Robin has a very good friend, Viki, who is an artist. An example of her art would be an older van that she bought, and then decorated the entire vehicle with her amazing art. To see the van coming down the street is a real show stopper, it definitely grabs your attention. Viki and her husband Tom live in a very nice house, the yard of which falls sharply away to a small stream. Generally the stream has a very low level of water and flow, but certain times of the year it can get out of its bank. For this reason they have left a big swath of their property behind the fenced portion of their yard au naturale. Well sort of… Tom keeps the undergrowth Continue reading “Camp Wild, Camp Covid”
Exhibit A
For about as long as I have know Señora she has been telling me her sh** does not stink. My response has always been, “Really!?!”
Now there are just 3 souls in the house and one of those is The Wee Dog, the others are myself and Señora. I walked into the downstairs bathroom the other day to do what one normally does in such places. I discovered what I am calling Exhibit A.
I was certain 110% that I had not done this, and that The Wee Dog could not get this high or aim that well, so by deduction, that left the culprit as Señora. I can only conclude that her sh** really does not stink!
Telepathy?
Living intimately long-term with someone can be a wonderful experience, and at times it can be a bit strange.
Señora and I were stripping the sheets from the bed in preparation of laundering them. We had completed the task of removing the bed sheets, and I was standing next to the bed momentarily still. The mental gears were actually churning, and I was forming a question in my mind, “When was the last time we washed the mattress pad?” Before I could utter the inquiry she said to me, “Do you think we need to wash the mattress pad?”
Now, Señora is very intuitive when it comes to people. The mattress pad was not particularly dirty; it had just been a while. Perhaps I was staring a bit at the pad, and she picked up on that. At the time it very much felt like she had read my mind.
This is not an uncommon occurrence for us, but it does seem that most of the time it is her picking up on what I was about to say or do.
Whatever it was and is, it is still spooky!
John Carter had the capability of preventing the Martians from reading his mind. Perhaps I should have a conversation with him about his method.
And so it goes.
We Bonded
The beginning of last week Señora became very ill. We thought she was having an attack of sinusitis or possibly the flu. A few days into it, she lost her sense of taste. Despite having had both doses of the Moderna vaccine, she tested positive for COVID. After a miserable weekend she had the infusion treatment Monday, and she is improving. She remains very fatigued and is still missing the flavor of food.
Out of an abundance of caution, Señora suggested Continue reading “We Bonded”
Should I be concerned?
Should I be concerned? Señora sent me this cartoon the other day…
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #7,667
yeah I know you did not ask!
I have a certain playful streak – well, certain folks say mean streak – that can come out at the oddest times.
Señora had an outpatient surgical procedure this morning. In preparation for this the nurse left us alone in the surgical prep room to remove her street clothing and to put on her the customary paper surgical gown. It was one size fits most, nearly dragging the floor on Señora, containing sufficient fabric to wrap around her a couple times, being the petite thing she is. As we all know, they tie in back. I had the damnedest urge to tie the strings of the gown in quadruple granny knots. Of course the surgical staff would not have messed with my knots for a nano-second, taking scissors to them without pause, but still…
I did pretend to be a grownup for that nano-second, and I managed to squelch the impulse.
Rallllllffffff….
More often than I would like to own up to, I revert to being a 13 year old boy. One of my less than adult behaviors is enunciating the name Ralph while I eructate (burp). Yes, I know, boys will be boys…
I did so this morning and Señora asked me, “who is Ralph?”
“I don’t know, it is just something I say,” I answered.
She next asked, “Have you ever known any Ralphs?”
“Well”, I said, “Not that I recall, have you?”
“Nope, me neither,” she added.
“It is not a very common name now days,” was my brilliant response.
Señora then proceeded to say Ralph several ways, adding that it was a harsh name when spoken.
Thinking of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners I said, “An easy name for your wife to yell at you meanly.”
Not missing a beat Señora replied, “David works pretty good too.”
Related??? – At one point my brother Mark could recite the alphabet while burping… I don’t know if he is still in practice.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #9,929
yeah I know you did not ask!
The Señora and I were “discussing” the setting on the thermostat. I was cold and she was hot.
She said to me, “Put on a sweater!”
I said to her, “Take off the 3 sweaters you have on!!!”
That is when she diagnosed me as suffering from hyperobnoxicity as if that was the debate clincher.
Is there a cure for hyperobnoxicity, or is it for a lifetime like herpes?
Something, something, something…
I met Robin’s father, Theodore – Ted, but I did not know him. When I started dating Robin in 2008 he had already been in a nursing home for many years due to Alzheimer’s. It had been years since he had recognized anyone, even his wife. I am not sure how long we had been dating before Robin took me by to visit her father, but a while. Robin did not visit her father, Ted, much in this period as her mother was still alive and primary caregiver. As alluded to elsewhere Robin’s relationship with her mother was “complicated”, and this put visiting her father in the same realm.
Ted’s grandfather had been the village blacksmith back in Mother Russia. Continue reading “Something, something, something…”
Delight to Sadness
A while ago I bought Robin a book, The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay. I had heard the author interviewed on an NPR program during which he had also read a few passages from his book. I thought it might be something she would enjoy.
A week or two ago I put the book on the reading table next to the throne. I’ve been reading an essay or two each morning during my “meditation” time. For this reason I have been thinking a bit more of delight and joy than I normally do. Señora is not reticent about using the word grumpy Continue reading “Delight to Sadness”