life in the old lane

Mostly I folded and refolded paper today. I got the 30-unit version together.

Glad that I didn’t have to put it in the recycle bin. But, I can not imagine that anyone will actually buy it. Or any of them for that matter. I paid $4.95 Canadian for that paper last fall. And the paper did make an interesting 30-unit  Sonobe. 

Here are 3,6 and 12-unit models. There are also 90, 120, and 270-unit models. But the 30-unit model is the largest I have attempted. And I think that’s enough. 

And, I think the 12-unit balls will do very nicely for the sale. 

The Twilight Zone

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White Space. I need a lot more white space than I used to. Mental white space. And also white space in my physical space. Enough already. Slow down. 

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Enough already with this 30-unit Sonobe. I think that my initial fold on 15 of the units was wrong. I may or may not be able to refold. It’s cheap paper and cheap paper doesn’t refold well. 

I should just recycle this mess. But. I am still stubborn.

Finally got around to looking out the window at the correct time to see the super blue moon. Only 3 days late. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for hot water. Yesterday morning there was no hot water. This morning there was. What a miracle! Turn a tap and clean hot water comes gushing out. On the 11th floor no less. The wonders that we take for granted. 

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Maybe I’ll get it assembled tomorrow. Or not.

 

Every day, the sun gets a little closer to disappearing around the East Wing of my building. For about 10 weeks in winter, the sun never shines in my room. Until Covid-time, I didn’t know this. I spent the dark months in Kona. I didn’t even know there were dark months.

But, there is a hint of fall. Maybe not in the air. But in my spirit. So, it’s time for “fall cleaning”. I started with the fridge and came up with a fine pot of “garbage” soup.

I bought a small onion and a couple of plum tomatoes. Everything else came out of my freezer.  Leftover steak, frozen peas, pasta, chicken stock. Onion and tomato added. A little chili powder. Pepper. Some herbs. It will be returned to the freezer. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for Elizabeth, who, every Friday for the last 8 years has cleaned my room, changed my sheets, scrubbed my bathroom, provided fluffy clean white towels, and policed the kitchen.

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The day started with a nice pink sunrise and a walk. Breakfast was eaten, laundry was done,  books were read, and paper was folded.

Great big paper was folded. I don’t imagine that anyone will buy this big ball. It’s sort of an attention-getter. 

Gratitude

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Grateful for naps. The older I get the more wonderful naps become. 

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This rose bush is trying to tell me something. Acceptance, grace, endurance? I don’t know.

But a couple of old women got it done. But it took most of the day.

The Twilight Zone

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I went to yoga today. Twelve years ago when I started taking this class with the same teacher, the class was too easy for me. But, it was at a good time of day. And the price was right. I paid more money for a couple of suitably hard classes as well. Time passed, and I moved away from the little studio with the hard classes. But, I kept up with the cheap and easy class. More time passed. And now the easy class is too hard for me.  However, I will keep going to the class as long as I can. I don’t seem to be going quietly into the good night. 

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Usually, my orchids bloom from late December to May or June. And they all bloomed great and on schedule this year. But this one, the oldest one, put out two late summer bloom stalks. Not sure why.

The Twilight Zone

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OK. Somebody, explain. How the hell did I get to be 80 years old? It surely wasn’t in my game plan. And you know what’s scary? There are people around here who are 20 years older than I am. The idea of eating asylum food for another 20 years is terrifying. I doubt that extreme nonagenarian is in my future. That’s a good thing.

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Well, I must have completely recovered from my trip to Japan. Those jackrabbits that inhabit my boots have been jumping around. And when I look back on my trip to Japan, I am glad I made the journey.

I am thinking about gentler journeys. Maybe take the train to the west coast before leaving for Kona. Maybe cruise up to Canada. But, this one will take luck, because I want to go on a ship that is officially “FULL”. And there’s the week in Hawai’i going off on an adventure with the zookeeper kids. First thing you know it will be time to leave Hawai’i and maybe another train trip across country?

These rental electric scooters. I think,  if you rent a scooter in Arlington it stops working when you leave Arlington and cross into Fairfax. So, we get a lot of scooters piled up. Maybe I am wrong about scooters crossing the county line. I only rented one scooter in my life. It was great fun but it didn’t seem like a super good idea for an old woman.

Gratitude

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Grateful to have completely recovered from that which sent me to Urgent Care last weekend.

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Nice lazy day. Walk. Read. Repot an orchid. Fold paper. Cocktails. Just a normal little old lady day.

I have no idea if anyone will buy these things.

Nothing going on today. So, let’s have a photo from August 2014. That was Carlton’s last summer. We were doing the Warren Zevon Enjoy Every Sandwich thing. 

Got an email today. From The Asylum Management.

The Twilight Zone

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We are pleased to share that this week we conducted focus groups with Hord Coplan Macht (HCM) and 60 of your fellow residents as part of our ongoing revisioning and redesign of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads. HCM is a renowned firm specializing in architecture, landscape, interior design, and planning, and they are helping guide this transformative project. Your input will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our community, ensuring it meets the needs and aspirations of all residents.

To that end, HCM has provided us with a creative and engaging exercise, and we would love your participation. We invite you to imagine your future self living at GHBC and write a letter about what excites you most about our community. Consider what surprises and delights you as we embark on this transformative journey together.

What can you imagine seeing at GHBC that would surprise and delight you?

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I am supposed to write them a letter and tell them what would surprise and delight me? And this will be creative and engaging? 

Well, young and clueless management: I imagine my future self slowly dying on the nursing floor. And what would surprise and delight me would be if I just died while taking a nap in my own bed. Like Carlton did. 

And. Note to Google. This is not a universally good idea.