Let me eat cake
and other signs of mild stress
I stayed up late last night reading, and it was delightful. But I also slept much later than usual, so the sun was already up by the time Auggie, Eli, and I ambled out along the driveway.
Last night after dinner, the bugs not yet being too terrible, the dogs and I wandered around the gardens. I pulled out two of the hose reels and set them up, and put the sprinkler among the perennial beds. After the wettest April ever we had the dryest May, so everything is thirsty. I had to order new hoses yesterday and new spray heads. The sprayers never last more than a season, but I am trying out some new ones that are allegedly better—and also quite inexpensive. We’ll see.
The irises are blooming, and the peonies have big buds. Gardening Soulmate, Joe, has advised at least two more peony plants, and who am I to say no? I will be shopping for something in a brilliant magenta. Maybe I will even meander toward the nursery this morning. Nurseries are like cake to me. And since over the course of three days I ate an entire (very small) cake, I now need to compensate with something non-caloric. I need to put together my pots, too, so I need some annuals. I like magentas for them, too. And sometimes purple. No red. No orange. No yellow.
Today is also an errands day. After my gym appointment, I will both acquire and deaccession various things, and settle several unresolved matters; all checklist things, not top tier things. Tomorrow is a top tier day. I need to be uninterrupted for those. That means writing and writing-related things.
One of the perils of working for yourself is that you never really have down days. That’s why, I guess, over the weekend I lazed around. I needed that. This coming weekend is a no-lazing weekend, though, so I need to be ready.
Meanwhile, the sun is out, there’s a cool, gentle breeze, and I have things to do.
Off I go.
***
”And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”~Julian of Norwich
These posts are about finding the beauty in daily life, even amid the craziness, uncertainty, and anxiety. Reality is not going away, but these are the only days we get, so we have to relish their small beauties while we have them. If you are a paid subscriber, please know how deeply grateful I am for your support. The kindness and enthusiasm of your comments buoy me and keep me writing, but the paid subscriptions are an extra vote of confidence I truly appreciate. These posts will always be free, however, so if all you can do is share, that is helpful, too. Whatever you decide, I’m glad you’re here.
And now for your gratuitous dog photo:
Dave certainly has a commanding presence but he’s not as handsome up-close as I thought he’d be.
That cake… so dainty and luscious. I’m sorry I saw it this morning. I haven’t had any breakfast yet. Now I can’t think of anything else.
It’s June 2nd and I had to turn on the heat this morning when I got up! It was 49 outside and 67 in the house.
Loved reading this. Feels like sometimes our days are not so dissimilar. I’ve sent off loads of paperwork to support a loan to replace the 2011 Caddy with 502,000 kilometres on it and I’m waiting to hear back, it’s pouring rain after 10 days of sunshine, and so happy I don’t have to cart water out for the plants (normally at least 4 5-litre watering cans for the pots on the patio), but the reactive one of my dachshunds is not terribly thrilled by the thunder and hail! She’s currently under my chair, behind my legs and staring at the hail outside. Not impressed for sure. I have a girl in season (again) so we have a boy group and a girl group running around again, which means extra vigilance on my part - but it’s nice having only half the dogs with me and out on walks, and then trade for the other half. All in all, coffee helps. But because of the Caddy repairs, I ate my ENTIRE birthday cake myself…. An 8 inch layer cake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, bought for friends that would come over, but couldn’t as I didn’t have a car to go pick them up. So between the cake and some birthday chocolates from the neighbours, I’ve tried to assuage my general worry about life. Tomorrow I have to do accounting spreadsheets, I think doing writing sounds much better even if it is proper work, than doing the updates to the business model and the accounting which truly gives me a headache from staring at the screen. Anyhow — Dave does indeed look a bit grumpy. I think he’s upset that there isn’t a herd of concrete sheep for him to watch over.