Minutia

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Looking from the Prado area to the Spreckles Organ Pavilion. Balboa Park. 2009

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Himself: Got his switch and was a happy man. Herself: Finished Speer at last. Endlessly watching him shrink in Spandau unable to share his emotions, discovering that this was really him when he was released. Reading: Nothing at this moment. Balance: Quiet reading in the heat of the afternoon.

He wanted to do this, I wanted to do that, and I self-centeredly didn’t pay attention to the temperatures when we left the house.

He wanted a switch that would allow him to use one mouse, one keyboard, and one monitor with two computers. We headed away from the cool beach onto quiet freeways toward Frye’s.

Then to Ikea for lunch and window shopping for cupboards to go in our tiny half-bathroom. I wore sandals and tottered like a fool. Perhaps my subconscious knew tottering wouldn’t be good for the soul so I had added my tennis shoes to the back of the car. Into Lowe’s where we found a dishwasher we both liked for it’s sturdiness. The current one’s door is rusting through and most of the prongs are broken off. And it’s new, she cries.

After wandering and touring and muttering into our shirtsleeves, we have decided to make that tiny half bath modern. I have an acre of books from the library, and none of them discuss our tiny problem. We can get some small design ideas tho, and find some way to economically make it all work.

It was flat out hot when we left Lowe’s. In the 90 degrees. Almost rare beef cooking temperature. It was in the 90’s in Mission Valley, it was in the 90’s at the airport. I was astounded. The hot air blowing from the desert froze me in place. We did a little grocery shopping and came home to a cool sealed up house where I doggedly attempted to finish the last of Spandau, the secret diaries. A life reduced to minutia.

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We have two weeks left to finish things off here. I have two weeks to quiet my fears about forgetting something. The fears are always with me, but I don’t usually forget things despite myself.

It’s time to make lists. Meds? Do I need to renew something? Newspaper taken care of….a neighbor will take it. No pets now. No thermostat to adjust. He’s calling the CC folks today and telling them we will be using their cards to Alaska and back. Money for Marta….before and after. Refrigerator the day before. Mail cancelled…..isn’t online wonderful. The house watching is taken care of….front and back. The house hasn’t been inspected for the loan, and we would like to have this done before we leave. The odds and ends of a vacation are almost as much work as staying home.

Packing list printed. Clothes? What am I taking. Try things on. I haven’t done me. He hasn’t done him. We aren’t getting thinner, that’s why.

Finishing things off? The quilt top. I’m determined to have that together before we leave. I’m swimming only three days, skipping the Wednesday class, Talking to Bee early today to free up the day. Now all I have to deal with is two recalcitrant sewing machines.