Thursday dawned bright, sunny and cold. It was easier to undertake the firebox platform extension on such a lovely day. I lit the fire in the studio for the first time in years so that I had a warm room in which to work. Before getting to work, however, Her Highness and I went for our morning walk, and then we went into the village for more bricks and cement.
When we got home from the village, the studio was lovely and warm. Working was comfortable and it didn’t take me long to cement the construction bricks (not the lovely red or terracotta ones) into place. I had no confidence at all going into the job, but when Dave came over from next door to help me put the large (and very heavy) paving stone on the bricks, he thought I’d done a great job.
I’ve done all that needs to be done to move the firebox and have it operating to code, but I need to encase the brick foundation in tiles to match the rest of the platform and the flooring. I plan to measure and mark them today, and if I do, I’ll arrange with Daryl to go to his place and cut them to size. Installing the tiles will be a lot easier than the work with the bricks.
I finished the job just before noon, so I went quickly into the village to fetch my new floor lamp from the post office, and when I got home, I assembled it while Her Highness went for a walk with Ron. I’m very happy to have a reading lamp again. The old one broke and was non-repairable.
I’m chuffed that I was able to do this morning’s work. Owning this house, its outbuildings and infrastructure has had me do many things for the first time—climbing upon and cleaning the roof, learning how to manage the water system of Pinecone Park, running a generator. And now mixing and using cement! I just passed my sixth-year anniversary on Gabriola. I wonder what new things lie ahead for me.
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I’ve heard many stories about people who move out here in the straight, to one of our Gulf Islands, and find they don’t like it. My friends Suzy and Steve did that. Their stories make me happy that I love it so strongly.
The best part of my life is my family: Sheba, Fred and Ethel. Fred knocked a small clamp lamp off the dining room table, and it burst on the floor. I don’t care. All that matters is my relations hip with Fred. I don’t freak out; I don’t raise my voice; there’s joy in my speech with him, and I clean it up. This is new and welcome. Pre-FND/Gabriola, I carried a lot of tension, and it would come out in drops here and there. My pets would often trigger me. But, no more!
All of us love the fire. When I watch a movie at night, they are all nearby or on my lap. Sheba goes to bed early. The cats and I stay up later together. I spend a lot of time with them both. Sheba is jealous of Fred. Fred and I talk a lot. When he started talking, every time he spoke, I answered him. He has taken that to sessions that go for as long as 90 seconds. I love it.
Ethel likes to sleep on my lap, as does Sheba. Sheba likes to be mostly beside me, but with her arms on me. I rub her legs, and she closes her eyes. Fred likes to sleep beside me so that I can stroke his long lithe body. He becomes besotted. He has wonderfully soft fur and loves attention.
I took Sheba to an obedience class, but I didn’t like it. I’ve never ‘trained’ Sheba. I’ve used sounds and words and gestures to communicate with her, and she is magnificently cooperative. And that’s how I describe her “obedience;” I say we’re cooperative because we are strongly bonded. We are a constant source of strength/security for each other.
Sing out loud, the big hit of Sly and the Family Sone.
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Today has dawned like yesterday did. It’s bright and cold out there. It’s -1° as I write this morning. I’ll be walking soon with my small dog walking group, and then I plan to measure the tiles for cutting. The rest of the day, though, will be reading and relaxing. Come Sunday, I start using 24 eye drops a day in advance of my cataract surgery on Tuesday.
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| Asperity's are clouds occurring mostly with stratocumulus and altocumulus clouds. |
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