a visit with Bastet in Each Day

It has been really hard for me to write since M has been away. I’ve watched a LOT of shows that I’d been setting aside, since M and I have so many we watch together.

On Sunday I met Bastet and her sister at a gas station near the highway, as her sister was returning to her place after visiting with Bastet and her family in the Valley. Because I’d spent the morning cleaning and not paying attention to hunger cues (these meds are still weird with hunger/appetite), by the time we met, noon, I was ravenous. Luckily Bastet was, too. We’d originally had plans to have lunch with Red but she’d messaged saying she was feeling throat-tickley so she didn’t want to expose us to a potential anything.
We went to Jack Astor’s and ate a whole bunch. We caught up a bit, but I mostly verbal-vomitted my feelings all over her because my brain sucks and since I haven’t been doing that here, I ended up doing it with her. I was acutely aware of the amount of impassioned swearing I was doing, and the father of a family in the next booth turning his head toward us. Impulsivity gonna impulse.
We headed back to the house, and when we got there I repotted a plant I’d convinced her to get (haha), but her mom didn’t want to keep it until Bastet returned because she was afraid for their dog, who is still a puppy and tries to eat everything. This plant was a beast, a relatively mature monstera deliciosa, who had badly outgrown the weak little pole it had been given. The soil was soaked so I cleaned off the roots and found pretty significant rot. I had a lot of fun doing the repot and Bastet was impressed with my know-how. When it came time to putting it back in the pot I realized I didn’t have a good enough pole for it, so I went out to the wood pile (in flip flops in the snow, because I am me) and found a nicely forked, thick branch we’d cut off our poplar after the last hurricane. I velcro-taped the various stems onto the branch, and then set the whole thing in the pot, and added a nice mix of new bark and perlite with the wet soil (because it was still good soil, but not a chunky enough mix for aroids). Once we got it all potted up, I put it in the office by the patio doors to get some north facing light. It looked really good.
Unfortunately it took some frost damage on the trip, so it’s looking a little sad now, but it will recover, and I’ll cut off the dead, some time.

Bastet made us dinner, and we chatted some more, me still brain dumping all over her. It was the kind of conversation that I have no control over how much I divulge. I don’t have any background awareness of the circumstances that bring on this behaviour, but when it happens I feel vulnerable and foolish and a burden. But I also think it’s these instances that give me this reputation of being honest and trustworthy.
We ended up watching Nannette, which Bastet had never seen. After some rehashing of the themes, we went to bed.

Monday I had to go to work, but I’d arranged for Tuesday Wednesday off. When I got home Monday afternoon I did some more repotting, we chatted some more, ordered in and watched the 1972 Cabaret, which I haven’t seen in decades and Bastet hadn’t seen ever. As things came up on the screen I would tell her how they influenced who I am over the years (like, her green nail polish).

Tuesday after a really nice breakfast, we went into town. Bastet had forgotten her earrings at her mom’s, so she wanted to buy some, so we went to the mall. I ended up getting a cute pair myself. Then we went to Ikea where she selected a nice heavy ceramic pot to keep her plant steady (it’s very top heavy, so the weight at the base helps balance it). She’d only been to an Ikea once before, and since she’s got some renovations in her future, she was really excited to see all of the show-rooms Ikea has set up. It was really fun getting to experience that excitement again. I love Ikea, it has been a happy place for me for decades, and getting to see it through fresh eyes was really great.
That night we ate leftovers and I introduced her to the 1996 Craft and also 2020 Craft Legacy. She pointed out that everything I had shown her in the last 3 days had some element of trauma in it. Eesh, yeah, welcome to my brain. Sorry.
Wednesday we had a relaxing morning (as much as she could, pre flight), but eventually nerves prompted us to get Bastet to the airport a little early. I was sad for her to leave, but it was also nice to have my space back. Being alone, and then ON with company, really drained me. And that night was our knit night (hilariously, at Ikea), so I relaxed for a few hours before heading out.

Back in January, talking to Bird Guy, I said I didn’t know how I could be in Bastet’s proximity without betraying M’s rule of only playing together. But once I set that boundary with Bastet (which she enthusiastically accepted) we were good. Granted, we kissed good night and good bye, and there was tension in the kisses, but we behaved ourselves. She really is a remarkable woman.

Just over 3 weeks until I fly to see M.