Chain Saw Man

Sunday’s big achievement was downing a lot of dead tree limbs. The trees themselves will have to be professionally downed. They are leaning toward the house, so I can’t risk falling them without a cherry picker; I’ll be calling in the pros. But at least I’m underway with cleaning up the front part of my yard.

Other than that, the day involved a long Zoom call with my fellow stutterers from BC. I really enjoyed seeing everyone and chatting with them. And of course, there was a lovely long walk with Her Highness on a truly lovely mild day. Daytime temperatures have increased. We are in for a decent week. Hooray!

Today, I’ve to clear out all the cut limbs from the ditch that runs along the front of my yard. Some of them were huge, thick limbs that Jay cut into bits for firewood. I’ll be collecting the firewood and stacking it in the woodshed. But first, I’ll go on a dog walk in the sunshine with my friends.

I’m glad to have a few days of working outside. Later in the week, I must do a big shop and a lot of cooking and baking for a small dinner party I’m hosting on Saturday night. Stacey, Bryce and Nancy are coming for dinner. It’s Nancy’s birthday.

•

Quite a while ago, I met Peter and Ali when we were all trail walking. We seemed to hit it off, and so I invited them to dinner. That went well; they invited me to their house a couple of weeks later. And then, after another week or two, I had them back here again. They are neighbours and they love to play games.

As they left after their second dinner here, they said they’d be in touch to have me over for more games and that they’d be inviting another neighbour whom I really like. That was on March 5^th, almost two months ago.

The absence of any word from them for so long makes me hesitant to contact them; I’ve convinced myself that I said or did something wrong and that now they don’t like me. 

I have a neighbour who seems allergic to responsibility; all her misfortunes, and there are many of them, are the fault of someone else. She understands her world in a way that makes her never responsible for her dilemmas. I’m the opposite. I think all my misfortunes are entirely my fault. 

I’ve been quite unhappy for the past month, believing I’ve fallen far short of acceptable to Ali and Peter.