Saturday, March 21, 2020

How I'm Spending My Day--So Far



It's only about 9:30 a.m. right now, but I thought it would be fun (for me--but not for you probably!) to form a little list of what I've been doing.

BTW: As I was typing "a little list" I suddenly thought about the Hiram High School production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, my freshman year (1958-59), directed by Mrs. Dreisbach. I got one of the minor roles (Pish-Tush) only because the guy who'd originally won the role mysteriously quit after a rehearsal or two. It changed my life. I became interested in play productions--would go on to direct more than 30 of them in the Aurora City Schools (all but two at the middle school)--would obsessively read and go to plays, etc.



Anyway, the "little list" ... it appears in the song "I've Got a Little List," sung by Koko, the Lord High Executioner, played wonderfully by the late David Underwood in our production. In it, he sings about the sorts of people he'd love to execute. There are many versions of the song on YouTube, but most of them have "updated" lyrics that deal with people we'd like to execute now.

I should add--if we're being frank here--that my voice in 1958 had only recently been changing from its brilliant, Vienna-Boys-Choir soprano (!) to its current ordinary baritone. (I praise myself with "ordinary.") So, back then about every sound that came out of me was a surprise.

Okay, back to my little list for today ...

I got up about 6 a.m., checked on Joyce (who, in recent years has had some trouble sleeping and so moves to the back bedroom later in the night after I've leapt into the arms of Morpheus), went downstairs (as is my wont) to unload the dishwasher and put the dishes away.

Upstairs I came to discover (as always) that Joyce had made our bed--and then returned to the back. I took my shower, dressed. And in the mirror, of course, I noticed that my hair and beard are having a good time. When (If?) all this is all over, I'm going to look like Rip Van Winkle--after he wakes up.

Downstairs again where I went to my study and did some catching up on my journal and Quicken; I wrote for our family a wee doggerel using today's word-of-the-day on our tear-off calendar. (I do this every day--or have done so since January 2019). Here's today's ...

VERNAL = OF, RELATING TO, OR OCCURRING IN THE SPIRNG; FRESH OR NEW LIKE SPRING

In these early VERNAL days
The weather changes—all the time.
One day it’s cold—with cloudy haze—
And next the weather’s really prime!

I also posted on my 2nd blog, Daily Doggerel, today's lines about one of the Seven Deadly Sins (pride).

Then I headed to the kitchen, microwave-zapped one of my homemade scones, made some coffee in the Keurig, and settled into an easy chair to do my morning's work.

  • I read the New York Times on my Kindle.
  • I read my email and Facebook updates.
  • I reviewed and texted the vocab doggerel to our family.
  • I wrote another pride-related doggerel (for tomorrow's posting).
  • I read/took notes on fifty pages of the Ian McEwan novel I'm reading right now (Enduring Love, 1997). I'm about halfway through--and, oh, is he good! And, oh, is the story troubling!
  • About 9 I finished all of this, and I fed my sourdough starter for tomorrow's baking. The starter will bubble away in its covered bowl until about suppertime, at which time I will put a couple of cups back into its storage container in the fridge, put the bowl in the fridge and remove it tomorrow morning to warm up before I commence the prep and baking process.
  • I returned to my study, where I balanced our checking account (via Quicken), checked email and Facebook again, then launched into this blog post.
It's now about 10 a.m., and in a few minutes I will head up to have Joyce read through this, and she will find several typos, and I will rage, rage against the dying of the light--my mental and visual light!


After blog-time with Joyce, I'll probably go again in search of Morpheus, who, I believe, is in our bedroom. Waiting.

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