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What’s on your mind?
- Thread starter Gutwrench
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Yes, you are right.
An admixture of excitement and exhaustion...
However, I have little doubt that I'll be out like a light once my head hits that welcoming pillow.
My beer is nearly finished (it has taken me four hours to almost drink two beers - now, that is a measure of tiredness), the bowl that played host to the crisps has been washed and put away (not least to deter any further temptation) and bed beckons.
Making travel plans this far ahead often doesn't mean much (since so much can change in that time), but it's looking more and more likely that my best friend and I (along with a few others) will be traveling to New Zealand next year (a country I've never been to but have always wanted to visit).
The carer, who was in the Philippines for her daughter's wedding, (and who has just returned - her time away coincided almost exactly with mine) has shown up at my door with a very kind gift of Arabica coffee (she knows - having spent six years living with us when caring for my mother - just how much I like my coffee) and roasted salted peanuts from the Philippines.
How lovely.
How lovely.
Cold running water (or ice cubes; cold drink cans; or cooler frozen sleeves meant for cans or bottles (kids can wear them like a bracelet), etc.) over the veins of palm side of wrists cools down blood really quickly. You can really feel the difference as the cooler blood returns up the arm(s) to the core. Still, while it gives respite, it is temporary...
Anyway, I think that sometimes people who report they hate the outdoors proably had an experience in which they could not maintain a comfortable temperature outside. I go hiking quite alot and when newbies come along I make sure they're comfortable. Nothing kills the enjoyment like being too hot or too cold.
Spent some time today running around busy with errands:
Such as paying bills, replenishing beer supplies, dropping a very good jacket (coat) into the dry cleaner's, buying some groceries, picking up my organic milk, buying butter, and plenty of sparkling mineral water, - while abroad I was consuming between three to four litres a day, these days, now that I have returned to cooler climes, I still consume between one and two litres of water a day - and crisps, and several tins/cans of the excellent San Marzano tinned (canned) tomatoes.
I had planned to head into the city to visit the library, the French bakery, the cheesemonger's, the hardware store: Bedlinen is also on my mind, as I need to purchase some. As is the jungle state of the garden (but, I did phone the gardener, who promised to call out later this week to begin to address that insane growth).
However, those errands may need to be deferred until tomorrow as the carer has just called by.
Followed, in turn, by two of her friends, who discovered (upon phoning her) that she was in my house, not the place where she currently works as a carer.
Such as paying bills, replenishing beer supplies, dropping a very good jacket (coat) into the dry cleaner's, buying some groceries, picking up my organic milk, buying butter, and plenty of sparkling mineral water, - while abroad I was consuming between three to four litres a day, these days, now that I have returned to cooler climes, I still consume between one and two litres of water a day - and crisps, and several tins/cans of the excellent San Marzano tinned (canned) tomatoes.
I had planned to head into the city to visit the library, the French bakery, the cheesemonger's, the hardware store: Bedlinen is also on my mind, as I need to purchase some. As is the jungle state of the garden (but, I did phone the gardener, who promised to call out later this week to begin to address that insane growth).
However, those errands may need to be deferred until tomorrow as the carer has just called by.
Followed, in turn, by two of her friends, who discovered (upon phoning her) that she was in my house, not the place where she currently works as a carer.
Years ago, in Kyrgyzstan, I was advised to simply place my head under a running cold tap - and this works well for cooling off.
Another colleague (bizarrely, a diplomat) told me of how he used to step - fully or half clothed (in cotton) - into a cold shower, and dry off naturally, letting the clothes dry on him, which he said was wonderfully cooling.
That is nice. Glad you were both able to catch up.
Yes, it is brilliant to have three Filipinas - entirely unexpectedly but wonderfully welcome and terrific to see - chatting away; they suggested calling in and preparing their stunning noodle dish some day soon.
Yet again, I thanked the carer for the wonderful (attentive, kind and caring, amid much laughter and warmth) care she gave my mother; some of her stuff is still here, and, as far as I am concerned, she will always have a welcome from me.
