Friday, December 9, 2011
The day is sunny and went from a cold morning to moderate afternoon. We unloaded many things from the truck--some into Charlie's house, some to the rv, some will stay entruck for the time being. I put my house in order... well, my rv, anyway. It is now powered and warmed and the radio fills it gently with classical music. The bed is ready for use, though it is not the most comfortable of mattresses: It is private and it is mine. The couch in my son's living room is comfy, but is often occupied... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving-afters
It might have been better, in some respects, to have kept to the plan of sharing the day with just the cats, but it's been raining deluges, and the days have been dreary and dark and that old friend of mine who is now approaching his fourth winter outside was sober, and trying hard to stay that way. So inviting him for Thanksgiving, and then lending him the couch in the dry and warm for a night seemed right and reasonable. But then there was the next night... and another... and finally, like the... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Funny how things work out...
It looks like I won't make it back to Colorado for Thanksgiving. In fact, lest her Dad have Thanksgiving alone, the Maryland daughter invited him there, and arrangements were made, which were mentioned when I arrived back here for what had intended to be a couple of weeks. But mountain-pass weather and medical needs and so forth... and so, as it turns out, I will be here for Thanksgiving with the cats. Maybe I will cook a turkey, carve off my share, then set the rest on the floor. It occurred to... Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Urgo
A year ago I was getting ready to fly off to New Zealand for two months. I said good bye to my cats, and that was the last time I saw Urgo, the grey and white fellow that I first saw coming out of the weeds near Kennewick, Washington, not even 6 weeks old. Until I walked into my bedroom last night, the bedroom I have again been away from, again, nearly 3 months. There he was, comfortable as a cat can be, owning my bed. And I think he was as much surprised to see me! He swore under his breath... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween...? Already?
For 26 years, in a house tucked back in the woods, no one ever came to our door for candy. Now, in my little rig in a neighborhood, there are doors and lights and sidewalks abounding, and I daresay this evening they will be a-bounding with kids of various sizes in crazy and wonderful get-ups, and I had better be ready. My dad always said, "If the costumed kid at your door is bigger than you are, it isn't 'trick-or-treat,' it's extortion." I have put up no decorations, can't afford such... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Down, Dog!
There has been a problem lately with the three dogs in this household, who run outside and bark and jump at passers-by, real and imagined. The 3-ft chainlink fence keeps them from actually connecting with anyone, but it is still an unpleasant thing for the Little Old Lady and her Little Dog, and the Young Mom and Babe in Stroller, and, well, everyone. Today, Charlie installed a second fence-line about 3 feet back, so now the dogs may bark, but they can't get right in anyone's face. I love to see... Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Cold, gold morning
It is cold, around 40 F in my little RV, my office, where I sit at the keyboard here. The sky was a muted amber in the east when I woke, and I've watched it go brighter and brighter, until finally light struck through the leaves that survived the snowfall this week, like lanterns in the trees... and then suddenly, there, brilliant and sharp, the sun rising in a clear golden sky. I suppose it is a kind of racial memory thing, that relief that I feel when the sun appears again, that elation that... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
A Little Night Music?
I spent some time yesterday afternoon rearranging the porta-house. (The RV... The Rig... The Hutch... a name hasn't stuck yet. "Flight Risk"...? )It was getting claustrophobic as it was, with the loft bed pretty much an attic and the 'dining nook' made into my sleeping arrangement. Now that has returned to table and seats, sleeping is again up on the loft. Ever see that image of a mountain lioness looking out over the landscape from a crevice way up in the cliffs? That's what I feel like, up in... Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
My first romantic moment
As I walked today in the mild sunshine, suddenly I remembered a poem-- Sitting on the hillside Among the grass and vetch Holding hands and sharing hums Nothing goes and nothing comes Careless carefree nothing-head Nothing thought of, nothing said Status quo Tra-la! a sweet May afternoon spent on the hillside behind the school, cutting class for the first time in my life, but it was the last week of senior year so no one minded. I wonder what life has brought to Albert in these past 40 years. Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Lazy Land and beyond...
Palmer Park is a small mountain in the midst of north Colorado Springs, piney forest climbing among some photogenic geology--Fountain Formation, I am informed by my son who took classes on this--a much-eroded conglomerate that takes some lovely red and orange tones from the iron content within it, maybe some other stuff too. Entering from the north side, the first open ground is a recreational area that can be rented by groups for picnicking and play, and it is called Lazy Land. Charlie mentions... Sign in to see full entry.