random thoughts – Day 2,412 (Saturday 10/24) – bug, ballot, blood

Bug!

The morning sunshine and quiet were enjoyed with a mug of warm water while the coffee brewed. One morning a couple weeks ago I did this, and it was nice, and I’ve done it every day since.

Soon, I was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and dealing with the daily runny nose. I got a tissue from the bedroom and as I held it to my nose, I spotted something weird. The tissue was removed from my face and with horror, I saw a big bug on it, and the tissue with bug was tossed to the floor. Then, I screwed up my single-person courage, picked up the bug tissue, and opened the front door. Still wearing my purple bathrobe and pajamas (aka sleeping clothes), I stood at the open door, shaking the tissue like a surrender flag to liberate myself from the bug.

A couple hours later, I had finished my study of the first 23 pages of the 87-page Massachusetts Information for Voters Guide – 2026 Ballot Questions. It felt like cramming for an exam. Relevant passages had been highlighted, a cheat sheet was drafted, and I was dressed for the day in a khaki-colored cashmere sweater and khaki pants, suitable for interacting with the world at large. When I went to the coat closet for a jacket, I saw something brown on the floor.

The past couple weeks have frequently seen fragments of dried brown leaves tracked into the house, but this brown thing was moving at a steady pace along the Berber carpet. It was another bug, just like the one from earlier and I wondered how they were getting inside. It was guided onto the dustpan from the nearby glass worktable and I returned to the door for another return to nature. At least this time I was wearing daytime clothes.

Vote!.

With my list of ballot question answers in hand, I headed to City Hall to vote. I love early voting. It was calm and peaceful, and everybody there was in a good mood. Maybe it was the “I voted early” stickers we were given. Eleven minutes after exiting my car, I was done voting and was back in my car, and didn’t know what to do next on a gorgeous fall day, so I headed home.

Once again, as so often happens, the car piloted itself into the Salvation Army Thrift Store parking lot. The place really is on my primary flight path. It was quiet there, too, so maybe everybody was doing something fun elsewhere. 

I saw two beautiful sweaters in Sal’s. One was cashmere, and based on the density of the fiber, the slightly misshapen look, and the tiny size that contradicted the size tag, it had clearly been put through the dryer. The other sweater was as good as new but was an extra small, and I’m not that size anymore. On the bright side, I didn’t spend any money, which was good because the recent investment in glass supplies has been a bit hefty.

When I got back home, I was drawn to the stained glass table. I knew the risks of messing with glass in a cashmere sweater and went there anywhere. I cut one curved piece in dark green that ends in a point, and stabbed myself in the pad of my right index finger. The bright red blood left splats on the corkboard. I grabbed a paper towel to wrap it in and headed for the bathroom where blood splatted on the counter and in the sink.

Luckily, the bandages were handy and one was applied quickly. Even more luckily, I didn't get blood on my “I'm going out somewhere” clothes. Within a few minutes, I had bled through the thing and went rummaging for a larger one. The bloodshed finally stopped, and I stayed away from the sharp pointy glass for the rest of the day. I really need to invest in some cutting gloves. The return to glasswork is getting expensive.