An empty house

You know that empty feeling a house gets when there have been guests and they leave? That's what Sophie and I are dealing with tonight. My guests, friends for fifty years this fall, are not noisy--in fact, they're both so soft spoken my defective ears strained to hear them and they're not non-stop talkers, either one. So it's not that the house is quieter--it's that indefinable sense of emptiness. I'm not waiting for them to come in for the apartment in the morning, not checking to see if they're sitting on the front porch so I can join them, not cooking for them--not that they let me do much of that.
I learned a lesson about guests--find out their habits and adjust (I did do the latter). Because I love to cook I planned an elaborate breakfast for each day of their visit and dinners for most days. Breakfasts included a spinach souffle, potato nests with cheese and eggs--didn't get to make either of those. I did make pimiento biscuits (they took leftovers on the road with them), Welsh rarebit (with stout) for brunch on Sunday, and cheeseburger soup one night,  King Ranch chicken for Sunday dinner  with Jordan, Christian and Jacob. But my plans for coq au vin went out the window last night when they voted we get take-out barbecue. I'd never object to that! And we had one wonderful lobster dinner out on Saturday night and a Saturday lunch at the deli.
These friends came not to see the sights, do the museums or go shopping. They came to sit on the front porch, sip wine, visit and catch up on children and lives. I worried they were bored, but I don't think so. I on the other hand was delighted. They, both retired, seemed to take a real interest in my new careeer as a mystery writer--who wouldn't relish that attention?  What a wonderful feeling that friends you treasure would drive twelve hours in one day (from Omaha) just to see me--and, I had a sense, check up on my well-being. I hope they were reassured on that scale, in spite of my pratfall into the dishwasher (I am still finding new bruises, new sore places!).
Dick is an electronics guru, so I have two new HDF TVs--one in the apartment and one in the kitchen. And Dick programmed the remote that I wouldn't have had a clue about doing. And he reprogrammed my printer, so I can now scan to email and receive faxes. Gosh, do you suppose he'll come back for every electronic crisis I have?
I'm back to routine, as though a vacation is over. Granted, there's something comforting about routine. I did my yoga for the first time since last Wednesday or Thursday. But routine doesn't fill the emptiness. Sophie and I are both partially encouraged that Elizabeth is back in the apartment, but she's not often inclined to share a late-night glass of wine on the porch.
Oh well, a cold spell is coming. Won't be porch weather for a while.

Ah, sweet technology!

This morning the kitchen TV would not work--when I pressed 5 and OK, it told me it was Channel 5, NBC, but then it was blank. This, for me, was a serious problem--I like to have the TODAY show on in the kitchen, bathroom, and office as I wander from room to room getting ready for the day. I didn't have time to deal with it this morning, so when I came home this afternoon I called and spent about half an hour in the Phillippines--at least verbally. But it began to work. The woman said they would call back in 30 minutes. Never happened until 8:30 tonight. I figure in the crush in the kitchen last night someone inadvertently messed with the buttons on the remote.
Meantime, Moksha the pet sitter came to meet the animals and see their routine, so I was outside with him and Scooby for a while--and AT&T called twice, both of which I missed. And I couldn't understand the messages they left except that they would call again.
After Moksha left, I tried to turn on the news in the family room and ride my exercise bike. Somehow the bike's time frame had been changed, and the TV said client error or some such. I fiddled with the remote and finally got the TV so it would work--sporadically. The picture would freeze, the sound break up, but I sort of got the gist of what was going on in the world. And the reset bike wasn't really a problem--I still rode my 4.5 miles and sort of calculated the time.
So about 8:30 AT&T called to see if everything was fine, and I told them the new problem. Another half hour in the Phillippines (these people are always so polite and I hate to tell them I can't understand them because they talk too fast). There was a long period when the gentleman on the other end was making "adjustments," and then we waited for the TV to come on. After rebooting three times, it finally did. Another half hour--and patience is not my strong suit.
I think the lesson learned from all this is to hide the remotes and unplug the bicycle whenever kids, big or little, are in the house. Oh, and I found a small white charger plugged into the power strip in my office--I have no idea what it's for and am assuming Jamie left it and will soon miss it.
I really like all electronic things in my house to work perfectly without my having to mess with them. When they're off kilter, I'm most frustrated. Think I need a glass of wine.

Things I hate

One of the things I hate is technological problems. I want all my Tvs, my phones, my computer all to work without my having to worry about them. I watch the TV in my office a lot, even keep it on, muted, when I'm working. But last night I tried to change it to the food channel--my favorite--and it refused. I pushed all the right buttons and ended up with snow. Looked at the Dish receiver in the family room, and the TV 2 light wasn't on. Unfairly, I accused Jordan of doing something when she hooked up the DVD player for Jacob, though she swore innocence. I spent at least 45 minutes on the phone this afternoon with a technician, who had me running from one TV to the other. Finally got TV 2 back working.. But tonight it won't change channels--I'm stuck with NBC which isn't too bad since it's the one I watch most--but it's frustrating. I called again, did some more "experiments," and they're sending me a new remote. I guess those things can go suddenly blink--anyway that's what this one seems to have done.
On a happier electronic note, I'm slowly mastering the digital camera that Melanie and Jamie gave me for Christmas. I've taken a few pictures and last night, after a lesson from Jordan, I sent a picture of Jacob to Jamie. He had been afraid I'd just put the camera aside and not learn how to use it, so he was pleased. But as I told Jordan tonight, when I'm home alone there's not a lot to shoot. She suggested Scooby, but he's so goosey that if I even shift in my chair, he's up and in my face--not a photo op.
Another thing I hate: rats. I walked into the bathroom tonight to find Wywy the cat hovering over a dead baby rat--now, if I had not turned on the light and stepped carelessly--let's not even go there. Once again, there was no one else around to dispose of it, so I did--with copious paper towels, followed by much hand washing. That makes one dead adult rat in the yard, either two dead babies or one twice also in the yard, and two in the house. My neighbors and I are having the "rat tree" cut down Friday.
I'm still struggling with a cold and it occurred to me that I rarely have colds and I've had a lot of them this year. Then it occurred to me that I have an 18-mos. grandson whom I see quite a bit. Bingo!