this magical life

 First day off on a four-day weekend and I'm feeling good, grateful for the abundance of my life.  Little things.  Having a large sunny backyard to hang laundry, an heirloom yogurt starter to make yogurt, a tasty sourdough starter to make bread.  An oven and a washing machine that work.  Means to repair and purchase if needed.  

Mostly: freedom to leave or stay or do whatever I want.  The world is full of vast opportunities and I can seize as many as I can - nothing holds me back if I don't want it to.  

Grateful for this body that usually holds up.  I hauled a heavy load to the dump yesterday, and while I don't know that I always want to spend three hours myself doing such things in the future - because time is such a luxury - I'm also very grateful for the pickup truck and strength to do it myself.  One guy at the dump was very friendly and we even dapped with our begloved hands.  Later today I'll go get cement mix and repair a fence hole myself because I can.  I'll remove squash vines and plant some more things - maybe some nasturtiums for fun - and make challah for eggnog French toast tomorrow.  I'll keep working on my qualifying exam questions, to finish this weekend.  I'll clean rugs I got for free, I'll cook vegetables from my yard.  I'll visit with friends (outside, avoiding Omicron), I'll read a lot.  I'll walk the dog, I'll clean the oven, I'll do more laundry on these sunny days.  (I'm having issues with doing laundry during the week because for laundry to get really clean in this new machine it can take like 3 hours, and I don't generally want to get up at 5 to start laundry.  Sometimes I do, but not always.  So I have some backlog of sheets from guests and such.)  I hope to finish the oxalis removal and mulching project of the front yard.  

I'll paint part of the living room, to get rid of the ugly color my tenant friend painted and to install a new thermostat.  That's my big project, and once I do that I will feel more present in this house.  No, I still do not have a roof, and I am frustrated, so I will do what I can do, and I will dream of the future when I have ceilings again and when I can finish painting and set up my house.  I must finish before the next hurricane season, and people outside of here are dismissive when I say that, but Ida was four months ago and almost nothing has been repaired, and hurricane season starts again in five months.  So I have a timeline.  The issue now is the fucking flat roofed garages and how to take care of that.  The roofer recommended a product that is ... not really for roofing and not to go directly on wood decking.  I researched extensively and then spoke with the company who said: "We aren't a roofing company; we're a product innovation firm, looking for different uses for our product."  Yeah, that's not what I'm looking for in a roof and I'm annoyed at how long it took to get the information to make this informed decision.  But, I'm not going to think about that this weekend because I'm not going to harass the salesman who does seem to be a nice enough guy but not super knowledgeable or able to comprehend what I'm saying.  I know I'm difficult, but this is now like an $18,000 project and I want it done how I want it done because that is so much fucking money.  And then when that's done and I can get the windows and fascia really actually finished with those fucking slow guys who just watch each other work, I can move on to repairs to the stairs and house painting and gutters.  And then I can do what I'm going to do myself - rescreening all the window screens, cleaning the windows, re-cording the blinds.  But that's all in the future.  I have enough on my plate right now.  

My poor dog has been sick with something and I don't know what.  She's not herself at all - she's very subdued and fearful.  My brash bold hound is struggling and it is worrisome.  Here's hoping she rallies soon. 

OK, coffee done.  Time to jump into this magical life I've crafted for myself.