MUSINGS
Don't be surprised if you should find this newsletter a bit disjointed. Mrs. T worked on this over several sessions and things are not totally connected. And the timeframe is also a bit out of whack; these events are actually over a couple of months. That is mostly due to our usual visitors - Nick and Rita. No fault is assigned; they just diverted the Muse's attention while writing. We greatly enjoyed their visits as always. Also, Rebecca has been living at the dentist lately for crown work.
Dan has been watching an international chess tournament in the Netherlands. (In January; It is the first big tournament each year. -dt) He says he understands the commentary; usually it is too fast for me. (But she really likes Peter Leko. -dt) Every so often he takes a day off to watch professional football. (We are obviously well past that. -dt) Sometimes Dan and I listen to OSU basketball on the radio. I am severely reprimanded ('admonished' is a better word -dt) if I fall asleep. (A common occurrence -dt) At any rate this is an enjoyable time of watching many things for Dan, the Monday morning quarterback.
Nick and I have been going to the beach to check on the ocean. This makes us both happy for no particular reason. We sit at Karen's drinking - watching the waves and talking of desultory things. Sometimes I think we both could be beach bums without a lot of effort. (Mrs.T is already rather close. -dt)
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be---
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep" Robert Frost
I am also enjoying a book of happy poems Nick brought me. Sometimes Nick and I puzzle together.
We have all been working on a complicated puzzle about a beach. Judy and Gord are making some progress but it is slow. We miss Barry (and Helen -dt) who could not come this year. Not only for puzzling , he was especially good at borders, but also for his quiet good humor. There are several holes in our company this year and we miss you all. Gord chose some different puzzles for us to do next. They are called rompecabezas in Spanish which translates literally as hit your head. We hope his choices are not quite so tough on our skulls. (They will have completed many more puzzles by the time you receive this. -dt) Lucy, the dog, has taken to laying under the palapa near whoever is working on the puzzle. She seems to like the company. Lucy is getting old like the rest of us. (Yes, her hair is gray, and she does not see or hear so well. -dt)
I have been reading a collection of short stories by Louis L'Amour. I find a reality in his work somewhat reminiscent of Jack London. There seems to be more believability in adventure stories written by true adventurers.
In Ohio we have a little Roomba robot that sweeps the floor. Dan has been talking about getting one for our condo in Mexico. The thing fascinates me. In fact I thought getting one for Mexico was a fine idea until I found out how much they cost. Made me wonder how much we paid for the one in Ohio. When I inquired Dan said he got a really good deal on it! (We have an inexpensive basic model in Philo. -dt) That kind of answer makes me really nervous! Dan likes to have anything technological. Every so often the Roomba disappears. I always look under the bed. It is never there but that is where I look. Then I look under the furniture and behind the trash cans. I was telling my friend about this problem.
"You will never guess where I found the thing!" I told her.
"In your closet," she promptly replied!
It turns out she has one and it always gets lost in her closet also. I wonder if it is the shoes on the floor that confuse it.
Anyway in Mexico we have a maid who comes in once a week and sweeps and mops the floors, cleans the bathrooms, and changes the sheets. This is nice except we have spent the time before she comes picking up everything and putting it away. We wouldn't want the maid to think we are messy. Dan who has neatness tendencies sweeps up little pieces of dirt and sand and stuff off the floor on non-maid days. (White tiles show everything. -dt) Sometimes he sweeps the floor on days the maid is coming, we don't want the maid to think we have dirty floors. (She gets the tough stuff. -dt)
One day Dan was sweeping away in our bedroom. "OH!" he said. He was trying to sweep something up and it scampered under the dirty clothes basket. Carefully lifting the basket we discovered that Dan was trying to sweep up a teeny, tiny gecko. The next day Dan was cleaning in the bathroom and he found the gecko - or possibly its brother - under the bath mat. "Leave it alone, maybe it eats mosquitoes," I advised. (Hoped -dt) Be that as it may I don't think we need a robot sweeper harassing the tiny wildlife.
One night walking home I looked up and saw clouds making a rainbow around the moon, or actually half a moon. I suppose I could be scientific and speak about the prismatic effects of water droplets in the clouds but NO that is wrong! It was magic! Sometimes I see magic everywhere. I speak to animals and plants and they reply. (Mrs. Doolittle? -dt) I feel a great sadness for those who can not or will not hear and see. I might have fit more easily into the world of Wordsworth:
The world is too much with us; late and soon
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers -
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
(From "The World Is Too Much With Us " -dt)
My poor horse Johnny has been sadly abused. His lip on the right right side has been badly torn; I can only assume by someone jerking on the reins. I am sure it was not George, his owner, who really loves Johnny. Maybe it happened before George got him. At any rate George has put some medicine on Johnny and I have been riding him with only a halter. This is not a problem because Johnny is really well trained and I can guide him with my legs and feet and by making smoochey noises. But I do have to pay attention. Mostly I let him go at his own speed. Anyway he is healing well. I cannot imagine why anyone would do this to such a nice horse.
Johnny has become quite fond of me especially because I give him a red apple after each ride. Johnny does not want green apples. As soon as I dismount Johnny has his nose out looking for his apple.
I ride about 1 ½ hours every Thursday. (George has been very conscientious about coming regularly on time. -dt) When Rita was here she rode with me one time but she was pretty tired. We mostly ride through the Mexican side of town and around the countryside and sometimes on the beach. George doesn't worry about me not handling Johnny but he does know I might well get lost especially in the Mexican side of town which is something of a warren. George is worried because I don't always know where I am. (Geography is not Mrs.T's strong point. -dt) But I told him I could always tell Johnny to take me home and he would. I can always tell when we are getting near their home because Johnny speeds up looking forward to a nice cool drink. I really like my rides but I am very tired at the end and I do tend to walk like a cowgirl for the rest of the day. (Maria, a neighbor, also rode once. -dt)
A funny thing has happened. I have been getting emails (Text messages -dt) from the Democrats asking me to run for office. They have never specified what exactly I should run for - dogcatcher perhaps? I would never have known about this except that Dan admitted he had been deleting the emails. (MrsT does not quite understand the difference between emails and texts. - dt) I guess he was afraid that I would take these inquiries seriously. Alas, no. For one thing I can not abide committees and meetings and for another my memory is notoriously unreliable. Still I took the question as a compliment. I honestly believe it was a reflection of two relevant facts. First, Democrats are rare to nonexistent in Muskingum County. The second fact is that from time to time I contribute to various Democratic political campaigns (They want more. -dt); they almost always lose. I might add that I once wrote a letter of encouragement to President Obama and I got a very nice reply. (Form letter 42. -dt) Of course some people mock my political efforts but they also delete my emails which is probably illegal or at least it should be. (Her name is in them but sent to me. Undoubtedly she gave them my number. -dt)
Lest you wonder, Rebecca is still scuba diving once a week. She and Alex visit marine friends every Saturday. They have seen some more whales, butterfly rays, eels, founder, and sorts of other critters. They have caught a few fish as well.
Here are a few pictures of recent happenings:
Hope you all are enjoying whatever whacky weather you are having. Here it is a normal nice, warm winter.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
Sent from Outlook
