Midday Sunday

Click on image to enlarge; click on back arrow to return to blog.

Hi All,

After much rain on prior days, Saturday was a lovely sunny day with temperatures in the high 60s. Bernice, as encouraged by Bill, her PT, and her urge to recover, did a great deal of walking in the house. The left ankle, still swollen and painful, impedes a more comfortable progress. She got on her sneakers {accustomed in the past to daily exercise) and moved through all the rooms. She spent some time on our deck reading the weekend NY Times and breathing in some outside air. Here she is in her minimalist hair style. The last time i saw Bernice in this hair style was when she was 16 and we were in high school. Her hair was ordinarily so long in those days and into her early 20s, that she was able to sit on her long locks. For some reason then she wanted to cut her hair (she was alone during this adventure) and, as she explained to me after the deed was done, she looked in the mirror and found she needed to "even it up." She never achieved that goal for there were bare patches of scalp showing and she wore a little cap to school during the early regrowth period. The present hair is more presentable and has grown measurably already. Interestingly, there is no trace of gray and I note that her hair grows in a forward direction.

Laury and Bernice got in two more hours of work on their Measure for Measure book. Bernice is not yet up to getting to her computer and making these changes there. While B&L worked I went for a walk at the water and moved at my accustomed brisk pace. Having been absent from that walk for some time i did feel some tiredness in my legs. If one does not use it, one loses it. I must make more of an effort to stay in shape.

There was more cooking instruction for this very novice cook Saturday night but dear Bernice was right there and did much of the composition. Fresh asparagus was cut into bite-sized pieces and softened in a frying pan with olive oil. Eggs and chunks of cheddar cheese were beaten and added to the softened asparagus. Bernice asked me to choose between an omelet or a scrambled outcome and I chose the latter and enjoyed folding over the mix from the edges as it hardened on the bottom of the large frying pan. It was delicious. Will I remember this instruction?

Last night and this morning were unusually cool and, at Bernice's behest, I put on the heat for the first time. Whether it was the cold or a reaction to yesterday's activity, she felt more tired than usual this morning but, continuing with her new regimen, ate at the kitchen table. At lunch, she sat and directed me in preparing a veggie burger, salad, tomato, rye bread toast, and cottage cheese. I find that the challenge is timing the work to have everything ready together.

Margherita, our new whiz of a cleaning woman, is again here today and is a wonder to behold. She literally attacks dust, dirt, and grime with great energy. She said that her intention is to get to each room done HER way and then she will be in maintenance mode. After finishing in Bernice's study she declared in a surprised wonder, "This room was really dusty."

My culprit frog continues to elude me. My dear friend Raymond, concerned that I might be becoming obsessed had this comment: "Merwin, your gigantic, invisible frog is developing into a myth, like Ahab's whale. I hope, if you finally come face to face, nothing tragic happens. Be careful." I replied that my frog was certainly not albino and I will try to exercise some caution.

A good day to all,
Merwin