I don't think either of us logged in more than a couple of hours of sleep. He dozed off on the couch, I eventually went upstairs, only to stay up reading. Eventually I dozed, he came up, we chatted on and off for the rest of the night. Nothing important. I tested his knowledge of the personal lives of colleagues. (Amazing how little he knows!) We talked about the reasons for the confusion in who gets a third shot. I was about to tell him my thoughts on Merkel, but then I dozed off, only to be woken by my phone, or was it his phone first? No matter. It was, in fact, a gentle, lovely night.
This morning, it became clear that we are in for a warm-up. We may have tasted fall weather the last few days, but it was in the end only a taste. On my morning walk, there was a definite feel of late summer in the air. I'm back to short sleeves!
Morning walk -- forget the hoodie.
(We have two quince trees -- a rare reminder of my father, as he was the one who urged me to plant them; this year, each tree produced one fruit.)
Breakfast -- most definitely on the porch.
And then we drove off just down the road to get the newly approved third shot. Ed and I are nearing on eight months since our second shot. Given the fact that we are ancient, and in addition, we have solid indoor time with school-going kids almost every day, I'm happy to follow the guidelines and accept the boost.
It was, I admit, disheartening to see the long snaky line for Covid testing at the pharmacy. That many people fear that they may have been exposed! Our county has a large student population and their age group is by far the largest driver of new infections. Just like last year, only this year, so many of us are protected. Not the kids though. Still holding my breath for the kids to get the luxury of feeling safe.
Speaking of kids, here's one of mine, coming to the farmhouse after school!
I'd baked muffins for us, for her...
Time to play!
And talk. I ask Snowdrop about school. She's not a recounter of detail from the day. She tells a story or two and then she is done, claiming she is saving the rest for later.
It's okay if you don't want to talk -- I give her a way out.
Oh, I do want to talk, but with you, I talk about different things!
Like what?
Books!
I have to smile. She must be thinking of yesterday's discussion about controversial authors that are sometimes kept out of school libraries. Today though, during the ride to the farmette, she is into playing our own word game. Her favorite -- "name the lake elections" (don't ask).
Once here, she is full of energy!
Hard to believe she just finished another full week of school.
It rains this evening. Ed works on setting up a new phone system (we'll finally join the legions of young people who have given up on landlines), I cook up a frittata. In September, our frittatats are totally local: bok choy, green beans from our CSA -- Tipi Produce. Corn kept over from Stoneman farms. Mushrooms from the market. Parmesan from Farmer John. Eggs from Peach, Pepper, Cherry and now also Uni.
The house is calm -- Ed's presence makes it so. I had asked him earlier in the day -- do you ever worry about anything? I knew the answer of course. I knew it from the first days we were together now nearly 16 years ago. I just like to hear him say it. No. It never fails to make me smile.
