A Brief Break in the Action in Everyday Ramblings

Here is another house portrait. A quiet woman, in her fifties with a small dog that does not like cats lives here. My impression is that she is a widow. I don’t know why, she seems complete in and of herself and just mildly sad. Her neighbor to the north takes care of things around her yard. He is a good guy, the artist that wrote the e-book on the history of the neighborhood.

I actually saw a tortoise shell cat moving through her yard a few days ago that I didn’t know. As I have mentioned before, we go for gray cats here in my world so this one stood out. I shall find out that cat story eventually. Cat stories are easy. :)

My ear is still not functioning properly and I am mildly concerned about teaching tonight. I have maybe 25% of my hearing in my right ear. I cannot wait for it to clear up! My balance is okay and I blessedly don’t have any ringing. My hips are significantly better and now I am wondering if I should have the expensive MRI on Thursday after all.

Normally I wouldn’t be using this space to talk about health concerns, it is just this cavalcade of mystery symptoms is driving me a bit bonkers.

Of course it is a wonderful opportunity to practice equanimity in the face of uncertainty. A skill that gets more important as we age.

Friday morning I had a lovely walk and talk with S. I hadn’t seen her much lately as the demands on her time have increased as we move into summer and she has also been sitting vigil with a former boss and friend in hospice in a foster home. Her friend mentally is ready to go but sometimes the body has other ideas.

Of course the big story here in our world is the sustained heat. It is not just warm, it is hot, and we finally started having clear days, which makes it more intense in some ways. The dahlias, sunflowers and hollyhocks are coming on. But the hollyhocks are having a rough year; Kes said there is a fungus called “Rust” that affects them and it is out and about this year. The irony there is that it usually thrives when it is wet.

It was fun to wander around and look at the gardens in Salem this weekend. The microclimate is different and so they get subtly different things going on.

The cats are good. My weight is stable. The days are long.

I am grateful to have a job, and students to teach (at least in my public class) and a fabulous farmer’s market near by and a creative process I am most engaged in.

Miss E. started French camp yesterday up in the San Juan Islands. They won’t have any Internet access for three weeks so we are encouraged to write actual letters. You know, those things you savor and take time over and put in an envelope and add a stamp to and take out to the mailbox?

She is so grown up now here in 2015. The next five years as she transitions through high school and on to college will be a challenge for us all.

That is why having practices in equanimity when faced with uncertainty and a certain lack of control is most helpful.

My week ahead gets more outwardly focused as I go along. It will not be dull and maybe just maybe if we are lucky we will get a little rain towards the end of it.

That would be a most welcome relief.

Last updated July 06, 2015