random thoughts – Day 2,334 (Wednesday) – holes

New baby spaghetti squash.

Another beautiful day meant another morning working in the yard. Out back, something is still chewing on the basil leaves and I suspect the earwigs. The spaghetti squash plant from my sister produced a couple tiny squashes, but something ate both of them. There is no suspect identified in this crime. There is a new tiny squash but if history holds, it won’t last long.

Out front, holes were prepared to receive plants. A few ferns that had sprung up against the back of the house were transplanted in the ring under the tree out front. Some purple clover things that had escaped Mom’s front flower bed and invaded the lawn were dug up and relocated under the tree. The plan is to keep expanding the circle around the tree with one or two more rings as plants come along.

The tree ring.

On the way back from grocery shopping, there was a stop at WalMart to see if the plants area had been reset. There were racks of fresh new flowers including mums in several sizes and I got a tray of ten cute little mums for $1.44 each. Back at home, the two new flower boxes each received dirt, three holes, and three little mums, and the area under the tree got the rest. Tomorrow I will harvest some of the plentiful dried needles from under the hedges and use them as mulch under the tree. 

Also on the list will be getting ground cover plants for the slope between my yard and Mom’s to reduce some of the mowing, and some dirt and gravel to fill in the area along the concrete slab in the back of the house that has been pummeled by the rain.

Filling holes with plants and dirt felt pretty good, but it didn’t do much to fill the brother shaped hole in my heart on  this, the fifth anniversary of his death. At least the yard will look nice.

random thoughts – Day 2,333 (Tuesday) – fresh new day

Curly bark tree.

The rain moved out and the fresh new day was clear and sunny. The dew on the lawn and the bushes  sparkled. Despite the morning light creeping in the bedroom, I slept late again this morning. It looks like 8:00 is my new 6:30.

The extra sleep had me feeling peppy, and at 10:45, instead of the more sedentary grocery shopping task, I was out front digging out more grass from around the tree with the curly in the front yard so I could set some plants Mom wants thinned from her front flower bed. Halfway through the grass removal, I remembered Mom usually goes out with her friend on Tuesdays. I finished the digging, but I’ll get the plants tomorrow.

Later, there was a search of the websites of nearby retailers for garden edging. Ollie’s in Fitchburg seemed to have it, so a stop was planned there after dance class. On the way to dance, I stopped at Dollar General. Which has yard stuff was on sale, but there was no edging found in the store, which is being taken over by Halloween décor.

Dance was a small group with four of us. It was fun. We changed the barre routine up a bit, then did the usual center work and ran through some of the repertoire. We use decades-old recordings of the original music that were done by our studio pianist. It was very cool back in the day, having our classes accompanied by a pianist. She could slow down the pace of the music until we knew the choreography well enough to be up to speed.

The first ballet studio I danced with used records for everything, including some of the basic technique. The voice on the record would announce things like “piqué turns, diagonally across the floor, continuously” and we would execute the moves across the black and white tiled floor while our teacher watched. When I was in high school and at what is still my favorite dance studio, the only activity we did to records was our initial warmup and stretching, which was led by a studio assistant to provide time for our teacher and pianist to have a quick break.

There was a wildflower tour outside of our dance space (which I forgot about). Unlike the last wildflower walk, which was rainy, the weather was perfect today, but I stuck to the original timeline with stops for gas and then Ollie’s. There were a lot of patio chairs, hoses, and planters, but I couldn’t find edging (despite circling the yard stuff for several laps) or even a store worker to help me. I got bargain grocery items including microwave rice, hot sauce, canned tuna, cinnamon, and cookies, plus pain patches, makeup wipes, and two window box planters. No target item, but still a productive stop.

random thoughts – Day 2,332 (Monday) – weather and whining

The monsoons arrived with heavy rain overnight and woke me up a couple times. At 3:00 a.m., I woke up and went through the house lowering or fully closing windows. The worst awakening was at 4:45 a.m. when the rain was blowing in through the bedroom window. The refreshing spray on my face through the three-inch gap where the window was open may be what awakened me. Then I worried about the bathroom fan/vent that leaked last week and got up. The bathroom was dry.

Bathroom water entry point.

By 8:30, I had finished a book, drank coffee, and patrolled the house for leaks and it felt like I’d already lived half a day. I made a grocery list. As I prepared for departure to the mailbox to mail a card, the little library box for a book exchange, and the grocery store for provisions, I thought I heard dripping in the otherwise silent house. The bathroom floor had developed a puddle as water came through the fan/vent. The roofing contractor was contacted.  The floor was mopped and a wastebasket set under the drip site.

I made it to the mailbox and library box, and then turned back towards home. Interest in grocery shopping had suddenly diminished to zero and was postponed until “later.” A forage of the freezer unearthed a bagel which was toasted to accompany a fried egg with a calcium boosting slice of sharp cheddar, and it was good.

It poured. The sun shone feebly then disappeared again. The rain exhibited extremes from soft and gentle like a romantic perfume commercial and power washing torrents that could cause bodily harm. I read on the couch (The Great Gatsby). Social media was awash in photos of extreme weather on both coasts with flooded streets locally and wildfires in Washington state.

