I started out the day waking up very early, then falling back asleep, making it impossible to do game notes. Then I went to the leasing office to ask about paying my rent, but I have to talk with the manager, who will be back on Tuesday. Undeterred, I went ahead and took the bus downtown to have a little 'me' time before going over to my friend's. I went down to the little grocery/convenience store that's recently opened called the Town Branch Market and got something to drink and a Clif bar for breakfast (which was very good, given how the rest of the day went). The clerk was very nice. They're going to be open tomorrow during the festival and will probably make a killing considering how many vendors are going to be selling drinks for $3 a pop.
I went to the Farmer's Market and browsed through what they had. It was a nice selection. I almost got some real eggplant (they're the size of your fist rather than your head, and more delicate and varietal), but I wasn't sure if my friend had the ingredients for a recipe. I did get some inexpensive herb plants to put into containers in my apartment--tarragon, sage, wooly thyme, Italian oregano, rosemary, and lavender. These are herbs I use pretty often--the lavender being important religiously. I need to find bigger containers for them, but for now they're arranged on my table in front of a south-eastern exposure window along with a hoya and an umbrella plant. I haven't kept plants at home (it tends to be drier than at the office), but I figure I've been doing better at watering the other two and they're growing nicely, I'd try this.
Then I headed to my friend's house and helped him with some librarianly tasks of moving books and putting them on shelves. I also updated something on the computer. Then we started cooking.
We made a salad with Brenda's lettuce she brought us (I still need to use mine), a leek and cabbage soup that was very tasty, and kugel. At some time around five I ate some lentils he'd made awhile back, the first since that Clif bar, and later I had some of the salad and soup. The kugel was still hot for awhile and I'll have some of that today.
We decided to cancel the game for the day, which means I didn't have to do game notes, a blessing since I was having so much pain the other day and didn't relish doing it really late last night. My friend didn't have a good feeling about my standing out waiting for the bus late, so he offered to pay for a cab home. I got one (for once) without too much difficulty. The cabbie was friendly and we talked about food and a little bit about Jordan, his country. I'd been holding a conversation through texting that I continued after the cab ride, catching up with someone else I know.
Sometimes, when you're having a rough spot, it helps to remember that others are facing much worse. I have a friend who is facing a scary-sounding surgery who will rarely talk about his health issues, even though I know he's struggling day by day with a seriously disabling condition--and he's much younger than I am and has young children. I know that my financial status will improve and although the neck thing is potentially disabling, it's not to that point yet and the physical therapy will probably help. I still reserve the right to talk about it, since it's important to me right now, but I'll try not to whigne too much.
Okay, we may not be having the game, but I have some errands to do and then I'm going over there to do my weekly cleanup. I have to go consult the bus schedule. I'm up early enough to work on the house a bit, too, maybe get the rest of the recyclables out a bit. My arm's just a bit numb typing here, and there's very little pain; hopefully it will stay that way. I can't stay really late today--the buses stop running at 8:20 pm, meaning I have to catch a bus back about 7:30. Tonight I need to do some laundry. And tomorrow's the Fourth and the Festival. Looks like I won't get to see the fireworks at Idle Hour this year (I'm leery of trying to get a bus back that late), but I'll go downtown during the day and watch the parade. I do have some sparklers to play with though (nice thing about sparklers is they're bright, happy, and don't disturb the neighbours. I have a friend who's been sedating his dog each night the past week because she won't eat or go outside when there might be fireworks. She's so mellow it's hilarious.)
No comments:
Post a Comment