![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
BrambledBriar of Leave
Oct. 17th, 2025 06:55 pmYesterday, the Duchess surprised me by very kindly asking if I had any errands that needed running. The Sparrowhawk had a prescription that needed refilling, but alas, by the time it was ready, the Duchess was already back at home. She said they were coming back today to see Dr. Nurse, so they might be able to get it this morning. Today, they were running late, and she texted to ask my status. I was just in the process of re-testing myself, so I told her I'd know in ten minutes. Either there was no line, or it was somehow invisible to my ageing eyes! The Sparrowhawk couldn't see it either, so I concluded that I'm virus-free! Yay--I got those little varmints on the run. Sadly, the Sparrowhawk was still positive, although less so. He's getting better--just a couple of days behind me. I told the Duchess I could go to the store myself. She reminded me to breathe deeply and get plenty of rest.
Before going to the store, I wrote up four birthday cards and two sympathy cards. They've been piling up while I dawdled. I mailed them and then picked up the prescription and a few other essentials like coffee cream, milk, potato chips (for the Sparrowhawk), some ham, and a little extra ice cream. By the time I got home and unloaded everything, I was beat again.
While I was having a cup of tea, a curious little package arrived. It was from my cousin in Peoria. I have dozens of cousins, but I don't know most of them. My father gradually became distant from his family, and by the time we were teenagers, we had lost touch with most of them. My Peoria cousin is one of a handful that I remember. In the process of her parents and my parents dying, we exchanged some communications. The package contained a note and two artifacts. One was a beautiful and rather impressive "reading glass" from Bausch and Lomb, which my cousin said my aunt (now deceased) had said was sent to her by me. I honestly don't remember doing that, but the instrument looked kind of familiar, so maybe I did! It's a great piece of equipment, and I will keep it for times when the proverbial print is too small. The other item inside was a very old little book, an edition of "Silas Marner," with my father's name written inside, in his own hand. What a poignant mix of feelings swept over me, like a breath of autumn wind mingling snow and summer, to see that familiar signature. I went back upstairs where the cards were and wrote my cousin an appreciative note forthwith, lest this good intention, too, get swept away by the winds of time.
Before going to the store, I wrote up four birthday cards and two sympathy cards. They've been piling up while I dawdled. I mailed them and then picked up the prescription and a few other essentials like coffee cream, milk, potato chips (for the Sparrowhawk), some ham, and a little extra ice cream. By the time I got home and unloaded everything, I was beat again.
While I was having a cup of tea, a curious little package arrived. It was from my cousin in Peoria. I have dozens of cousins, but I don't know most of them. My father gradually became distant from his family, and by the time we were teenagers, we had lost touch with most of them. My Peoria cousin is one of a handful that I remember. In the process of her parents and my parents dying, we exchanged some communications. The package contained a note and two artifacts. One was a beautiful and rather impressive "reading glass" from Bausch and Lomb, which my cousin said my aunt (now deceased) had said was sent to her by me. I honestly don't remember doing that, but the instrument looked kind of familiar, so maybe I did! It's a great piece of equipment, and I will keep it for times when the proverbial print is too small. The other item inside was a very old little book, an edition of "Silas Marner," with my father's name written inside, in his own hand. What a poignant mix of feelings swept over me, like a breath of autumn wind mingling snow and summer, to see that familiar signature. I went back upstairs where the cards were and wrote my cousin an appreciative note forthwith, lest this good intention, too, get swept away by the winds of time.
