April

Once again I have to wonder where the time goes and why I am not writing. Lately my weeks seem mundane and I am not inclined to write or photograph. I have been doing the usual house cleaning and cooking and lately working in the yard. It has been hard having Sharon gone all week. She has a gig in Fairlawn, Ohio with Sterling Jewelers. I drop her off on Monday morning and pick her up on Friday afternoon. It is hard on both of us jest seeing each other on the weekends. I have found it is difficult to be motivated to get things done while she is gone. I did complete our income tax returns and got them submitted on time! They were easy this year as I sorted and filed all the paperwork before I went to Oregon. This week has been better, yesterday I ran a number of errands and built a trellis for hops. Today has been deeper than normal cleaning of the house. Deep dusting and moving things about and mopping and such. I feel I made a lot of progress and have only done one and a half rooms.

Work is the same each week - Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Move some cases of booze, talk to customers, sell them some booze, come home. It fills my time and I enjoy the interactions with the customers and the people I work with. But, it certainly is not fulfilling.

Photography? Virtually none. A few pictures of flowers coming up and the lake our backyard after record rains, but nothing else. I am not moved. I am thinking of heading to the Arboretum tomorrow, perhaps that will move the creative juices.

I have also spent time planning our May trip. We are starting in Paris for a few days, driving to Limoges, then Carcasonne, the Perpignan to catch a train to Barcelona, then a short train commute to Sitges and then total sloth at the Soler piso in Sitges for a week. Two weeks seems about right to be gone from home but there are times when I wish it were longer. I could spend weeks in Sitges. It is always good to see Paris, but a few days is all I generally need. In Sitges I can do nothing except stroll about and have a cafe or some wine and be content.

I have been reading more in the past few months and I credit my iPad and Kindle for that. I'm on the third book in a series of the life of a Roman legionnaire, first under Julius Cesar and then under Marcus Anthony. I can follow the campaigns using Wikipedia and the historical fiction account fleshes things out. Throw in some science fiction by Hugh Howey and others and Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and reading does keep the time filled.

I've got several friends going through cancer treatments now, two with lymphomas and one with lung cancer, and one with prostate cancer. It is hard to watch them, but I can relate to each of them and their issues, and I feel for each of them. I feel lucky that I "only" had Hodgkin's lymphoma and my prognosis is good, but almost three years after chemo I am still paying the price for the chemo. I hope all of them are successful in their battles. Damn cancer.