ll keep you posted.

I’m reading Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. I like it.

When I left for work yesterday, K was in the kitchen, home for lunch, blasting music. N had collected two books and was headed out to the hammock to read.

I returned to find N and E in the kitchen. Every pan was either in use or in the sink (or on the counter). I was immediately recruited to make the pastry cream.

It must be summer.

I think I left you with a rather mysterious post.

It was describing Ironman, but it sort of described how we feel about action movies anyway. For us, it’s the downtime that matters. We don’ really care all that much about the action.

Anyway.

It’s still summer, and we still haven’t figured out how to cope with it, except I’ve decided to take mornings off. For this week and next, anyway. Then M comes home, and all bets are off again.

Also, next week, we’re taking in a Spanish exchange student, which should be fun. We’ve ben preparing by watching Spanish movies.

Also, maybe we should go up to Maine a bit early and take a kayak trip.

Okay. Now I have to do some stuff.

xxx

I found the post below in my draft folder. I’m not quite sure where I was going with it, but …

N and I had a funny conversation last night, which I’m not going to be able to remember. I came in and she was watching Pulp Fiction on tv. I sat down, and we had a conversation. I asked her what the name of a movie was (I was describing Grindhouse) and she quoted something about how someone liked the — something, downstory? backstory? of some movie — possibly Grindhouse.

Actually, it was a review of Ironman of the sfgate site, which said:

Because of Downey, the downtime is even more enjoyable than the action — his constant stream of one-liners, which seem like ad libs, are a highlight.

For some reason, we both thought it was funny, but also very apt, or useful, anyway.

Now I have to go –

and N is out at the boy friend’s. K has gone to bed, and I’m actually a little lonely.

I should go up and go to bed. N will be home soon enough. She works early-ish tomorrow.

We’re in a strange waiting mode around here. M is off having a great time. Then she’ll come back and we’ll have another month before we go east. She’ working as a camp counselor, and then taking a riding camp, but I think it’s going to be a let down to be hanging around here. I’m almost thinking of sending them east a week early. They could hang out with my mom — I think it would be fun.

Then we have college hanging over our heads. N is diligently plowing through all the stuff she has to get done. I think she’s in a state of waiting to leave, trying to enjoy her last months here, trying to get bored enough to face a change, trying to not be bored — confusion. We do have to get her room cleaned up so that it will be possible to pack.

Although, there is mail service, and she will be home at Thanksgiving.

It always just takes a while, though, to get used to summer and to find a rhythm.

In walking around the neighborhood, lately, I keep running in to parents and their children — little children, and it makes me sad, now that my kids are going away, that I didn’t stay home with them when they were little, and that I’m not around more with N now. I am well aware that if I had stayed home, I might very well regret that, too, but — there it is.

Okay. Off to bed.

Still having that feeling. It’s early — I’m going to slip out and go to the pool, go to work for a bit and then slip home.

I think I especially feel like this is the last summer before N goes away, and I really want to spend it hanging out with her.

And cleaning my closet.

Sigh.

I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got …

Sigh again.

Also, I really miss M. I think she’s having a good time though, which is great –