far too much writing, far too many photos

runswithscissors


Saturday, August 20, 2005

[continued from previous post]

So, yeah, a good day. And real damn interesting in a way I hadn't anticipated. To wit: I've passed this summer in fairly solitary fashion -- me, here at the house, out in the country, surrounded by extreme beauty, floating through my days doing whatever needs to be done. And as just about any homeowner knows, once you have a house/land to take care of you can find work needing to be done any time you're in the mood to get busy. Add what might loosely be called business-related work to that, it's produced a summer that's kept me well occupied, between one thing and another. Essentially alone during the days spent here (not counting phone/email contact, occasional trips to town). Which has been just fine with me -- balancing out months spent in Madrid, in the middle of densely concentrated humanity.

All of a sudden, friends show up -- people equipped with furry, four-legged adjuncts -- and I'm not alone in the space any more. I get to see my way of living contrasted with how other humans carry on here, and when one spends a lot of time on one's own, one develops ways of living, of doing things. Watching someone else here doing things their way provides the opportunity to observe me noting and reacting. Noting where I get the impulse (or not) to impose a way of doing things. Good information. And the first day had some bumpy moments along the way. Not, I hope, excessively bumpy. Not the kind of bumpy that gets friends running the other way, I hope. Informative. Entertaining.

(Nighttime hours featured the pitter-patter of kitty feet as they did the nocturnal exploration thing, now and then slowing by the door to my bedroom, peering in at the strange human in bed there before running off for further snooping around.)

Next day: much better, me having adjusted to sharing the space with other beings. Independent, well-intentioned beings I liked having here.

Another morning of food, talk, waking up slowly. Whole different kind of day going on outside -- gray, cool, rainy. Nowhere near as user-friendly, though good for the Earth and all that. (Grumble, grumble.) The kind of weather that gets me ready to curl up with a book or something good playing on the idiot box. Went out for a hike in the woods with S., up into the woods across the road, along the series of paths that wind through the local hills. Paths apparently little traveled this year -- overgrown, with detours due to a couple of downed trees. Everything damp, soaking pants and hiking boots in no time flat. With many hungry mosquitoes about looking for a donation.

I returned home within an hour, leaving S. to continue on solo for a while. Found myself with the desire to get the TV cranked, shove something into the DVD player. Managed to mostly stave it off until after lunch and friends' departure. At which time the tube went on. And stayed on. Reminding me all over again of television's time machine aspect: crank it up, suddenly it's hours later.

How I sometimes react to intense bouts of time spent with other people: an immediate post-socializing immersion in book, computer, television (and/or food). Decompression, sometimes lasting quite a while.

Monday: Another round of hacking/digging away in the garden, like every Monday morning for the past month. Becoming less and less diverting with time. More like, er, suffering, penance, something along those lines. Not the way I prefer to live. Think I might be reaching the end of that kind of activity for this year.

After that, the traditional August cold snap settled into these parts. Days pretty, nights real damn cool. Temperature at 7 a.m.: 40 degrees. Couple of days worth of that, just to remind us of where we are and what lurks not too far off in the future.

Last couple of days, that eased up, summer more or less edged its way back in. Gray, damp, but milder. Tonight, my uphill neighbors -- the local writing celebrities -- throw their annual 'neighborhood' party, an excuse for the six households scattered around this hill to get together, eat, drink, carry on. Probably provide all sorts of wholesome entertainment.

Later.


Madrid, te echo de menos.

rws 5:09 PM [+]

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BLATHERINGS

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
June 2009
July 2009

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


MORE FOCUSED BLATHERINGS


Travels:
London '01
Pamplona
Italy '03
U.K. '03
Sevilla
Casablanca
Stoke-on-Trent
Barcelona
Québec/Ottawa
Boston/Lisbon/Madrid
Italy '04
Montréal
La Sierra

Events:
Madrid -- arrival
9/11
Emergency Room I
Holidays 2001
Holidays 2002
Holidays 2003
Holidays 2004
Holidays 2005
A neighbor's passing
Madrid -- March 11 bombings
  and aftermath
Emergency Room II
Israeli friend/Madrid Marathon
Madrid -- Royal Wedding
The DELE exam

GONE, a novel:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

THE BASTARD CHILDREN OF
JOE ROCCO, a novella:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3

BURBANK SHRUGGED,
a screenplay:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3
-- Part 4

Short stories:
Murphy's Wife
Another Autumn
La Queja de Una
  Hermanastra Muy Conocida

Autobiography
-- Personal History
-- Hormones On Parade
-- Accidents, Random Mishaps,
    Personal Problems

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


OTHER SOURCES OF WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT

People/Weblogs:
dooce
foxvox
fudge it
fear not
rebekka
bookslut
802online
idle words
madhaiku
wockerjabby
grow-a-brain
rebel market
letting me be
out and about
kung fu grippe
fanatical apathy
baghdad burning
wfuv's music blog
kexp's music blog
mimi smartypants
between the miles
just a hippie gypsy
the impossible cool
tomato can brushes
vermont homestead
sugar mountain farm

Good Clean Fun:
gizmodo
futurismic
postsecret
dave barry
human clock
mcsweeney's
spaceweather
book-a-minute
internet archive
self-portrait day
my cat hates you
out of context quotes
surrealist compliment
  generator
strindberg and helium

Makin' Musical Whoopee:
last fm
stereo8
pandora
soma fm

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


ABOUT RWS/CONTACT





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