Sunday, October 30, 2011

So Late and So Loud

I really only have one complaint about this apartment, it is so perfect for me. I mean, yes, it's shabby outside, and yes, the deck is sort of rundown. And the landlords themselves are nobody's joy. But as for the apartment itself? Nothing but great things to say about it, except for one. And that has just recently begun. Only for the past month or thereabouts. It's my downstairs neighbor.

See, when I moved in here, in October of whatever year that was, 2009, I think, (wow, I missed my two-year anniversary!) a little old lady lived below me, named Helen. She was a little, bent woman, very polite and civil, and pleasantly friendly, but not outgoing, and she drove an enormous Cadillac. But sometime about two or three months ago, she quietly disappeared. I was out of the house when it happened, so I don't know if she moved to a nursing home, or dropped dead, or what. I wasn't even aware she had left until the painters started having their radios on loudly while they painted. One day I was home from work early, or something, and heard them, and then I knew she was gone.

And then the new tenant moved in. I have only seen him through a glass darkly, so I have no idea how old or young or dark or fair he is. I'm assuming he is youngish, cuz his parties last all night long (but that could be forty-ish, too). Anyway, he sleeps in the larger bedroom, as do I, so he is directly below me. And, not unlike my ex-husband and son, he has the TV on all night. Or at least, he goes to sleep with the movie playing. I am not in the room with him, of course, so I don't know whether he is awake or asleep -- his snoring has never drowned out the dialogue. And it isn't on when I wake up in the morning. BUT! the other night when I couldn't sleep for several hours, it was still playing below at one-thirty. So the muffled swoops and bangs and screams and surges of background music keep me company until I fall asleep. So far it isn't dreadful, it doesn't keep me from sleeping, but it does annoy me while I am awake.


So! First official complaint: late-night movies in the bedroom. And it's not that I don't like movies, as we all know, I love them. I am leaving to go and see The Rum Diaries in a few minutes. It's just that it makes me feel sort of getting-even when I hear the floor creak as I walk around. It's a very creaky floor, you know, and I used to walk so softly, thinking of Helen below me. But now I tromp around like a big dog, because he leaves his movie on so late and so loud.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Early Autumn Morning

What a gorgeous Autumn day, pale blue sky, bright thin sunshine, cool air, and colors, colors, everywhere. This change was dramatic and overnight, and everything is some russet shade now, from pale yellow through to flaming scarlet, and every shade in between. I am really enjoying this Saturday so far, partly because I got up at my usual time, instead of lolling abed for longer in the mornings, as I have been doing lately. This morning as I woke, I was confusedly thinking that there was something going on about the Rand family, and a tall clothes cupboard, and someone's nephew going to jail...? And all that being expressed, somehow, in the beeping of my alarm clock. Strange, (shaking head) how one's sleeping mind can weave a tale. Instead of waking me up sharply and cleanly at the sound of the beep, as I always used to.

However, in spite of the dreaming, I was up and about in the crisp lovely morning, and got my packages mailed at the post office, and then walked over to Sully's and ate French toast and sausages and drank that gorgeous, award-deserving coffee, all before anyone in my building was even awake. I
love that feeling. Like I know more about the day and the world than anyone else.


Now, of course, it is early afternoon, and there are sounds coming from the other apartments, thumping and scuffling from downstairs, and a door closing...a muffled voice...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Crrrunch, crrrrunch, crrrrrunch.

Ice on my windshield, I said yesterday, without a thought to what it might mean. And today I was gawking away like a mooncalf at all the suddenly -- overnight! -- bright orange and flame red and golden yellow trees. And being amazed at the crisp crrrunchiness of the leaves drifting to the ground all around. It wasn't until my drive home that it hit me: ice on the windshield, dummy!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

All Day Long

Goodness, it has been over a month since the last time I wrote. At first thought it doesn't seem nearly that long, but then when I think twice, it seems even longer. The idea of having a blog and keeping it up to date seems far off and foreign to me. Can't tell you why -- perhaps I am merely getting older with each passing day, and my memory is becoming more and more aged. Or there may be any number of other reasons -- we may never know.

In any case, part of the reason that it has been so long is because of the recent events in the life of Joe. They were big, and important, and filled my whole window for a few weeks. But he asked me not to tell anyone about them, so I'm not. And trying to think of what to write about when I couldn't write about that? Like trying not to tell someone that their hair is on fire.

It is a chilly morning today! My last entry was about the dreadful heat of this past summer. And it was dreadful, too, but isn't it interesting, how rapidly the memory of weather changes? As I sit in comfort (in my cardigan) and think about summer, I can pooh-pooh the idea of buying one of those portable, mount-in-your-window air conditioners, like so many of my neighbors did this past summer. I hate air conditioners because of that -- walking past so many windows with air-conditioner vents spewing hot air out onto the walkway -- ugh!

But I repeat, it is a cold one today, and there was ice on my windshield this morning. Only a bit, and soon succombed to the heater, but there it was. Forty degrees this morning, and still only 44 out there. I have yet to turn the heat on in the house -- holding out until November, is the idea, but if it is still this cold, or gets any colder in the next week, I may just give in. It is hard to get out of bed when you are so very cozy and delicious and you can tell by the numbness of your nose how cold the bedroom is. Takes me less than an hour to get up, make coffee, shower, dress, make lunch, do the hair, and walk out the door, but that hour is getting slimmer by the day as I snuggle down for one last ten minute snooze.

Did my grocery shopping last night -- bread and milk is all I ever really need, and a few non-food items like eye pencil or shampoo. But last night I gave in to the used-meat bin, and bought myself a tiny, fat little sirloin steak. And I will grill it tonight, with a baked potato -- yum. Looking forward to that. I also baked some chocolate chunk cookies, which are quite tasty, although the bottoms burned. I'll do another panful this evening, and put the shelf up a notch, see if that helps. This is pre-mixed cookie dough, that came in the food box, but it is gourmet and all, so I gave it a try. And it's pretty good -- they have a faint caramel taste that I frequently try to achieve with brown sugar and brown flour, but have never managed like this. Don't know how they did it, but it probably involved caramel flavoring, so. At least I'm going to tell myself that.

I had dinner last Friday with my friends Alan and Jody, and I'm afraid I was not a very polite guest. I mean, we had a very nice visit, and all, but the dinner contained several items which I do not enjoy, and so I just did not eat them. It was an orange meal, by the way, just happened that way, with no intention -- and I told them about the Marquess of Malyn, from The Whispering Mountain who loved gold and would only eat yellow food -- and his unhapy guest, the Seljuk of Rum: "Alas, alack, more yellow comestibles!"

The next day, I had a date for dinner at Dina and Mark's house, and had planned to get up and bustle about the house, getting a great many chores done before driving over there. Instead, I got up and sagged limply about the house, revelling in my bathrobe and pajamas and standing-on-end hair, enjoying the feeling of laziness that comes with eating in front of the computer, and later, of making a banana cream pie without doing the dishes first. And then, at about 12:30, the phone rang, and it was my cousin Mickey, saying she was on her way over and let's get some lunch. So THEN! I had to do a great deal more than I had even intended to do all morning long, and get it done in forty minutes! So I look around my clean and shiny kitchen now and bow my head in thanks to Mickey.

So at four I left the restaurant and walked back home with Mickey, and then at four-forty-five, I drove away to get to Dina's by five. So it was pretty much a day of play. All day long!