I did my errand-running today. First thing was to get the oil changed in the car. In the Before Times, we would have brought the car and the truck in, dropped off the car, run errands, picked up car afterwards. Today, I sat there for an hour and a half. They have comfortable chairs and I had a book. Alas - no cappuccino machine as in days past, but they did have coffee.
Then off to Ramona's for my spinning wheel. As I was driving, I realized that I had tears running down my face. Influence of the book - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Fantasy, more complex than most. The fae and the mortals living mostly out of time sync with each other - same worlds, just not meshing. And I realize that's how I think about whatever world Bob is in now. The land of the fae.
He's my selkie man, out there in the ocean. He always loved the water, loved swimming. When he was 10, he was a competitive swimmer, top in his class. Then his growth spurt came and ended that path for him. But he still loved swimming. There was a little-known FSU intramural swimming pool only a couple of miles from the museum, so we got in the habit of swimming after I got off work. He would go out there and get started, and then I would join him. I liked watching him swim; despite his size, he was sleek in the water, cutting into it, never a splash. I liked watching his shoulders and back, strong muscles. I picture him sometimes, out there in the Gulf, maybe sometime rising out of the water for a moment, looking at the land, remembering me, and then diving back down. My selkie. Close, but always out of reach.
Sometimes such romantic visions comfort, sometimes, honestly, they are of no use. A couple of days ago I found a tick, pretty much right between the shoulder blades. It's imperative to get those bastards out immediately; they carry far too many diseases. So there I was, sitting on the bathroom counter, back to the mirror, holding another mirror in my hand, with my other arm twisting around my back, trying to see the reflection through the gap of my elbow, and maneuver tweezers. Total failure. After about 15 minutes I sighed, put down the mirror and tweezers, reached back, and with my fingernail gouged it out, skin and all. You do what you gotta do.
Back to today. I picked up my wheel, and then went to Little India for my tea. I got incense, rose and orange flower water, and a strange fungus which is used for cooking, but which I had also read could be used for dyeing yarn. We'll see.
Sometimes the voices in my head are oddly formal. By now it was about 11:30, and I found myself thinking "I could go to Jenny's Lunchbox to eat French toast and drink coffee." Jenny's is a tiny local place. I had a small table tucked into a corner, and I could eat and read some more. I didn't have the three-tiered etegere with small sandwiches and scones, and no view of rosebushes with a reclining cat, but it was close enough.
And now, in about an hour, I drive back in for the volunteer appreciation party, where once again I get to eat food that I haven't cooked -always a treat. And just hang out with my co-workers, some people I haven't seen for awhile, and generally have a pleasant evening.
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