Back to what passes for normal

After the workshop ended, I simply collapsed last Saturday. We were invited to supper at the house of friends who live in the woods only accessible through the large Nickerson state park. They are good cooks and it was enjoyable to see them, especially since they were about to fly to Tanzania with one of their grandchildren.Sunday I began to get back to activities besides the workshop. This week I’ve frozen 7 pints of strawberries, 2 lbs of broccoli and some cilantro. My back has been bothering me. Since the only good acupuncturist I’ve ever found is staying on the Cape for a month, I had a session with her and will have another before she leaves for Florida. it helps as do sessions with my osteopath.This week Scott replaced 90% of the translucent plastic roof on the sunporch that had begun to leak. All the furniture, rugs, cushions, objects stored there, lamps, etc had to be brought in, as there would be no ceiling. For the same reason, the cats had to be kept inside. They could easily climb the screens and get out the top. Scott ran out of plastic and had to order more, but the little bit remaining is patched. Thursday afternoon, we put everything back. Our livingroom had been unusable – difficult even to navigate the way through – since Wednesday morning. The cats discovered at once that the sunporch was open to them and celebrated. it’s their favorite spot in the house for three seasons and they were unhappy to be excluded. They also did not appreciate the piles of furniture in the livingroom.I watched Xena on the table with a vase of roses and a vase of peonies. She took a bite of a peony, then a bite of a rose, then repeated. She found the peony tastier and ate all the petals off it.My huge gorgeous female tabby, Xena Destroyer of Toys, now Xena Devourer of Flowers. We planted red double knockout roses over Puck when he died and over Sugar Ray last May. I can see them from my office and they’re both in glorious bloom.I finally got back to writing poetry this week. Revised a poem I had started during the spring and sent it out for the first time. Then I wrote three new poems. I’ve revised two of them already. It feels good to get back to writing. When I haven’t been able to write poetry for a while because of other obligations and work, I miss it. It’s a powerful urge that overtakes me as soon as I can get back to writing. I hope to be able to get some serious work done in summer, since we’re no longer doing Omega this August. Walking the long hike back from class to the tiny unairconditioned rustic cabin where we were housed. slogging through101 degree heat with sweat flies biting me, I decided, I don’t have to do this any longer. So I quit when they asked us to re-up for 2017.Because of all the rain this spring, the mosquitoes and ticks are thriving – on us. Tghat was the only good thing about the drought last summer – no mosquitoes and not a lot of ticks. However, the gypsy moths who ate the trees bare and turned June into December don’t like the wet weather.Finished the last of the bok choi in a stirfry last night. Tonight, we’re playing poker at Lois and Ramon’s house. We had our first zucchini and our first yellow squash this week. I am one person who does not get tired of zucchini. I have many ways to cook it and I find it delicious. But if they get big enough, we give them away.