Saturday, Not Much

66°f, clear but storms expected this afternoon.

These have been surprisingly quiet days. Partly this is because the garden is nearly done, and partly because my arm has been slowing me down. I have decided that the defining characteristic of aging is Pain, with a capital p. It's the thing no one mentions in all the talk about how we age. Hair loss, wrinkles of course, graying hair, age spots, narrowing lips, thinning skin, the need for fiber, etc, etc---we hear all those but pain? Rarely mentioned, perhaps because it is assumed, a given. So here we are, all aching and hurting and taking pills and doing therapy and trying to eat the anti-inflammatory diet and drink more water and get the right pillow/mattress/bed, and none of it is really a cure. So onward we go, and as the day goes sometimes on the pain eases up, we can go about our day fairly normally, and then come evening, here it comes again. As the old trope says, if you're going to get old, you better be tough.

And that's enough grumping! We did get to our booths and brought in some new things--an oval oak library table at one place along with 2 more really nice lamps, and the green cabinet i just painted at the other place, along with a couple totes at each place. We also went out to dinner at a place we really like. This fairly new restaurant used to serve really special meals. The chef had an herb garden, and they used meats from their own farm. The patio was a lovely outdoor space. Well, the patio is still nice, but the menu has downgraded to things like burgers and fries and the like. Pretty sad! But the main clientele is the plant workers from the nearby aluminum plant and construction workers from the solar farm and lithium plant being built, and these guys want burgers, I guess. Still, it's a nice place, and their salads and pizza are still the best in the county.

So that was Thursday. Yesterday I priced more stuff while Larry did more weedeating, and in the afternoon we went to the farmers market for eggs, the grocery store for odds and ends, and the hardware store for a few things I needed for two projects I am working on. We stopped to check on Larry's mower, found it was ready (an expensive repair!), so when we got home Larry went right back with the truck to pick it up. I stayed here, put away groceries, and then read my book.

I have to say, this book has been such a pleasure, and I am going to be very sad when it is done. It won't appeal to everyone; the story unfolds slowly, and there is a lot of description of both landscape and people.  It would not be for those who enjoy pithy, action-filled stories, but if you enjoy deep character development, a unique setting, gentle  humor, and very human predicaments, I think you will enjoy This Is Happiness by Niall Williams. I will be looking for more by this author.  

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.