"It's horizontal; I can put something there!"

"Oh, were you going to SIT there?"

"It's under the cat."

Heh.

Some of you know my friend (and ex-housemate Charlie). I've been helping him unpack and set up his cute little Alameda bungalow. It's been helpful because I have tons of nervous energy and am in total nesting mode, but I don't want to do a single thing on my house until escrow closes. So.

I learned a lot from: [link]

One of the things I've been asking Charlie as we go through boxes that he hasn't opened since 1978 (not exaggerating) is "is this meaningful to you? If it is, let's get it out of this box and display it. If it's not worth displaying, then are you honoring the memory by keeping it wrapped in 30 year old newspaper and not even knowing it's in this box?" I've learned to be really gentle and respectful during these discussions. I used to just be annoyed and pissed at the detritus but it's amazing how if I differ my approach slightly, Charlie has a chance evaluate and make his own decisions. Basically, I've learned to back the fuck off and still be helpful.

"It's horizontal; I can put something there!"

And if it's a book, it's still horizontal!

"It's under the cat."

I have an image of it affixed to the cat's undercarriage through the magic of Velcro.

I like waking to a house with no clutter, and that 5 minutes at night clearing stuff up is a really helpful little ritual.

I do this and truly enjoy the quiet consistency of it. I find it calming.

Yay for dad visit! For all I don't love being separated from the SO right now, I am enjoying extra time with my folks.

I skyped with the SO, though, so that was helpful. Don't know why it didn't occur to us earlier. Guess we don't normally have the bandwidth available.

So! After you guys talked about it, I checked for grey today and...I totally have a lot! It's all in the classic guy grey spots, at the temples, etc, so it's normally kinda hidden. But seriously, I have way more than I realized. I've had grey hair since I was sixteen, but not noticeably more than that ever, but I do have now!

Oh, and yeah, I used to try to do up the dishes and stuff last thing at night, but I've fallen out of the habit of it. I should go back to doing that. It was very satisfying.

Actually, I do most of the dishes whilst waiting for a kettle to boil. Well, during the winter anyway, when the kettle is inside. During the summer when I put the kettle on the side burner of the grill, I just kinda chill out outside while I'm waiting. During the winter it takes longer because I'm boiling water to deice the birdbath too.

I like waking to a house with no clutter, and that 5 minutes at night clearing stuff up is a really helpful little ritual.

I can only wonder what this must be like.

Liese, does Biscuit wait for you to go to bed? Around 11 or so, when Chile can feel the evening winding down, she'll just sit in the hall doorway impatiently. Like "come on lady, it's time to go to bed!" It's so funny that she cares where I am and that I stay tuned to her clock.

She knows when I start the evening-clutter-round up.

Bartleby is the same. So, lately, I've taken to putting him to bed before I begin the evening ritual. That way, he doesn't have to follow me around and I don't have to step over him. It's more relaxing for us both.

I've also started doing the first part of my morning ritual before letting him out of his crate. That way, he doesn't get bored waiting for me to get my act together and after the morning kisses, his first order of business is "OUTSIDE!" Which, of course, is the awesomest way to start the day.

I can only wonder what this must be like.

Me too. I can manage it for short periods of time when I have guests staying here. Then they go to bed and I take a few minutes making sure the kitchen is clean and setting up coffee for the next morning. But it's a rhythm that doesn't work with just me as well.