Museum Watch

Designated staff because no one else was available. The bathroom crew did great work today, getting half of the seats out of the theater. We have to rearrange everything to accommodate a hand-rail. They also framed in a soffit in the back hallway, which will allow for some recessed lighting. I mostly read about Lucretius. Sara came in, just before lunch, and I showed her around the changes, then we talked for an hour, it was so good to see her, we share so many interests. I dined alone at the pub. D and I can substitute items on the menu there (a rare privilege) and for Lent, they're serving a pollack filet dish, with roasted baby potatoes and green beans. The potatoes are excellent, so we now have them as the side-dish with our lunchtime sandwich. Steaming hot, with sour cream, most are just a single bite. They're so good. I have a beer at lunch, throwing caution to the wind, I wasn't technically working. I did sweep up some sawdust, but that's just a force of habit. Proust, I was thinking about today, would rewrite vast sections just to get the feel right. I'm tired, everything is wearing on me. Getting to the point where nothing makes any sense, three sheets to the wind. I really need to get some sleep. I need to eat, first, pick up some frozen meat balls, a jar of Newman's sauce, and some fresh egg noodles, Texas toast on the side. I drip all over a New Yorker, but who cares? Live a little.The drive home was lovely. I was particularly out of sorts, considering my failures, but I had a large bag of last week's hamburger buns from the bar next door, the inside of the Jeep smelled like yeast, and I knew I was going to make some birds happy. What I do now, to avoid geese in a feeding frenzy, is pull off the road to see which side of the lake the geese and ducks are occupying. They're always all together. I go to the opposite shore and spread the hamburger buns, then retreat quickly to my vehicle and watch. They know I've left them food. They launch off in a pandemonium of flapping wings, a feeding frenzy, and attack the line of hamburger buns as if it were a real opponent. I amuse myself. Phone went out last night and I couldn't send. another chaotic day, the bathroom crew, two electricians, carpet guys brought samples for the theater, half the board was in at one time or another; D spent all afternoon building a rolling rack for the new sound equipment, and assembled components; I flitted from place to place. Didn't get much done. I need to step it up a notch with the painting. Rained all day, I left a half-hour early, because it was supposed to start raining harder, which it did, just after I'd gotten in the house. All the wood stations were loaded with very dry wood, so with the propane torch I go. Stillt a good fire going quickly, to drive off the chill, 38 degrees and hard rain. The driveway will be a soupy mess tomorrow. Harvesting wash water while the temps are above freezing; half of my left-over lunch for dinner, along with a plain Greek yogurt, chips and salsa, and a Balance Bar, for dessert. It's not the life I had imagined. Still, it is an actual thing, you juggle things at the check-out stand. We all do. It's what you mean to say.