Sidetracked Charley

Palisades in the morning light   While waiting for the "new normal" to reveal itself, it occurred to me that the new normal may be within me. And enough people who have changes within themselves after our year of isolation and that will create the new normal in our society. As I wrote that I immediately thought: If we can get rid of enough old farts. No not those that died from Covid but those that allowed us to die of covid. But I digress. The subject was to be changes in me. In the year of my sojourn or isolation I granted myself permission to make changes or to give myself permission to embrace changes which have been dancing around the edges of my existence. The big one was doing away with my long term rental. This has been taking up room in my mind for twenty years. But it was part of my "retirement" plan. When occupied it paid the mortgage. When vacant it ate up all my spare cash to get it ready for the next tenant. I came to resent that. My first tenants stay...

As an introvert artist I have the tendency to live a very quiet life on the rural fringes of a small village. I like it that way. I don't even get many visitors to my open studio. Social interactions seem to be limited to talking to pet sit clients and the monthly meetings of a couple organizations I belong to. Oh, and chance meetings at the market or post office. June was looking to be so overloaded with pets to sit and art events I chose to bow out of a part time job I had managed to not quit over the winter. I thought I was making space for me. But it seems it is for more of the above. New tenant bowed out of agreement and so I was thrust into interviewing new possible tenants. And then suddenly a new pet client. And an art student. And then extra meetings with one of those groups I belong to. And new tenant wants to move in tonight. And ran into that tenant who bowed out at the post office and she wants to sue me. Other friend in line acted as a buffer. Then off to mark...