“You know, sloth is a sin,” he says softly. “I prefer to think of it as an adorable animal.”
Okay, I know this is really later than usual, but I slept far later than usual. I had one of those I am not tired nights and was up until after 3 so I didn’t wake up until 10:30 then I had to perform my morning rituals: making the coffee, getting and reading the two papers, feeding the animals, reading my e-mail and going through yesterday’s mail. Finally I’m ready, with coffee in hand, to begin writing.
The day is sunny but quite breezy. Pine needles are dropping from the big tree in the front. They look like the start of a snow storm without much punch, one where the biggest flakes fall but only for a while. A few needles landed on me when I went by to get the papers. On the way back it took me a while as I was watching the mini-tornado of leaves whirling down the street. Magic came to mind. I could see Mickey in his magician’s hat and robe moving the wand in a circle to make the leaves dance. I stayed and watched until they whirled their last then fell to the ground.
The week thus far has been busy with something each day, but today I am a sloth. I haven’t anywhere I need to go or anything I need to do. My back will enjoy the day of leisure as it, of late, has been vehemently complaining about the loads of laundry I did on Wednesday then carried up two flights of stairs and the shopping and cooking I did yesterday. My friends came over for a birthday dinner and to open their gifts. I had a list of things I needed to buy. One of them was a yellow pepper or so I thought. When I got home, I saw the recipe called for an orange pepper. I know there is no difference except in color, but I can’t figure how I read one and wrote the other, but the color didn’t really matter. Dinner, Mexican chicken stew, was still delicious.
On my table is a mile high (slight exaggeration) pile of catalogues. I have thrown many away, but the ones in the pile have been saved as possible fodder for Christmas shopping. I will do the shopping from the comfort of my couch then I’ll take a nap. Shopping can be exhausting.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: late, Mexican chicken stew, morning rituals, pine needles
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November 13, 2015 at 2:02 pm
Sometime around 7.00 o’clock tonight the door will kick open and in will march The Prince. I haven’t seen him for three weeks and that is very unusual in our Prince-Pumpa World. I have cool stuff for him from London, including the shirt he wanted from the school for Economists. There is stuff for his advent calendar box (he likes to be first with door #1) and for his stocking and for gifts.
Tomorrow, he and I will ride – guy stuff. In the evening we go to the Chapel and that is special
There is no time for sloth when he hits – He is a loving boy and brings energy to the home. I am very lucky to have him
November 13, 2015 at 2:56 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I am glad as he brightens your world. I suspect, though, you brighten his as well.
When my ice and nephews were you, I used to fill a piñata for them as their big present from me. Everything was always wrapped. any items came from my travels that year as I aways bring back treasures for my family. Now they do piñatas for their kids. It became a tradition.
Enjoy your weekend (as if I needed to add that!).
November 13, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Wot’s all this, then … ? Dawdling? Can’t be having that, you know. Bad form, and all that, yes? But yes, having had many of the same ‘I’m not tired’ nocturnal visitations, I can empathize – and yes, when those nights come, I sleep in the next day too. It’s not like I have to be at work anymore, and that’s the most luxurious aspect of retirement.
The red and orange leaves are still falling from the trees here. We don’t have pine trees on the property – to see those, it’s necessary to drive into ‘the country’ … Homey does not ‘country.’
I discharged all my non-slothful activities yesterday, so today can be dedicated once again to my usual pursuits of Photoshop and Illustrator and graphic design tasks. I love billable hours.
Y’know, that ‘orange’ pepper is just the intermediate stage between the ‘green’ and the ‘yellow’ pepper … but the groceries love to charge us more for the difference in color. I usually buy a couple green ones and wait for ’em to ripen and change on their own. It happens faster if y’ put ’em in a brown paper bag with a semi-ripe banana. The banana gives off ethylene gas, which makes the peppers ripen faster. No matter the color, the taste’s the same.
O. M. G. … I used to be equally as bad with catalogues. I’m not anymore. First I cancelled my subscriptions to most of ’em. The ones that come now receive a cursory reading first, then a more in-depth perusal if there’s anything interesting, but most proceed to the File Which Is Round after a first read. I also tear off the address information and run that paper thru Mister Shredder Machine.
My ‘Christmas Shopping’ changed years ago to become the Marvel of Simplicity and Brevity for which it’s known today: Instead of wasting time shopping, I give ’em all cash. One year I included the message “If this is too large, I’ll gladly exchange it for something smaller” on the cards. No takers. Now I never worry about beating the crowds on Black Friday … ‘course, I never did before, either, so there’s that …
November 13, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Richard,
I am in total agreement about the retirement perk of being able to sleep in, of not having your world controlled by a clock.
