That’s our catch phrase for when this life seems really
ridiculous. It’s usually me who says that, mostly as a mantra to help me
remember this is a time to treasure not a time to curse. Whatever!
Now that the weather is gorgeous, I can easily forget the
days this July and August that I spent hunkered down in the library hiding from
the heat of the sun and the ridiculous mid-Atlantic humidity. Whoever invented
that should be…
The AC unit wasn’t a complete waste, but with a boat that is
not insulated, on the 95+ degree days it simply kept the boat dehumidified. So
imagine hanging out in a hot box and saying “Dry heat is so much better than
wet heat.” I lived in the desert southwest one summer, and high heat is hot. So
come 11:00 AM I’d crawl out of the boat with the least amount of clothing
touching my skin, leave the AC cranking, text Kurt to meet me at the library
and off I’d go. Mind you, the cat had left hours ago. Cats are truly the ones
to look to when you are looking for the best seat in the house. And when she’s off
the boat, humans need to take note.
The library is a godsend and I will put them in my will, as
every community needs to continue to have a space for folks to gather. Mind
you, there were some folks reading. But mostly there was online shopping, online
game playing, news show watching (WITHOUT HEADPHONES!) and stealth napping. I
did get to know many of the folks by face. The hotter the day, the more crowded
the library, and the librarians seemed to revel in it. The community was
seemingly happy to be gathered. And the AC was brilliantly cool. Kurt and I
would often use the time to update our electronics, research termite treatments
and review documents for our impending house purchase.
Yes! It’s true! We finally saved the money to buy a house!
In southern Maryland, but it beats the boat on frigid and steamy days. I
haven’t wanted to put anything here until it all looked like a go. Jinxing is
still a holdover that keeps me mum at times. We are there! We found the
perfect, unflipped by others, grandma house. My commute time will be cut in
half and Kurt’s will be doubled. He swears he’s okay with that provided we
build him his woodshop sooner rather than later. There has been a great deal of
back and forth, but the underwriters have agreed to terms on the loan and the
sellers have agreed to the repairs needed to make the underwriters happy. We’ll
be able to walk to the Patuxent River to put in canoes and kayaks. We will also
be able to walk to Wawa to buy candy coffee and a Sunday Washington Post. The
best of all possible worlds! The property is only an acre, so we’ll have to
trim our plans of forest, meadows and gardens, but I think we can get it all in
there. Best of all, the house is a cape cod with the dormer window room just
a’waitin on little folks to take it over with dress ups and read alouds. This
is good. And I will keep my teaching job until it’s paid off. Which will take
extra payments each month, but now that I am practiced at needing close to
nothing to live, this will be easy.
Elizabeth, the boat, will remain in her slip here at Calvert
Marina and Kurt has agreed to come check on her often on his way home from
work. He’s even agreed to take a nap or two just to make sure she’s not lonely.
I have pledged to accompany Kurt as we take her out at least once a week in
good weather. And we will finish some of the renovations on her in balance with
the house Reitzenbauerization work. That’s in writing now.
I head back to work tomorrow and will keep the long commute
till the end of September when we close on the Grandma house. With the weather
turning to fall, I won’t mind returning each night. And there will be parts of
boat life I will miss. A lot. But that’s another post.
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