Lots of nothing—and maybe a lesson in political reconciliation

That’s the kind of week it’s been. Seems like there’s nothing going on, but really there’s been a lot.

Jacob went off to eighth grade Monday morning without notable enthusiasm for the prospect—he looked cute though. Temperature was forecast to be 102, so he wore his hoodie. Just in  case, I suppose. In Austin, grandsons Sawyer and Ford went back to school—eighth and seventh grades—and in Tomball, Kegan went to seventh and Morgan started her first year in high school. I tried to grab their first-day pictures from Facebook but couldn’t. In Frisco, Eden started her junior year in high school, while Maddie is junior at Colorado in Boulder. They’re growing so fast! I laughed at the friend who confessed she still thinks of Megan as a TCU student—only about twenty-eight years behind, but that friend moved away years ago and until recently didn’t keep in close touch. Nice to have her back in the fold.

School also started at Lily B. Clayton Elementary across the street from us and brought complications—the city has put up No Parking signs in front of our house, effective from 7:00-9:00 in the morning and 2:00-4:00 in the afternoon. For a three-car family, with a skinny 1920s driveway, that’s a real hardship. We also have new Stop signs, though thank goodness they are not in front of us. I don’t see how the No Parking is going to help—it should be down the street where the crossing guard is. An engineer from the city will meet with us “in the field” next week. Perhaps he’ll explain the logic.

Monday was much taken up by Jordan’s bad back and a doctor’s appointment. She has been referred to a specialist but won’t been seen until August 29. When you’re in the kind of pain she is, I’m sure that seems an eternity. There’s not much I can do to help, but I’m trying. Made Frito pie for everyone one night, and helped put together a big salad last night.

Tuesday I managed to get a whole lot done. Finished edits on my ranching history novel, and it has now gone back to the formatter for finishing touches. I’m excited about publishing it in September. And I put together what I think will be a huge issue of the Poohbah, Berkeley neighborhood newsletter. Lots of good stuff about who did what over the summer, back-to-school pictures, and marvelous photographs of the painted churches around Schulenburg plus the usual monthly features. Still tying up loose ends.

My former student, now a chef, came for lunch today and declared I had fixed the perfect light lunch. Always pleases me to get her culinary approval. Recipes will be on my cooking blog, http://www.gourmetonahotplate.blogspot.com, tomorrow. After lunch we had our own mini meeting of Better Angels, the group that tries to bring together people of opposing political views. I asked why she supports trump, and she said the economy is doing well. I fear that my protests that it’s not really healthy at all fell on deaf ears.

But on a lot of issues she agreed with me—the hilarious folly of this kerfuffle over buying Greenland, the unbelievable promise to the NRA’s LaPierre that background checks are off the table despite trump’s words at the times of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton. She’s not sure climate change is real and says there are two sides, doesn’t believe we could lose the earth, while I think it is desperate. We agree that we need health care reform and immigration reform—pre-existing conditions might be a deal-breaker for her, and she says trump is not the kind of person she’d ever sit down and have a beer with.  It astounds me that given that she still thinks he’s the person to run the country. We kept it light, but that is hard for me because I feel so intensely about the earth’s current situation. I did find that she was unaware of several things I mentioned—one of the reasons I keep posting on Facebook. We need an informed voting populace.

I have one other friend that I haven’t seen since trump took office because I can’t bear her support for him. I don’t know if I have the strength for reconciliation there, but today was a lesson for me.

Tonight, a relaxing dinner with Betty at the Tavern.

How much things have changed

Another day, but not another dollar

It's beginning to look like a home

In many ways my days are unremarkable—I get up before eight, do my morning rituals including washing my hair at the kitchen sink while balancing on one foot, and then take breakfast to my desk. Breakfast may be anything from yogurt to cereal. I work all morning and somehow never get to my new project—today it was Facebook, email, newspaper, and entering The Gilded Cage in a contest. Then it was lunch time-my standard fare of tuna salad with cottage cheese. Then a bit more time at my desk and a nap.

Tonight we had happy hour, which turned into a lively discussion of Italy, travel, and, of course inevitably, politics. My neighbor Jay and I have opposing political beliefs—he swears Hillary is a felon and should be in jail; my arguments fall on deaf ears. Our other guests were surprised at the vehemence with which we debated. Later, after others had left, he said, “What’s wrong with them that they get so anxious when we debate politics?” He doesn’t take it seriously, though I do a bit more because I’m appalled that someone thinks as he does. He did say, however, that he would not vote for Trump because “He’s crazy.” He thinks the Republican party will disallow the Trump candidacy. Interesting to see the GOP convention—is it next week?

When Jordan was young, I served dinner every night at six, and I had a balanced meal planned for every night of the week. Those days are long gone. If I ask at five what’s for dinner, she has no idea. Tonight my dinner was a couple of miniature quiches, some cherry tomatoes, and cottage cheese followed by some of the Jello with fruit. I fixed all this myself because Jordan was still outside inspecting the cottage.

The cottage is coming along. Today they put in the window for my bedroom and put on the siding where it was once a parking bay. The window looks great. The bedroom looks very small.

My tiny bedroom

Insulation and sheet rock are in place, and it’s beginning to look like livable space. I wish I could go see, but it’s still a mess inside and there is no easy way to get me down the steps out of this house—a ramp that scares Jordan half to death—and up the steps to the cottage, though there will be a ramp there eventually. Besides, I don’t expect to be in a wheeled device forever.

Somehow at the end of these unremarkable days, I’m exhausted. Could go to sleep now at 8:15 but know I’d be wide awake at 5:00 a.m. or earlier. And another day of nothing done on the new novel. I have lots of ideas, and I know I’m procrastinating.