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runswithscissors


Sunday, July 20, 2008

Had a yard sale yesterday, the first of the various pausing points I've been working toward in the process I'm involved in. (And that is a fine example of a long, convoluted sentence that says just about nothing.) A multi-family affair, three other households on the hill here bringing over carloads of STUFF and setting up on either side of my long dirt driveway. One of the upsides of the event: it's cleared out bunches of STUFF that have been accumulating in the two rooms in the far end of the house. Creating enough space to allow me to generate a whole new mess to fill in the vacuum.

One of the things this process has clarified: it's not much fun doing it alone. Could be a stupidly obvious truth for most people, but there it is. Going through a houseful of accumulated possessions, preparing for the sale (and for other parts to come in this long process), carting all the STUFF down to the garage and setting it up. Would be much more fun with (a) a partner/sweetheart, (b) a friend or friends, or (c) a sherpa or personal slave or two. (To the many friends who have conveniently avoided making their way to this beautiful backwater while I'm wading through this process: don't think I haven't noticed your convenient absence. And don't think I won't bring it up at convenient moments in the future. Harrumph.)

Cleaned up the garage in stages, pulling stuff of corners and crannies, some of it STUFF left by the previous owners (pause to stifle unkind comments about said p.o.'s, followed by moment of grinding teeth due to suppressed angst). Swept both bays, cleared out cobwebs, spiderwebs, and far too many dead insect corpses. Began carrying stuff down late Friday.

It's been raining here most every day, storms trudging through unpredictably, the weather report for yesterday morning changing on a day by day basis. Friday's forecast claimed Sat. would be the only rainless day during this long, moist haul. Woke up at 2 a.m. Sat. morning, the sound of rainfall drifting in the open window. Pulled myself to my feet, wandered into bathroom, stood gazing sleepily out window. What I saw: the full moon hanging in the southern sky, shining amiably while the sound of heavy rain continued outside. A moonshower. Not something I'd ever experienced until this week, and for some reason this week brought two of 'em. Tuesday or Wednesday night, the wee hours found me in the bathroom, torrential rain falling outside. I drew the shades, cracked the window, the sound suddenly loud enough and the air filtering in cool enough to suggest the feeling of standing behind a waterfall. And out there in the eastern night sky, the moon -- nearly full, the dark shadings on its face sketching the classic image of someone gazing down, smiling enigmatically. While rain continued pounding on the roof.

When that kind of things happens during the day in these parts, the likely product is rainbows, some warm seasons bringing a bumper crop of them. And what about when it happens at night? Do ghostly moon rainbows cut soft arcs in the night sky? Probably not. Nice thought though.


Northern Vermont, 7/14/07:




Usually when I find myself awake at that unfortunate time of the night, drifting back off to sleep without much struggle. If necessary, a light goes on, a book gets opened for a while. Saturday morning –- yesterday morning -- I didn't manage to drift back off until just before 6, daylight seeping in around the windowshades. Woke up an hour later with a jerk, my bleary brain already going on about the heap of work that awaited, trying to force itself up to working speed.

Got up, got showered, got shaved, got dressed. Stumbled around the kitchen for a few then got to work, carrying stuff down to garage, setting up. Neighbors taking part began showing up around 8:30. I'd painted a couple of signs the previous afternoon -- tossed them in the car just before the hour, brought 'em downhill, displayed them by the two-lane. Returned to house/garage/neighbors, finished setting up while the others stood around outside chatting. People came and went in a steady trickle, not in great waves. (A more heavily-traveled location would have brought more people. A gravel road up a hill brought a trickle.) And while my STUFF did not go flying out of the garage in great shelf-clearing torrents of consumerism, enough went at a steady enough pace that I wound up with $80 when I headed off to town at noon. Encouraging enough that I'll be doing two more in the weeks to come, maybe three more. And after that trips to Salvation Army, to recycling, to the dump transfer station. Will continue giving away bags of things to friends -- books, cassette tapes, like that. And so on.

[continued in following entry]


España, te echo de menos

rws 9:05 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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