Well....

I'm a fine example of an industrious Dutch woman. I haven't done a thing today that required any effort, except for walk the Überhund and clean up a cat hairball. I have done nothing but laze around and been kind to my toe, which I very gently rubbed with a lot of gel and then wound in a bandage a couple of times.

Actually, I think it is the bandage that is keeping it from hurting so much, as it keeps it from being squashed by the other toe next to it. It is a painful business to put on my boots and walk the Überhund, but I've been doing that for 2 months now, so I can do it for a while longer.

So, I have done nothing useful all day long and even the phone has not rung. It is a very quiet day here. You would almost think that I live on an island and have been cut off from the shore. Or I am living a life deep in the impenetrable woods and there is nobody around but me and the critters. I am completely lost in my own world. Is there a better place to be lost in? Not in my book. I have been completely at comfort, with a high sense of satisfaction. Today I was the lone wolf, quite happy in her den with the other animals.

Of course, I got up late and the day was halfway over before I got it started properly. That was extremely pleasant and I hope that happens again tomorrow. It is so funny to skip the whole morning and to not make it out there until after lunchtime and to know that the rest of the world has been busy for hours already and nothing bad happens to you if you do. The sky doesn't come falling down and the sun doesn't drop out of the heavens.

Everything is so relative. I am just a little tiny cog in the machinery and I hardly matter in the scheme of things. That makes me glad and I'm happy that I'm not important in the larger picture. That means I can almost be anonymous and just glide through the world outside without even touching it too much. I hardly need to leave any dents in the fabric of life. I don't cause many ripples in life's waters. Isn't that nice?

I used to have a fantasy about me leaping onto a big stage in front of a huge adoring audience and acting my heart out and emoting up a storm and getting a thunderous applause afterwards, but all that desire has left me and I would now merely want to be a member of the audience watching someone else do it. I'm glad general adoration and attention can go to someone else and not me. I would not want the responsibility of it and I am sure I would deal badly with it and come completely undone.

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In the meantime, it is an hour later, because my older sister called me and we had to talk for a long while, of course, and I briefly had to let out the Überhund. Just long enough for him to do his business and for my toe not to hurt too much in my boot. Luckily, the Überhund is always very cooperative and he gets done quickly, no doubt wanting to get home for his treat as soon as possible. Gandhi escaped into the stairwell, but I've discovered that I don't need to chase her and that I can leave the front door slightly ajar and she'll come back 5 minutes later. That saves me from having to go up four flights of stairs, which she takes a quick as the wind.

In the mail just now I also got news from the tax office with my new rent subsidy and it will be higher than it was last time, which was a miscalculation. So the next time I will get that extra money too. Thank you Higher Power, Allah, Buddha, God and Barack Obama. I will not thank Jan Peter Balkenende who is our prime minister and is up to no good. The Christian Democrat! While I am a Socialist. Righteous indignation here.

Anyway, here I have this perfectly lovely wasted day and I am not about to make a change in that by doing anything useful now. I may take a shower and wash my hair and fix it up again, but that almost seems like too much work. Still, it is tempting to have clean hair that is not sticky with hairspray. Yes, actually, that sounds like a very good idea. See how I can talk myself into that? I have some clean pajamas I can put on too. Sometimes I just outsmart myself. Hee, hee.

Well, with that smart idea between my ears, I am going to leave you and first remember to water my rubber plant, which needs to be watered every Saturday and which I have not done yet. I just pour half a container of water on the thing and it thrives. I have a green thumb with plants that take kindly to me. In other words, plants that only need a little bit of tender loving care and that can take some accidental neglect. I try, I really do.

Have a good evening. Enjoy your cozy hours indoors.

Ciao...