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Musings from the Laundromat: Time Hop & Front Load edition
I woke at 7 this morning and spent a few minutes fighting my bladder in a battle to remain horizontal and wondering why the hell it was still so dark?
The weather forecast had said it would be hot all weekend. Couldn’t be clouds.
I lost my battle with my bladder and got up. Shuffled into the living room and grabbed Butters leash. Outside we went and I was still confused.
So dark. No cloud coverage.
Odd.
After our little walk and back inside, I noticed the rest of the clocks in the house.
6:12 a.m. Six???
My ‘Smart’ alarm clock has been guilty of these shenanigans before.
On random occasions it decides to try out its little time zone gadget and flip about for no apparent reasons.
This latest warping of time is odd for 2 reasons:
1) The time change in the States happened LAST weekend.
2) The state I live in doesn’t even OBSERVE fore mentioned time changes.
*sigh*
I was up so I checked in on the latest and greatest on Facebook and there it was – “First Day of Spring”
I guess my clock was celebrating. Hopping forward in a confusion of digital excitement?
I lay back down after correcting its display and immediately fell back to sleep.
8:03. Eyes popped open to realize I was in very real danger of missing out on my favorite washing machines!
I literally only ran a brush through my hair and threw some clothes on and here I am.
With my laundry in 2 damn front load machines … Again.
This happened last weekend too. (No, not the time warp, but the greedy grabbing of the top loads before my arrival.)
I dislike the front loads because A) They’re more expensive per load and B) My little laundry sprinkles fall through the holes and gawd only knows where they go.
Well – the machine hogging snow birds shall be flying back to their homes for the Summer soon and all will be back to normal.
Well, as normal as things get around here.
Musings from the Laundromat: Early Bird & Bush Maze Butters edition
I slept most of yesterday away – I feel guilty about that – like I’d wasted precious life time, then try to convince myself it’s a decadence I deserve occasionally.
As a result, after also going to bed early, I woke quite frequently in the night. But every time I did, I had that lovely sensation of ‘tomorrow is Sunday – go back to sleep’.
I haven’t been feeling well lately – for about a week I’ve been tired and have a strange goosebump thing going on. It only occurs on my left thigh. My vision has been blurry, my stomach upset and I’ve just been so tired!
I tried not to google – reached out to some friends and then yesterday, after the goosebump phenomena became more frequent, I flipping googled.
So now, I know, it could be anything from a B12 deficiency to a life threatening thing I can’t even pronounce.
I digress. So I slept a lot yesterday.
I awoke promptly at 6 a.m. Put the coffee on and grabbed Butter’s leash.
We ventured out into the yard and after stopping a few times to nibble on grass (her, not me) we headed to her spots.
“Hey! Let’s try to remember you have me on the other end of the leash.” This, after she tried to take me on an adventure.
It’s a gauntlet out there! She has mazes and pathways that I can’t join her in exploring. I end up quoting Star Wars’ Padme often, “You’re going down a path I cannot follow!”
There was the one time I tried and ended up in a Superman flight pose hung from a palm tree. No joke. It was like a scene out of Hellraiser.
Barbs dug into my skin suspending me while I tried to maintain hold of her leash. (She had just been spayed and I didn’t want her exerting herself.) Oh how I wish I had a picture of that for you – because looking back, it was VERY comical. Although, at the time, with blood exiting multiple puncture wounds, not so much.
Here’s one picture of her entering her maze. Look carefully, you can see her bum and tail.
And here she is on the other side.
The great thing about this morning was the fact that it’s overcast and we have rain in our imminent future.
As I drove to the laundromat, sparse sprinkles hit my windshield. Perfect weather for a Sunday.
And, perfect movie weather. I’ll get my chores done in record time and watch ‘Room’ which was finally available in the Redbox. And I will rest some more.
Because I’ve decided it’s not a waste of a day if you’re taking care of yourself.
Musings from the Laundromat: A Full Heart and Fridge edition
It was so lovely and quiet here this morning – and my laundry lady is back!
Then other patrons started filing in. Now there’s a hum and buzz and a chatter.
I did at least have a few moments alone with my laundry lady – able to ask about her health and tell her I had missed her. She said in her absence, (she’d been filling in for other people due to a shortage in staff) that she had told the people working her usual Sunday to be sure to have coffee made for me.
How sweet is that?
Yesterday I was extremely busy. Ended up going to bed at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night exhausted. The only thing I didn’t get accomplished? My room and bath of course.
The rest of the house is spotless and the fridge is full.