Because the grocery store trip never happened, and I was expecting the roofing contractor, supper was a quick meal of ramen, the reliable staple of my pantry. The slightly less reliable contractor with a confusing message about 320 windows on another job and after deciphering the rambling essay, I concluded he would not be coming to check the bathroom ceiling leak situation

By 6:30, the sun was shining here and the puddles outside were shrinking and the one inside was contained to a wastebasket. The air was cool while I walked around the neighborhood. It was almost as if none of the crazy weather had happened at all.

random thoughts – Day 2,331 (Sunday) – excavating

Life in a box, 2025.

It was apparently a great morning for sleeping because I woke up mostly refreshed and a bit confused a good two hours later than usual. I didn’t stay up extra late. It had been a quiet day at home.  I had thought about reaching out to friends to see if anyone was interested in the Saturday night concert in the park event, but then I got super tired and fell asleep on the couch and suddenly it was too late. I read before bed. Nothing unusual, except for the nap, and somehow I overslept this morning. So weird.

Anyway. One year ago today, my friends and I kicked butt and emptied the moving cube. The emptying of my life in a box took just a few hours, because basically we emptied the cube like it was a race. We piled everything in the house, to be opened and dealt with later. Rugs and large furniture were set, but the rest of it wasn’t the sort of thing where help was helpful. How could I tell someone where to put stuff from a box when I had no idea myself?

Today, I hung a couple more art pieces in what seems to be my now characteristic super slow motion, prolonged decorating process. A photo freshly delivered from the recent Lowellscapes show went on a wall in the guest room which is still slightly cluttered with luggage and a couple unpacked boxes. There is now one less framed photo on the dining room table. I will celebrate the progress while simultaneously mourning the fact that the table was cleared for less than 24 hours.

Korean calligraphy brush and mat on a wall.

While standing in the alleged art room, I spotted the paper towel tube labeled “calligraphy brush” on a bookshelf and removed the contents. It’s a calligraphy brush I bought in Korea in 2000 or 2001. It came with a blue and tan mat made out of the material of a sushi rolling mat and used in some placemats. I had forgotten about the mat. I had forgotten about the brush. At first I thought it was the small parasol, also from Korea, which has lived in a tube the same length of time as the calligraphy brush and also the larger parasol.

It has lived, wrapped in red tissue paper inside a paper towel tube since I bought it. The brush, with the mat behind it, now has a home on a wall near the mirror that X2 bought for me from an antique store in Korea for Christmas of 2000. Somewhere, still in an unpacked box in the house, is a padded box with a mah jongg set also bought in Korea, which hasn’t seen the light of day since 2001. The excavations will continue. Maybe tomorrow.

random thoughts – Day 2,330 (Saturday) – house anniversary

One year anniversary of the house.

One year ago today, I closed on the house in Gardner and it’s been a very fast year. Things have been done (new bathroom vent/fans, new access doors for the crawlspace, new roof). Things are waiting to be done (new siding, new exterior lights, finishing the guest room). The list of improvements is still long, but that is all part of owning a house. Things were thought of and procrastinated into oblivion (housewarming party, naming the house). 

The residents of the neighborhood, both human and animal, are quiet. The turkeys, bunnies, and outdoor cats move through the yards in silent ninja mode. The major noise makers are generally the squawking crows, the lawn mowers, and on Mondays, the trash truck. 

The environment is a refreshing change from the bigger city cacophony of sirens and loud neighbors yelling over booming music. It’s been a mostly good and peaceful year. 

random thoughts – Day 2,329 (Friday) – holiday dreams

My Benidorm marathon (Prime Video) continues and shifts are happening. The show is described as a “British comedy series following holidaymakers at the Solana Resort in Benidorm. Hilarity ensues as guests try to get value for their Euros.” The show originally aired from 2007-2018, and I first streamed seasons of this series to get into an all-inclusive resort frame of mind before a 2017 trip to Jamaica. A friend I was traveling with recommended it and we laughed about the characters who reminded us of some of our own travel companions, acquaintances, or colleagues. Good times.

The past few days have sent me on holiday at Solana resort in Benidorm, Spain. The English tourists now have me thinking with a British accent and using English-English terms like holiday, fanny, pudding, oh blither, bloody, frig off, “me” instead of “my” and so on. Mateo, the Spanish bartender turns out to be a stellar Flamenco dancer, and now I want to learn that style (again). I want paella. And bangers and mash.

When I was in Mexico at an all-inclusive resort a couple years ago, my friend met some Brits at the pool and asked if Benidorm is a real holiday destination. It is, and is very popular with U.K travelers. Now I want to go to Sol Pelícanos Ocas, the real-life counterpart in Benidorm to the fictional Solana. Someday! 

random thoughts – Day 2,328 (Thursday) – puddlement puzzlement

Rain souvenir.

The morning delivered another surprise. There was a sizeable puddle in the guest bathroom, under the ceiling fan/vent and a new stain on the ceiling next to the vent. No bueno. It appears the recent very heavy rain and boisterous wind gave the new roof a workout, the bathroom vent seal failed the test, and I received a souvenir. It's a puddlement puzzlement. But the floor is extra clean from the mopping up. The roofing contractor said he will take care of the problem.

Despite the surprise puddle,  the day was pleasant. The weather was drier. The turkeys passed through the backyard. The crows visited the front yard. Kiki continues to be extra sweet, mysterious, and elusive.

A friend had offered to deliver my photos from the Lowellscapes show at The Brush Gallery which ended on the 26^th, and we had a nice visit. Earlier in the week, I had a message from the gallery director that one of my photos in the show sold, which is exciting and validating news.