Oh, vacation. As of 3 o’clock yesterday, both Will Dearest and I are on vacation for a week! To celebrate, after work yesterday we grabbed some grocery store lobsters (they’ll cook them for you – joy!) and I steamed up the corn from the farmers market*, and we had a family picnic on the living room floor – which was truly lovely.

While I’m wrapping my head around the idea of a week without waking at six and going in to work, the smallest cat is laying on top of a handled bag from Old Sturbridge Village. He has killed it two tiemz, even tho’ he was frightened of it when it first arrived because it smelled strongly of fudge. I’m impressed with his fortitude and bravery. I am planning to channel his osm spirit in the coming days.

I have some plans for the week: I’m thinking about taking everything out of the sun room and reorganizing it. We are going to paint Man Cub’s room at some point. He and Dearest Will have already taken advantage of the weekend and the good weather to build a (gorgeous!) fire pit in the yard, and we are all eagerly awaiting the cement’s curing to test drive it. I would very much like to get back into my yoga practice, which has derailed over the last month because of Busy. I want to pick up some big pots and some soil, and replant the english ivy that’s looking droopy. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a few days this week.

But first, I got things to do. We have a 2 o’clock slam practice that we’re looking at ending around six tonight. We have a slam team send-off tonight, as they’re to Boston for Poetry Slam Nationals on Tuesday, another practice tomorrow night, and laundry and sundried other odds and ends to handle before we all depart.** Also, I have to order oil and pay the bills sometime today. So I think after Thursday, it will be about really digging into the move-stuff-around-in-the-house business. And going to the movies with Man Cub. I’m looking forward to it, just bringing the focus back home for a little bit.


Sister, it has been a hella few weeks. I think I really lost the thread around the weekend of the 27th. First there was Free Fun Friday at the museum where I work. After weeks of prep, the museum opened its doors to a crowd of over 3,000 people. Eleven hours after we clocked in, we went home to sleep it off.*** Except that the next day was the 24-Hour Reading broadcast fundraiser for the 2013 Worcester Slam Team, and I had left some stuff ’til the last minute,† so it was a long-ass all-nighter during which I clogged up everyone’s Instagram and Facebook feeds (this slam team is super photogenic, yo), followed by a couple days of accounting and making sure thank-you stuff got into the mail. I’m not entirely clear on what’s happened between then and now. I know there were a bunch of team practices. I know that I finished reading the last Earthsea book. I’m pretty sure I nearly adopted a greyhound last weekend at Medieval Hunting Animals Day at the museum.†† I’m certain I binge-watched three seasons of The Walking Dead with Our Man Cub in some epic couch warming sessions.††† There were more team practices. There were a bunch of website updates. I had a nasty dust up with Syd that took 48 hours of distress before it came to resolution, during which I paid a woman with a really great ‘do $30 to rip the little hairs off my face with hot wax. And then there was another team practice. I am supposed to have memorized a poem by Brenda Moossy for the Tribute Reading on Tuesday afternoon, and I’m only just deeply familiar with it. I was hoping to have finished my website and have picked up business cards by now (no dice). What’s my name? Where are we going on Tuesday? Yeh, so, um, YEH! Onward to Boston!

I know that the pressure will let off in a few days, so I’m totally good with that. And there will be poetry slams and reunions with friends, and there will be room painting. And possibly some reorganizing and replanting. Possibly carpentry.  And maybe even some sleeping in. Definitely an afternoon at the movies with Will Dearest and Our Man Cub. And maybe even some sleeping in, right?

More from the other side of things – xoxox

***

*Have you not been yet? If you haven’t been yet, you really should. Seriously, I ought to write a Delightful Things in Worcester post for it – a handful of us from work have been meeting there on Thursdays and enjoying the hell out of ourselves. It’s in Kelly Square, and it’s still rather small (like, eight tents and two food trucks small), but we’ve picked up something Really Good every time we’ve gone. This week we brought home silver corn, cardamom raisin bread (omfg), and a pound and a half of fresh peaches. Seriously, Our Man Cub and I have eaten our way through three seasons of The Walking Dead on farmers market treats.
**Tuesday and Wednesday Will and I will be in Boston, and if when the team progresses, we’ll come in for the shows.
***A kiddie pool would have been osm as an after-event for staff. We could all just sit together with our feet in the pool and sip umbrella drinks or something.
†Mostly because I wasted time buying a camera,‡ figuring out that it was smarter than me, and then having to return it in shame. Also, I was going to be making bread on the air that night (in between reading science fiction stories and making snacks) and needed to start it the night before, and then tend it for a few hours before the broadcast started. Also, web promo and videos shot on my phone. (And trying to learn some broadcasting stuff on a short timeline. But that’s a whole other post for a whole other time.)
††Greyhounds lounging on the museum floor and letting me pet them. Greyhound rescue people telling me how chill greyhounds are and how little maintenance they actually need, as opposed to what people think they need. I imagined a big lug hanging out in my house and a partner for walking during the summer and I was super into it. What stopped me was when I shifted that walk to the winter. And consideration for the smallest, deeply skittish cat.
†††I watched the pilot with him on a Wednesday, after he would not let up about it for, like, a week. And I was more or less nonplussed (there’s some Grand Icky going on there). Then by the time we got the farmers market on Thursday, I was wondering how the guy was going to get out of the tank. We bought a baguette and some fresh blueberries. It was all downhill from there.
‡My brother insisted that I would be able to operate it. He said something like, “It’s designed for stoners to strap to their surfboards. You don’t even get stoned – you’re one up from the get-go.” Maybe it’s not meant to be operated if you’re not high. Or maybe it’s nice to get high and then watch tutorial videos of YouTube? It took me forty minutes and video instruction to figure out how to get the thing out of its waterproof housing so I could put the battery in it. That’s when I knew the jig was surely up. I told the camera, “I’m really sorry, but you cannot live here,” and I swear it smirked at me and called me a loser. Dude.