Helio of Ember
Dec. 21st, 2022 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoThe shortest day of the year, aka the day before the blizzard, began with a lovely sunrise of the most delicate and diaphanous sunlight ever. It got cloudy later on, but I enjoyed the light while it was here. Along about 4:30, I was listening to Jethro Tull singing "Ring Out, Solstice Bells, so I decided we should ring some. I was cleaning in our room, so I had my box of bells close at hand. It's an old chocolate box, heart-shaped and covered in red satin. We waited for 4:48 and then went out on the porch and rang those little bells for all we were worth. We also rang the string of bronze bells that say "Michigan" on them, given to us by a friend when we moved out of Michigan. Seventeen minutes later, the sun set. But it will be back tomorrow!
In the course of the day, some things got better and others got worse. Tron texted us and said they were feeling better and would drive over here tomorrow morning before the snow comes. We're happy. The Sparrowhawk had his piano lesson while I vacuumed and vacuumed. I moved furniture and wrestled with the Demon Device. And then I started dusting, also throwing out a few things that were no longer in their prime. This went on intermittently most of the day. And yet there are so very many nooks and surfaces still to be dusted and vacuumed. Oof. I interrupted myself to send Queenie and her family a Christmas present that I found serendipitously. I think she'll like it. It's from a wonderful site called The Bee's Knees that sells British imports, including chocolates and a phantasmagoria of adorable Emma Bridgewater mugs and things.
And then, when the Sparrowhawk had gone to the gym, I was interrupted again by a puzzling text from Madame. I replied, but the exchange continued to be confusing, so I Facetimed her. I asked if she was still in the hospital. She denied it, but couldn't tell me where she was. She also wasn't sure what day it wss. I've never seen her so confused. It was really kind of heart-rending. Apparently she kept trying to get up and walk around. I couldn't make out if she had fallen a second time, but at any rate, she's now in a chair that sets off alarms if she tries to get out of it. I said that was kind of scary, and she replied darkly, "Yes, it is. It's very--Putin!" After we concluded our conversation, I texted her daughter to ask where she actually was, and after a bit, the daughter got back to me and said that she is in fact still in the hospital until Friday, and then she'll be in rehab. If going to rehab means driving anywhere, I suspect she won't be going there on Friday, however. So now I have to somehow fit a visit to Madame into all the other things I want to do tomorrow. People are more important than finishing all your tasks, which I suppose is one reason I never get done vacuuming. When we went to the garden store to get a tree, I bought her a cyclamen, which I think is prettier than a poinsettia, so at least I'll have a traditional, hospital-type gift for her.
In the course of the day, some things got better and others got worse. Tron texted us and said they were feeling better and would drive over here tomorrow morning before the snow comes. We're happy. The Sparrowhawk had his piano lesson while I vacuumed and vacuumed. I moved furniture and wrestled with the Demon Device. And then I started dusting, also throwing out a few things that were no longer in their prime. This went on intermittently most of the day. And yet there are so very many nooks and surfaces still to be dusted and vacuumed. Oof. I interrupted myself to send Queenie and her family a Christmas present that I found serendipitously. I think she'll like it. It's from a wonderful site called The Bee's Knees that sells British imports, including chocolates and a phantasmagoria of adorable Emma Bridgewater mugs and things.
And then, when the Sparrowhawk had gone to the gym, I was interrupted again by a puzzling text from Madame. I replied, but the exchange continued to be confusing, so I Facetimed her. I asked if she was still in the hospital. She denied it, but couldn't tell me where she was. She also wasn't sure what day it wss. I've never seen her so confused. It was really kind of heart-rending. Apparently she kept trying to get up and walk around. I couldn't make out if she had fallen a second time, but at any rate, she's now in a chair that sets off alarms if she tries to get out of it. I said that was kind of scary, and she replied darkly, "Yes, it is. It's very--Putin!" After we concluded our conversation, I texted her daughter to ask where she actually was, and after a bit, the daughter got back to me and said that she is in fact still in the hospital until Friday, and then she'll be in rehab. If going to rehab means driving anywhere, I suspect she won't be going there on Friday, however. So now I have to somehow fit a visit to Madame into all the other things I want to do tomorrow. People are more important than finishing all your tasks, which I suppose is one reason I never get done vacuuming. When we went to the garden store to get a tree, I bought her a cyclamen, which I think is prettier than a poinsettia, so at least I'll have a traditional, hospital-type gift for her.
the dust we have always with us
Date: 2022-12-22 08:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-12-22 10:10 pm (UTC)