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LandSnail of Simmer
Aug. 10th, 2023 09:41 pmI woke up at five, and got up at six. The sky is getting pale by then, so it seems a bit more hopeful. I always think too late of useful things I could have done in the wee hours, probably because I'm still not fully conscious! The Sparrowhawk woke up after while, and we had a cup of tea. Then he had to take the car in to the shop to see if they could figure out the cause of an annoying rattle. At that point, I did the smart thing for once and went back to bed. I felt much better after a nap, and I had a delightful dream that I wish I could remember better. As usual, it involved a multi-character mission or quest, but we were successful this time. I have a vague memory that part of it was about entering the undersea kingdom and preventing exploitation of the ocean people by dark forces. It ended up with a fantastic parade of triumph and celebration of peace. The Sparrowhawk and I were awarded a victory honor that consisted of a chain of turquoise and silver medallions in the shape of stars. I told him I'd let him wear it an equal share of the time.
My knee was feeling a lot better. We went out for a walk after I woke up and he finished his piano practice. We went even slower than I did yesterday, because it wasn't his best time of day. It was a beautiful day--sunny with big white clouds and a fresh breeze. Last night, I cut up some chicken breasts, breaded them with egg and Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, and fried them in olive oil. Normally I don't fry a lot of stuff, but I felt like something crunchy and savory. Tonight, I made a big salad with farmers market leaf lettuce, cucumbers, olives, and feta crumbles, and cut the remainder of the crispy chicken up in the salad. Just the thing for a summer night.
Yesterday's visit with Madame was disheartening for me, although I think it cheered her up quite a bit. When I came over, her daughter was there, and Madame was still struggling to assemble herself for the day. She was having trouble with the batteries for her implant. She went to look for other things she needed, and Mademoiselle exchanged a few words with me, without fear of being overheard. Mademoiselle is going away for a few days next week. She has some elder helpers coming in for a few hours each day, but she asked me earlier if I could be an emergency backup in case something goes wrong when no one is there. I said yes, of course, although I dread it. I don't mind coming over to fix the batteries or whatever, but I really don't be the one to call the hospital if she falls again! Mademoiselle said that Madame has broken four battery chargers already, because she just can't remember how to do it. Normally Madame puts on a brave face for me, but I'm afraid I saw a lot of her vulnerability yesterday. Mademoiselle said that she feels Madame needs to move to a different living situation soon, and I said I agreed with her. Then she said "Of course, you know about the dementia . . . ." I had guessed, but that confirms it. I'm glad her daughter is aware, but it is very sad. Over lunch, we talked a lot about her thoughts on moving. I keep trying to point out the good things about it, but she still draws back, and I understand why. I think both she and Mademoiselle are kind of losing it in her current situation, so I hope that she'll get to a safe place while there is still time. Hence the need to distract myself from thoughts of mortality with the energetic aroma of fried chicken.
A conversation with the Sparrowhawk from the walk, as we were wondering what all the different golden flowers were:
Him: I don't know anything about life!
Me: Well, you don't have much time left in which to learn! Better get busy!
Him: (apologetically) I got stuck on atomic physics.
A pause.
Him: (explicating) I know a lot about atomic physics, and a little about chemistry. And almost nothing about biology.
Me: Oh, so when you say you don't know anything about life, you mean about the life sciences.
Him: Yes, that's correct.
Me: Ah, that makes sense then.
It is so typical of him to associate understanding a thing with understanding the scientific principles behind it. However, this is also the guy who declared many years ago, "There's more to life than reality!" By which he meant that living fully requires love and imagination as well as the empirical and pragmatic.
My knee was feeling a lot better. We went out for a walk after I woke up and he finished his piano practice. We went even slower than I did yesterday, because it wasn't his best time of day. It was a beautiful day--sunny with big white clouds and a fresh breeze. Last night, I cut up some chicken breasts, breaded them with egg and Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, and fried them in olive oil. Normally I don't fry a lot of stuff, but I felt like something crunchy and savory. Tonight, I made a big salad with farmers market leaf lettuce, cucumbers, olives, and feta crumbles, and cut the remainder of the crispy chicken up in the salad. Just the thing for a summer night.
Yesterday's visit with Madame was disheartening for me, although I think it cheered her up quite a bit. When I came over, her daughter was there, and Madame was still struggling to assemble herself for the day. She was having trouble with the batteries for her implant. She went to look for other things she needed, and Mademoiselle exchanged a few words with me, without fear of being overheard. Mademoiselle is going away for a few days next week. She has some elder helpers coming in for a few hours each day, but she asked me earlier if I could be an emergency backup in case something goes wrong when no one is there. I said yes, of course, although I dread it. I don't mind coming over to fix the batteries or whatever, but I really don't be the one to call the hospital if she falls again! Mademoiselle said that Madame has broken four battery chargers already, because she just can't remember how to do it. Normally Madame puts on a brave face for me, but I'm afraid I saw a lot of her vulnerability yesterday. Mademoiselle said that she feels Madame needs to move to a different living situation soon, and I said I agreed with her. Then she said "Of course, you know about the dementia . . . ." I had guessed, but that confirms it. I'm glad her daughter is aware, but it is very sad. Over lunch, we talked a lot about her thoughts on moving. I keep trying to point out the good things about it, but she still draws back, and I understand why. I think both she and Mademoiselle are kind of losing it in her current situation, so I hope that she'll get to a safe place while there is still time. Hence the need to distract myself from thoughts of mortality with the energetic aroma of fried chicken.
A conversation with the Sparrowhawk from the walk, as we were wondering what all the different golden flowers were:
Him: I don't know anything about life!
Me: Well, you don't have much time left in which to learn! Better get busy!
Him: (apologetically) I got stuck on atomic physics.
A pause.
Him: (explicating) I know a lot about atomic physics, and a little about chemistry. And almost nothing about biology.
Me: Oh, so when you say you don't know anything about life, you mean about the life sciences.
Him: Yes, that's correct.
Me: Ah, that makes sense then.
It is so typical of him to associate understanding a thing with understanding the scientific principles behind it. However, this is also the guy who declared many years ago, "There's more to life than reality!" By which he meant that living fully requires love and imagination as well as the empirical and pragmatic.
