Time to write this week’s post

Or, “When was the last time I watered that plant?”

I was all set to write this post but just now I got up to water my aunt’s hibiscus plant, because I noticed it was dry again. The thing sucks up water at an impressive rate. I can’t keep it watered enough.

As I was doing that, I noticed a couple of yellowed leaves, so I plucked those. You want to get rid of dead or dying leaves and limbs, so the energy of the plant goes to the healthy stuff.

I was throwing away those leaves when I noticed that Kara had left some dirty dishes in the sink. So I rinsed those and put them in the dishwasher, because I like to keep things tidy.

I also noticed the trash was pretty full, so I took that bag out and replaced it. I set it aside to carry up to the trash can later. And as I did that I decided I might as well open the glass patio doors and use the screens, because it’s such a cool and refreshing morning.

That was when I noticed the pile of mail that needed to be sorted, so I did that real quick. It was a lot of mail. There is always a lot of mail.

I stopped for a sip of coffee, because this is one of those mornings when I feel like I need all the coffee I can get. Mini, our little dog, heard me messing about in the kitchen so she came in to see what she might be able to beg off of me, so of course I had to pet the dog, and talk lovingly to her.

Finally, now, I’ve sat back down in front of my laptop to write this post.

Only I’ve just noticed there are some water spots on the counter near the sink, so I should probably clean that up before they dry and harden. While I was at it, I noticed there was a bit of food and some crumbs in the sink, from the dishes I cleared earlier. So I rinsed and dried the sink

I pour myself another sip of coffee. And then I sit down to finally write this post.

My phone buzzes—my good friend Bob has found something interesting on the curb. Something with batteries he can salvage. For the next several minutes I get a report on the health of these batteries, and assurance they will be put on charge and tested later, and I am obligated to acknowledge this battery find and to inquire as to what they will be used for. He doesn’t yet know.

Mini would like to go outside, and it seems urgent. So we go, and she pees right away but then sniffs every rock, bush, and piece of patio furniture. She’s getting the story of them. She’s reading notes about what animals have passed through recently. She barks at things I do not see, and finally, defiantly, she huffs and leads me back to the screen doors.

Now I sip a bit more coffee, and finally I sit to write this post. Only I don’t have a topic in mind. I rarely do, if I’m honest, but I somehow manage. I’ll write something from the heart. I’ll write some observation I’ve made.

I’m not feeling a hundred percent this morning—I was awoken from a sound sleep by a sudden leg cramp, and because of that I ended up getting out of bed an hour early. My stomach has been a bit blah, and I’ve had to go to the restroom a bit more often than usual. I also have indigestion, so I take an antacid.

Maybe I’ll write about all of that? But no… that really won’t do, because I don’t like to complain on the page. I like to observe and offer any points of wisdom I may have. I used to complain in writing a lot—I could whinge with the best of them. But those days were not my best days, and I’m currently trying to live my “third act,” and make it the best of the three. I’m even kind of hoping I’ll turn out to be a five-act sort of story.

So finally, here I am, ready to start writing. Let’s do this thing.

Thank you for your patience.

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A NOTE AT THE END

A few days ago my laptop keyboard started giving me a little grief. The period key, in particular, got finicky. I joked online, “I think my laptop may be pregnant. The period has stopped working.”

Look, call me what you like and think of me what you will, but that was funny.

The problem is that I cannot be without a keyboard. I depend on these things. Without a functioning keyboard, I’m basically just going to watch YouTube all day.

Luckily, I brought my really good mechanical keyboard with me to Pittsburgh. It was intended for a different computer, but it can work with up to three devices. So I set it up, and that solved that.

Of course, if I’m going to use the fancy mechanical keyboard, I simply must use the very nice mahogany palm rest that goes with it. That’s for ergonomics, you know. One can never be too careful about one’s health.

While I was at it, wouldn’t it be nice to elevate the screen a bit, so that I’m not always looking down as I type? I have a laptop riser for that. A little folding mechanism that raises the screen to nearly eye level—it’s better than laying flat on the tabletop, anyway.

Now that the laptop is raised and I have my comfy and clacky keyboard and my wrists are preserved by the nice wooden palm rest, it’s kind of a pain to have to reach forward all the time so I can use the laptop’s trackpad. I happened to have brought my trackpad for the other computer, so I went ahead and set that up to work with the laptop.

So now I have this nice, comfortable, health-conscious setup.

I can finally start writing.

Though I really could use a nap…