Daily Life
"It's much more important to write than be written about."
--Gabriel Garcia Marquez
But what if you write about yourself?
Denny left this morning about two for the drive to Anchorage. At least he doesn't have to make the commute every week, like he used to do. On his present schedule, he makes the 480-mile round-trip just once a month.
I went outside yesterday afternoon to help him load the Dodge and pack for the week in Anchorage. It was hot and dusty, and we finally sat on the tailgate of his S10 where there was still a slice of shade from the building, drinking beer and trying to decide what to do about dinner. The choice finally came down to buying a pizza at Starvin' Marvin's or getting an uncooked one at Eagle (our Safeway outlet) and baking it at home.
While we were leisurely considering the options, I heard birdsong and looked up to see a swallow swooping around the front of the shop. We have had a pair nesting in the birdhouse on the front of the shop nearly every year since I put it up--and that has to be nearly ten years ago. I tell myself every fall that I am going to climb up and clean the nestbox out, but never have gotten around to it. Looks like I am too late this year.
Our swallows return each May about the 21st and stay until about July 20th. (I remember because my brother's birthday is the 21st and Denny's is July 20th.) So I guess they are a bit early. It's nice to have them back. The swallows are the last to return-the woods have been alive the last few weeks with birdsong. I lay awake yesterday morning listening to a veritable symphony outside the windows while waiting for the alarm to go off.
Didn't need the alarm this morning, as Denny called on his cell phone about four-thirty. I had been hoping to sleep until five, then jump out of bed and into my clothes in order to be at work about five-forty. But Denny wanted to check in--he was just getting back in cell-phone range after going through Turnagain Pass. He felt bad about leaving without kissing me good-bye. I had fallen back to sleep before he left and he didn't want to wake me. He is so sweet and thoughtful, I guess I shouldn't complain about being woke up by his phone call. Just wish he'd been here to wake me up in person.
I am glad it is my "Friday". Obviously, I am ready for a break. When I glanced at my watch on my way out of the door this morning, I was stunned to see it was twelve-o-clock. Then I realized I had my watch on upside down...
I stopped by The Wagon Wheel on my way home after work to see if they had any starter plants available yet. The greenhouses were open and some of the pansies and violas were already outside hardening off.
Restraint comes hard for me at the nurseries. After a long winter, I am so dazzled by the prospect of green and growing things that I tend to go a bit wild, but I limited myself to one flat of starters-mostly violas. I just love violas. They are so hardy in this climate-- blooming all summer and well into the fall. I will even have a few flowers in November, after several hard freezes. I chose six-packs in the purple and violet palette, though I did get one six-pack of yellow because they looked so cheery. Perhaps I'll pair those with marigolds in the hollow-log planters.
Let's see-also picked up a couple of lavender shrublets and some sweet peas. I have fond memories of sweet peas from the days of my youth in Washington, though they just don't do as well here. Maybe down in town and along the bench, but up here at the thousand-foot level, we get just enough more winter that it takes until August for them to bloom. But I will give them a shot any way. They have such a lovely fragrance.
Came home, settled the plants in the shade by the cat-run, came in and cleaned litter boxes, then crawled into bed for a nap. I find our long summer days are easier to keep up with if I lie down during the heat of the day for a snooze, especially after an early morning shift. The kitties are always game for a nap, so they find this custom charming, of course. I had gotten several VHS tapes in the past week or so to add to the D'Onofrio Collection, so I watched "The Winner" until I fell asleep, surrounded by cats.
This evening, I did my part to try to break the stretch of sunny days by washing my truck. We got a pressure washer last year and if I run the hose into the shop, I can hook up to the hot water faucet by the laundry room. This is the first time I have used the pressure washer to do a vehicle, and I was pretty please with how fast it went, especially with the chrome wheels, which are a pain to scrub and polish. I waited until about nine p.m. to go outside--waiting for the heat to lessen as I don't tolerate either sun or heat very well.
One minor set-back. My walkman slipped off the waistband of my sweats and landed right in the bucket of suds. The timing took me aback, as I was just walking past the bucket, not actually leaning over it at the time. What's a real pisser is that this is the second tape player I have dunked in the last two months--I had one slip off and fall in the wash water on one of my volunteer days at the Shelter.
So far, though, only the batteries have been a total loss. Once the tape player dries out, it seems to work fine. The challenge is diving in to rescue the cassette tape before it becomes a lost cause. This one looked like it had absorbed a bit of water, so I left it on the counter next to the tape player to dry out.
