Sunday, May 06, 2007

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." - Annie Dillard

You know, I want to post, but I also want to read the new Barbara Kingsolver so I can discuss it with Jess and Gina.

So, a quick recap of my weekend:

Friday night: invited to a friend’s impromptu birthday celebration; other friend calls me to pick me up but I am asleep on couch and punk out on her.

Saturday: work in stiflingly warm library while other people revel in the sun and balmy spring air outside. Spend lunch hour devouring brought-from-home caramelized onion pizza with gorgonzola and spinach, and The Secret of Lost Things, which I wish would never end.

Saturday night: putz around house and feed boys breakfast for dinner while H takes his mom out for dinner and the symphony as her birthday gift.

Sunday morning: frantically edit a dissertation proposal my client needs by noon, to submit to his advisor. At 10:55, send boys off to church with H, shower, and then rush to church, only 15 minutes late. Take communion for only second time ever as official Episcopalian. Am still in awe of the sense of community and peace I feel doing this; feel like a bit of a religious nut saying so, but it’s true.

Sunday after church: allow boys to eat two pieces of chocolate cake each for lunch while I scout out the church summer book sale. I come home with the following haul, for $22 (would have been far less, but felt guilty only paying hardcover price of $3 for Audubon book).
The Double Bind - Chris Bojhalian
Blessings - Anna Quindlen
Awakenings - Oliver Sacks
I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb
The twelfth edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook
Too Many Tomatoes - Lois Burrows & Laura Myers (because I am hoping to get a garden planted in a raised bed sometime this week)
and the score of the day: an almost-pristine hardcover copy of The Art of Audubon.
Gorgeous.
And well worth the resulting sugar rushes and crashes.

Early Saturday afternoon: field several phone calls from my client who cannot seem to open my email attachment containing his edited proposal. Open edited document in Word, accept all my own changes, email him resulting document. He can open this one, and tells me he is sending it to his advisor as is. Oh gosh – half my remaining notes were missing citations. Oh, well.

Sunday afternoon: attend a First Communion party for H’s first-cousin-once-removed. While children are engrossed in animal balloons and amateur magic act, I spend the entire two hours self-consciously picking at my food, as H’s cousin has dropped 3 dress sizes and now looks like fashion model. I feel like a heifer, and am sure H thinks so as well.

Sunday late afternoon: pour very tired children into their beds for brief naps. Take Punto out for my run (2 miles) and then let him loose to jump in the duck pond and doggy-paddle after delicious ducks. He fails to catch a single duck.

Sunday night: everyone goes to bed by 830, leaving me in peace and quiet, to drink a cup of coffee and eat an avocado sandwich and read and write blog post. Wish cat would stop scratching window to be let in. Wish dog would stop farting. Wish tomorrow were beginning of long, solitary beach vacation for me.

6 comments:

Katy said...

What a darn busy weekend.

Be glad that Punto doesn't catch the ducks its gross and makes them fart more. Baxter ate a baby duck in the woods once (it was the last one in line) and his futile hunting is that he tries to catch fish. In the lake. With his mouth.

P.S. you are not a heifer.

nutmeg said...

I don't know how you get to read ANY books at all! Was selfishly feeling the absence of new emails - but fully understand why - did you at least get a little Kingsolver read?

Anonymous said...

I loved that quote you put in right at the beginning.It's so true.

BlueRectangle Books

Joke said...

Waitadamnedminute.

Avocado sandwich?

-J.

Sarah Louise said...

Oh, am I ever craving avacado now...and I'm with you on that beach vacation, although probably a little less solitary than yours.

delta said...

That is one of my most favorite Annie Dillard quotes.

It is also one of the scariest...

because it is so true!