The pine trees are really scrub pine, and they flourish all over the cape. Without them there would be few trees and many of them would be scrub oak.
I knew about the peppers and that the green ones aren’t ripe yet. If I’m making something which calls for a couple or more of peppers, I use the different colors. I like the look.
The little ones, my grandniece and grand nephews, are finished. I bought everything on line and the clothing items were on sale. I have a few more scattered presents for friends, but still need more I give my niece, her spouse, my nephew, his spouse and my other nephew money. I try very hard to find just the right presents for everyone. One sister gets a play and dinner afterwards. I get the benefit of going with her.
I do enjoy shopping from the comfort of my own couch!
November 13, 2015 at 5:33 pm
This evening started as a nice soccer-on-TV evening, France-Germany in Paris, in between 2 explosion sounds and now… … back to TV news…
November 13, 2015 at 6:10 pm
Birgit – watching in Detroit.
November 13, 2015 at 6:57 pm
Birgit,
Watching here on the Cape as well. Saw film of game when the explosions happened.
November 13, 2015 at 8:41 pm
Yet our own borders remain unguarded …
November 13, 2015 at 8:49 pm
The border between the US and Canada has so many spots where people can just walk across to avoid border checkpoints that it would be a costly undertaking to either build something or man the entire border.
That’s just one spot.
November 14, 2015 at 12:07 am
I just woke up to the terrible news about what has happened in Paris! I was on facebook when I saw all these strange photos saying today we’re all french and things like that. I just couldn’t understand what it was all about so I popped over to a newspaper and found out. Terrible!
Christer.
November 14, 2015 at 11:08 am
Christer,
My sister called me as I don’t usually watch TV during the day. I was appalled by such a disregard for human lives by a group supposedly bound by religion.
It seems the Koran is interpreted by the extremists any way they choose.
November 14, 2015 at 11:19 am
Yes no difference between crazy muslims and crazy christians in that way, they tend to interpret both the bible and the Koran as they wish and usually in the most horrid way they can.
November 14, 2015 at 11:34 am
It is true: interpret it to your advantage!
November 14, 2015 at 8:25 am
Last night I was stunned by the terrible terrorist attack in Paris. Some folks want to build a wall along our southern border to keep out the illegals and we and the Canadians have the longest undefended border in the world but bad guys will always find a way in because nothing is 100% impenetrable for 3,000 miles. The bad guys think irrationally that they are carrying out the will of god and will be rewarded in the afterlife with some number of virgins.
Although terrorist attacks are terrible and they get a lot of attention from the press, more people are killed on our highways annually than have ever died in a terrorist attack including the attack on 9/11. A sad day for the French but they have allowed a huge Muslim population to become French citizens and they have never been fully integrated into French society. They are reproducing at a much higher rate than their French neighbors and will eventually win in France by shear numbers. The terrorists just want to speed up the process.
November 14, 2015 at 11:33 am
Bob,
France has had a long history of problems with Muslims mostly from what was called French North Africa mainly Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia.
About 10% of the population is Muslim, the largest number in Europe.
People can’t fathom killing for the sake of an ideology though Christians had their crusades, killing in the guise of religion.
Nobody wins a religious war.
November 14, 2015 at 4:40 pm
Besides the crusades Christians have a terrible track record of religious murders in Europe. Besides murdering Jews and Muslims they killed each other in sectarian violence that lasted hundreds of years. In Ireland they have only made a kind of peace that has only been forged in the last 25 years. I don’t think they like each other but at least they are not killing each other.
November 14, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Bob,
In Ireland they did not want to be associated with the Islamic terrorists which was their impetus for peace.
November 14, 2015 at 11:12 am
The choice is really quite simple: Pay the price of securing the borders or pay the price in lives destroyed. The follow-on option is: Kill them into submission.
November 14, 2015 at 11:37 am
Richard,
The length of the US-Canada border excluding Alaska is 3,987 miles while the length of the U.S.-Mexican border is estimated at 1,933 miles. The length of the Alaska-Canada border alone is 1,538 miles. The cost in money, manpower and time is beyond comprehension for me.
November 14, 2015 at 11:56 am
ISIS’ act in France was – and is – an act of war against not only France, but all of Western civilization. There is no logical reason to presume it will remain limited to Europa. We can act in our own best interests, or we can wish we had once it’s too late to do so. I was not born to be a sheep for the wolves, despite our (ahem) ‘government’s furious foot-shuffling and excuse-making.
November 14, 2015 at 1:46 pm
One of the issues in France is the number of homegrown terriorists, far more than we have here. How do we know them?