from Indian Summer Sky
by U2

In the ocean, cut, swim, deep the sky
Like there, I don't know why
In the forest, there's a clearing
I run there towards the light
Sky! It's a blue sky!

In the earth a hole dig deep, decide
If I could, I would
Up for air to swim against the tide
Hey, hey, hey
Up toward the sky — it's a blue sky

To lose along the way the spark that set the flame
To flicker and to fade on this the longest day

No, I don't know what it means, either, but I love it.

Nick came over last night to help us finish removing wallboards. We pulled sheetrock and fiberboard and molding and nails for a couple of hours, until we had nearly finished the dining room, and were half-way done with the parlor. (Remember: the den was finished on Saturday.)

Kris went outside and slumped on the back porch.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm overwhelmed," she said.

"Should we just stop here and pay the wall guys to pull of what's left?" I suggested, and she agreed.

We have three more drywall contractors coming out today to look at the project. Unfortunately, they're coming at the very same time our floors are being sanded.

I know that many (all?) of you think we should strip the "popcorn" up to the ceiling. There's a layer of it on top of the wallboards, and it's going to take some serious monkeying to install drywall below it. That's fine. We're willing to pay for the monkeying. We don't mind the popcorn ceiling. (And besides, there's a chance that it contains asbestos.) If the contractor insists that the wallboards need to be pulled to the ceiling, then we may pay them to pull it off, but for now we intend to leave it.

After we had picked up, swept, and vacuumed in preparation for the floor project, the three of us drove to Nicholas' for Lebanese food. (It only took thirteen minutes to get there! Living in Oak Grove is going to be awesome.) The food was outstanding. I had beef and rice wrapped in grape leaves, a lamb platter, and a couple of ice cold lemonades. Mmm.

On the way home, I pointed out that I haven't bought a CD or DVD or comic book in weeks. "I haven't had any spare time."

Kris nodded. "This house is your spare time now."

"And your spare cash," she added.

She thought a little more, and then said, "In a way, this is like having a child. It takes all of our time and attention. We don't have time for anything else."

At the house, Kris went upstairs to do some chores while I spent an hour in the cellar, tucking myself into nooks and crannies, attempting to seal the outlet box holes in the dining room, parlor, and den. Unpleasant work, but just a minor step in owning this house. When I went upstairs, I found Kris passed out asleep on the bed.

She's exhausted.

I got up at 5 a.m. this morning to move the cats back to Canby for the rest of the week. They shouldn't be in the house during the flooring project. I bought a third cat carrier yesterday so that I wouldn't have to torture Simon during transit, but he managed to tear his way out of it. (That cat is strong.) So he rode around in the back of the van, paws tucked beneath his chest, as content as could be. His siblings yowled and whined nearby.

At the old house, I watered the lawns (the real reason for my early morning trip) and then spent some time soaking in the tub, trying not to fall asleep. When I got out of the tub, I looked at myself in the mirror. I have drooping bags under my eyes.

I'm exhausted.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2005 — RSS and Link Farms   People often ask me where I find all of the silly and interesting things I post in the flotch. The answer is simple: RSS.