Ah.
Wonderful.
May one enquire as to the topic, and the form? And, indeed, the language?
My father attended creative writing classes for three years after he retired - it was something that he had always wanted to do - and started to write poetry and short stories.
I remember that he was particularly entranced by the 'haiku' format (which I had never encountered before then) and wrote quite a few poems using that form.
Sure.
Topic: solitude, simony, and Roman Baths.
Form: Free verse.
Language: English.
This is wonderful! I’ve considered attending similar classes, or at least watch online videos but then I keep finding myself too… shy to actually pursue it. Go figure.
I am unfamiliar with haiku. I just googled it and it seems quite intriguing.
Thank you.
Writing poetry in a language which is not your native language must present unique challenges.
Go for it.
My father loved his classes, looked forward to them, attended them religiously, and did his assigned homework with meticulous enthusiasm, sometimes reading out to us what he had prepared and written; before class, he would have his briefcase ready in the hall, ready for when he set off to class.
He had always wanted to do something like this, but may have felt that his work, he was a civil servant in mid/upper management - always neat and dapper in a tailored tweed jacket, plus a collar and tie - was incompatible with this.
Actually, he was one of the few men I have known who blossomed on retirement, he never derived a sense of identity from his work; in fact, I think he saw retirement as a liberation, and took up interests that he had always wanted to explore, which his profession, and, I also suspect, constrictive models of masculinity, had served to inhibit.
Now that I recall, I don't think he wore a tie on more than ten occasions between his retirement and his death, and some of those ten occasions were events such as family weddings, or my (formal) book launch, or my brother's award of his "parchment" - i.e. formal qualification - ceremony as a solicitor (lawyer).
My father was fascinated with this form, as - by imposing a strict limit on the number of words, syllables, (and thus, sentence size) - this meant that you had to choose the words you used with exceptional and meticulous care.
On my Mind: The simple (but extremely satisfying) joy of drawing up a (detailed) list. (Of Things To Do).
Better still, crossing out - with an exquisite and firm focus - the (done) items on that list.
Better still, crossing out - with an exquisite and firm focus - the (done) items on that list.
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Apparently, amongst the Anglophile sporting nations, there is a small kerfuffle going on regarding the Commonwealth Games, which was going to be held in Victoria, Aus.
Now it isn't.
Waiting to see whether, compared to a recent stumping incident in the Ashes, it will be --
Now it isn't.
Waiting to see whether, compared to a recent stumping incident in the Ashes, it will be --
- a bigger incident
- about the same
- a smaller incident
I’m not sure there is a place for the commonwealth anymore, let alone the commonwealth games. We already have the Olympics and the various world championships etc.
The costs for hosting these things is not insignificant. Could the money be put to better use? After all many nations in the commonwealth aren’t all that wealthy.
Laundry, lots of laundry, and vigorous house cleaning.....(focussing on fridge, kitchen, bathrooms, bedroom...when one is away for six weeks, unexpected domestic horror can greet you on your return).
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I can only imagine. Good luck with it. Hopefully even better luck with the drying. Seems like we have a shower everyday these days.
The carer and her friend (who had also been brilliant with Mother) turned up to help for an hour or so this morning, - grateful does not begin to describe my feelings - (and yes, of course, I remunerated them generously) and they also brought a large container of their special noodle dish for me. Plus some home-made banana bread. Yum.
So, the house is now wonderfully clean (yes, the garden remains a serious jungle, but, that is another day's work), bedlinen changed, table cloths and duvets and duvet covers all dealt with, and three rounds of laundry later, starting from yesterday....(I had suitcases to unpack..)
Actually, I had to rescue stuff from the line - rain had begun to spit - but for now the rain seems to have decided to hold off, although the sky is threatening retribution.
And, I have also finished - I wanted to tweak it before (finally) pressing "send" - my lengthy report on my recent trip away, and have just despatched that, too.