Sunday, starting over

On Memorial Day we had dinner with some friends, one of whom is an English teacher at a posh private high school here in Marin.  We were discussing the practice of diagramming sentences, because of a question that had come up in one of the private tutoring sessions she offers after school and on weekends to make ends meet.  As if teaching high schoolers English full-time weren't enough...  

Anyway, I realized over the course of that conversation that I never learned how to diagram sentences the way she was demonstrating it -- that just wasn't a thing we ever did at the French American Bilingual School, where I was a student through 7th grade, or at Everett Junior High or at Lowell.  I do recall quite a lot of use of my Bic 4-color pen, underlining in red, click, circling in green, click, annotating in blue.  But never like the diagram at left.  Nope.  Never.

I love grammar, I sincerely do, so in a way, I felt a little cheated when Trixie let me in on this diagramming thing, like there was all this fun with words I hadn't ever had in quite that way.  We talked about participial phrases and the like.  A good time was had by all.

Wait, don't leave yet.  This is about to get fun.  

And I don't mean grammar-fun, which I realize is a kind of fun enjoyed by a very small group of people.  Weirdos like me who can wax poetic about the subjunctive.

I thought, instead, I'd diagram this photo.  The only items not pictured are my phone (used to take the photo) and me (taking the photo, duh), so photoshop those in mentally and there you have it:

This is Sunday, starting over.

Today was not my best day.  I woke up at 5:45, excited to go and help my friend Reba with a catering job, by 6 I realized something was not right with me and I spent -- sparing you the TMI -- until 7:30 in the bathroom, emerging periodically to walk around, green and sweating and shaking.  Once I felt better, I began to gather all the things I would need to spend the morning in bed, until whatever this is passes.  

I present to you:

The diagram of my comfort

broken down into its constituent parts.

First and foremost: dog.  Earlier when I was really feeling poorly and took a brief lie-down, Mr. Burns moved over from the corner, put his head on my knee, and gave me the Lady Di eyes.  I felt a smidge better as a consequence.    

Second: coffee and toast.  Please note mug on window sill.  Toast is obscured by

Third: electronics, laptop nestled cozy on the Levenger Laplander, phone on the windowsill.

Fourth: books, two -- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, in which I have about 15 pages to go. Once I've finished (can't wait to write about it, really good!), then I can begin Bringing Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel in earnest -- I say in earnest because I actually did already start reading it but without giving myself over to it completely, as I haven't finished the Habit book yet.  That's how I roll.  I'm pretty much a serial monobiblioist.  Yeah, that's not a word.

Fifth: writing implements, i.e., my favorite mechanical pencil (a Pentel Twist-Erase 0.5 that I've had for years) and a colored pencil for annotation purposes in books above and 

Sixth: my two Moleskines propped against the pillow, one my annual notebook, the other my calendar, so that I can start transferring dates in my Outlook into its pages and then mercifully delete emails from my Inbox.  A pox upon a crowded Inbox! 

What's funny for me is how much better I feel already just being surrounded by my favorite stuff, in my comfy bed with the taupe flannel pillowcases (favored color for bedclothes), with coffee close at hand, and the potential for words in, words out.  So much better.

In a little while, I'm sure I'll feel up to getting up and taking in the wonder that awaits in the garden, but for now, for now, it's blissful to be in my bed this way.

Five Minutes Later: I realized I should probably run the sprinklers (Mr Burns chewed through a wire, so one area of the garden doesn't get watered on a timer for the moment, bad boy), so went out to turn them on manually.  And realized, in an instant, that I need to pack up all of the above and move my entire operation outside, where it's unbelievably gorgeous and perfect.  Before the heat of the day makes it unbearable and I move my operation back indoors.

Wishing you a beautiful Sunday, no matter how it starts, no matter whether you're indoors or out.  Make it beautiful.  Enjoy every moment.

XX