--Gabriel Garcia Marquez
But what if you write about yourself?
Denny left this morning about two for the drive to Anchorage. At least he doesn't have to make the commute every week, like he used to do. On his present schedule, he makes the 480-mile round-trip just once a month.
I went outside yesterday afternoon to help him load the Dodge and pack for the week in Anchorage. It was hot and dusty, and we finally sat on the tailgate of his S10 where there was still a slice of shade from the building, drinking beer and trying to decide what to do about dinner. The choice finally came down to buying a pizza at Starvin' Marvin's or getting an uncooked one at Eagle (our Safeway outlet) and baking it at home.
While we were leisurely considering the options, I heard birdsong and looked up to see a swallow swooping around the front of the shop. We have had a pair nesting in the birdhouse on the front of the shop nearly every year since I put it up--and that has to be nearly ten years ago. I tell myself every fall that I am going to climb up and clean the nestbox out, but never have gotten around to it. Looks like I am too late this year.
Our swallows return each May about the 21st and stay until about July 20th. (I remember because my brother's birthday is the 21st and Denny's is July 20th.) So I guess they are a bit early. It's nice to have them back. The swallows are the last to return-the woods have been alive the last few weeks with birdsong. I lay awake yesterday morning listening to a veritable symphony outside the windows while waiting for the alarm to go off.
Didn't need the alarm this morning, as Denny called on his cell phone about four-thirty. I had been hoping to sleep until five, then jump out of bed and into my clothes in order to be at work about five-forty. But Denny wanted to check in--he was just getting back in cell-phone range after going through Turnagain Pass. He felt bad about leaving without kissing me good-bye. I had fallen back to sleep before he left and he didn't want to wake me. He is so sweet and thoughtful, I guess I shouldn't complain about being woke up by his phone call. Just wish he'd been here to wake me up in person.
I am glad it is my "Friday". Obviously, I am ready for a break. When I glanced at my watch on my way out of the door this morning, I was stunned to see it was twelve-o-clock. Then I realized I had my watch on upside down...
I stopped by The Wagon Wheel on my way home after work to see if they had any starter plants available yet. The greenhouses were open and some of the pansies and violas were already outside hardening off.
Restraint comes hard for me at the nurseries. After a long winter, I am so dazzled by the prospect of green and growing things that I tend to go a bit wild, but I limited myself to one flat of starters-mostly violas. I just love violas. They are so hardy in this climate-- blooming all summer and well into the fall. I will even have a few flowers in November, after several hard freezes. I chose six-packs in the purple and violet palette, though I did get one six-pack of yellow because they looked so cheery. Perhaps I'll pair those with marigolds in the hollow-log planters.
Let's see-also picked up a couple of lavender shrublets and some sweet peas. I have fond memories of sweet peas from the days of my youth in Washington, though they just don't do as well here. Maybe down in town and along the bench, but up here at the thousand-foot level, we get just enough more winter that it takes until August for them to bloom. But I will give them a shot any way. They have such a lovely fragrance.
Came home, settled the plants in the shade by the cat-run, came in and cleaned litter boxes, then crawled into bed for a nap. I find our long summer days are easier to keep up with if I lie down during the heat of the day for a snooze, especially after an early morning shift. The kitties are always game for a nap, so they find this custom charming, of course. I had gotten several VHS tapes in the past week or so to add to the D'Onofrio Collection, so I watched "The Winner" until I fell asleep, surrounded by cats.
This evening, I did my part to try to break the stretch of sunny days by washing my truck. We got a pressure washer last year and if I run the hose into the shop, I can hook up to the hot water faucet by the laundry room. This is the first time I have used the pressure washer to do a vehicle, and I was pretty please with how fast it went, especially with the chrome wheels, which are a pain to scrub and polish. I waited until about nine p.m. to go outside--waiting for the heat to lessen as I don't tolerate either sun or heat very well.
One minor set-back. My walkman slipped off the waistband of my sweats and landed right in the bucket of suds. The timing took me aback, as I was just walking past the bucket, not actually leaning over it at the time. What's a real pisser is that this is the second tape player I have dunked in the last two months--I had one slip off and fall in the wash water on one of my volunteer days at the Shelter.
So far, though, only the batteries have been a total loss. Once the tape player dries out, it seems to work fine. The challenge is diving in to rescue the cassette tape before it becomes a lost cause. This one looked like it had absorbed a bit of water, so I left it on the counter next to the tape player to dry out.
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