At last.

I went out for lunch with a dear friend today. The weather is perfect. She and I were the only persons dining on the patio - a crowd of well over 50 - who were not wearing a kelly green cotton cable knit sweater.

There are a few things I have been putting off. They're not the things you would probably guess. (The toilet is already clean and I already cut all the dead stuff off of the perennial ornamental grasses in front of the Cabin.) To begin with, I had procrastinated putting the finishing touches on a baby gift. Ordinarily this is a task I would have completed months in advance. But going out to the sun/craft porch and seeing all of my unfinished and yet uninitiated projects made me sad. So I avoided finishing the gift, or doing anything creative for that matter. Adding insult to subconscious injury was the fact that it was a quick and simple project. I only needed to do a few burpcloths. . . .

and wrap them up with some eco-wipes. My expecting friend knows that she is having a boy. She has a marvelously sophisticated sense of humor. I always aspire to give unusually wrapped packages to people like her.

The second thing I have been avoiding is answering the voicemail. I had not, until 10 minutes ago, listened to our messages since March 8th. There is - I guess - a staccato beeping sound in the dial tone to let me know when messages are in the system. Beeping dialtone? From where I answer the phone two little girls can be heard singing soprano at all times, and I have a clear view of the puppy outside eating the neighbor's siding. I am probably not going to notice a beeping dialtone. Now, if someone could hardwire my toaster to lock up automatically when someone leaves me a voicemail, I would in all likelihood listen to the answering machine a hell of a lot more often.

At last I have finished the package and listened to the messages. I probably will not go out and celebrate by buying a cable knit sweater. Happy St. Patrick's Day.
ERB