I actually teared up at one point. I had put all the groceries away and in between cleaning, I was also cooking.
Then it dawned on me.
Where am I going to fit these finished dishes???
And it was such a “1st world problem” and such a wonderful puzzle – because I knew with my whole heart what that meant.
I had a bounty. I was blessed with amazing food and a home in which to cook it. I didn’t even mind cleaning. Because that meant I had a shelter.
This morning I sure am feeling the labor of yesterday though. Tired and aching. In a good way.
When I’m finished here – I’ll be going home to pack. I’m house sitting today and tonight, which means my bedroom and bath won’t get done again, but I will get some time with my parent’s cats and of course, the pup Meesha.
Guess that also means I won’t be attending the Oscars 😉 I’ll just leave my ball gown on the hanger and send my apologies to the academy.
Happy Sunday everyone! Hope your fridges are full and your hearts are peaceful.
Musings from the laundromat: Panic and the Past edition.
“You’re not in danger … try to breathe with me. I’m proud of you – you’re going to come through this.”
Those were the words I listened to as I struggled to my knees and bent over the couch, clutching at it as air snatching fear hit me wave after wave. My heart pounding – on the verge of fainting. Mouthing “please, please, please” to some power greater than me. “Please – no.”
My vision blurred in and out. My arm tingled. Palms sweat.
“It’s going to be ok.”
And, nearly an hour after it had begun, it was okay.
That was my panic attack yesterday. They come out of the blue. This one in particular while I was merely laying on the couch watching a television show.
The one who talked me through it? The one who held my hand and stayed calm when I could not? My son.
I know all the tips mentioned above by heart – but ironically, since I do also have a very real heart condition, these ‘spells’ as we refer to them in my home are exacerbated by that knowledge. It’s hard to tell yourself ‘everything is going to be ok’ when at the same time, your brain is saying, ‘but what if this time it’s not?’
I was exhausted and grateful. And slept, after finally being able to assume a horizontal position again. The thing about panic attacks, your whole body gets the equivalent of ‘restless leg syndrome’ and staying put only amplifies the experience. Rocking helps if you can’t get up and walk. And if you’re feeling dizzy, pacing probably isn’t the best idea.
_____________________________
I know why this one occurred however. I had stayed up far too late spending time with … My past. We’ll leave it at that.
Got up at my usual time yesterday morning and woke Nic. We went to run errands. Oil change (that turned out I didn’t need) a car wash that I wasn’t able to have as they were having electrical issues. Then lunch with Nic.
That was the good part.
I love spending time with him.
We had so much more on the agenda – but after lunch, neither of us felt up to continuing.
We came home and resolved to finish our errands today.
The house was pretty clean and that’s when I decided to catch up on a few recorded shows.
AND that’s when it hit.
I tried to ride it out, realized this was a big one and managed to reach my iPad and send Nic a message asking him to come and sit with me.
And I want to thank him for going above and beyond. And caring so much.
As for my past – I’m going to leave it there.
I’m going to stay in the moment and seek healthy, positive and calm things.
Musings from the Laundromat: Laundry Lady’s Absence & the Gadfly edition.
My Laundry Lady isn’t here.
(She does have a name – I just try to keep my ‘characters’ somewhat anonymous.)
I asked the owner about her, knowing she’s had some health issues lately.
“Oh she’ll be back to mornings – she’s covering nights until I can hire someone new.”
Phew!
But strange isn’t it when someone or something that is a part of your routine, your life is suddenly not there.
Much like the divot I keep running my tongue over after having broken my tooth Friday – there is a tangible feeling of absence.
I look forward to our Sunday mornings. I’ve been coming here for over 5 years now. 52 weeks a year. Over 260 mornings with my Laundry Lady.
Crap, if I think about it – I’ve spent more Sunday mornings with her than any one man other than my son. How’s THAT for an example of my ability to have a relationship?
Of course, there’s Glaucoma Man – who, was Chatty Charlie again this morning.
He compared someone in his RV park to a ‘Gadfly’ and proceeded to show me by example what that was.
He switched topics so quickly and so energetically that we (by we, I mean ‘he’) had covered almost a subject for every item I retrieved from my laundry baskets and placed in the washing machine.
(As I was typing that last paragraph, he visited my table to read me something.)
Let’s face it though, I’d miss him too if he weren’t here. Which, he is – again, showing me his new stun gun and telling me about his sniper rifle that he still has.
Good to know. Gooooood to know.
And suddenly I’m very glad I’m kind to him.
Debauchery Soup 