Friday: around 9:30, the local septic-tank-cleaning dude pulled in the driveway, piloting a truck nearly the size of a Tonka vehicle. Small, neat, kept in shiny, impeccable condition. He jumped from the cab, pulled out several lengths of big black hose (why does that sound vaguely obscene?), dumped one end into the septic tank's open port, turned on the truck's pumping system. We stood and watched the tank's slurry level slowly recede, talking, enjoying morning sunshine. At job's end, he disassembled the hoses, attaching each one to the pump spigot, sucking them as clean as possible before stowing them on the truck. I scribbled out a check, he took off.
Closed the garage door, went inside, discovered that as a forget-me-not, I'd been left a basement smelling like... raunchy septic unwholesomeness. Went back out into the garage, found it smelling every bit as tangy as the basement. Opened all doors, let the cold wind get to work. (Note to self: never, ever let a septic-tank cleaning dude park his truck right next to garage, house, barn, or any other structure that you might have to live in, pass through, lean against or otherwise have close encounters with.) Two to three hours later, all foul odors had disappeared, life resumed (minus hair-raising surprises).
Saturday: Sunny. Cold. The few remaining shrinking patches of snow stopped shrinking.
Spent that afternoon hanging the last of the lovely doors I'd begun hanging a few years back (replacing ugly hollow-core thingies). Hadn't done that kind of work in three or four years, my concentration was not at its best, my thoughts floating all over the place. Was a miracle I didn't trash both doors. As it is, one bears the scars of my distraction.
Sunday: Snow. All day long. Flurries, squalls. With no accumulation, for which I gave fervent thanks. Pulled on thermals, tried to get a teeny bit of work done. And got a teeny bit of work done.
Today: Packing. Laundry. Attempting to impose order on, well, not chaos exactly, but my own personal approximation of it. Tomorrow I drive down to the Boston area, hop a flight back to Madrid for two brief days to deal with some practical stuff. Will then fly up to the U.K., attend a friend's wedding. Return briefly to Madrid, fly back to Boston on Tuesday of next week. A whole lot of miles in a short time. Should bring some fun though.
Details will be provided along the way.
España, te echo de menos
rws 3:39 PM [+]
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