Hard Work, and Relaxation

68 and humid this morning. Got up to the upper 80's, then rain cooled things down. It's basically Pete and repeat of the past week, except not quite as hot.

We've been working hard this week, but not canning. We're helping a friend clear out an apartment that was piled up with an unbelievable amount of stuff. Pretty much all of it went to the dump, 1400 pounds in one load alone. It's grunt work, for sure, and thank goodness for Larry and his friend Roger who have hauled all the countless bags down a steep flight of stairs to load into a truck. Furniture, refrigerator, all of it had to go.

A funny thing, though--there's always humor in any situation, isn't there. One thing that had to be hauled out of there was a very large cooler full of water and rotting food. The smell was unbelievable, as you can imagine. We got it outside yesterday and left it to be tied shut and loaded on the truck this morning. But overnight someone stole it. I can only imagine the reaction when they opened it!

We have one more day, and the job will be done. Then we can get back to life as usual, and the piles of tomatoes that have been ripening in our absence. Nature waits for no one.

We manage to find some relax time, though. I make tea most afternoons and read while Larry naps or putters around outside. I've been slowly reading Virginia Woolf's first book, The Voyage Out. It's a slow read, very wordy, but quietly delightful, even though I have trouble relating to people who spend so much time in idleness. But those were different times, and the characters far more wealthy than I will ever be. They very likely would have trouble understanding our lives today. Woolf's thoughtful if quirky exploration of the role of women is intriguing, given the late Victorian times in which she wrote this story.

And now that it gets dark earlier in the evenings, we are thoroughly enjoying watching the James Herriot series, All Creatures Great and Small. I re-read the books earlier this year, and had to buy the DVD series to see how the story was told on film. This is the first version, and it's fantastic. The scenery is stunning, the story pretty close to the book, and the characters are perfect. It makes me wonder how it could possibly have been improved on in the more recent re-make.

Of course, New Orleans is also on our minds. I am so thankful the levees held, although I understand there is still a great deal of damage. But not the terrible floods of Katrina. 

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