I went to bed kind of late last night, but I got up and did my thing in the morning. The moon wasn’t as bright this morning so I walked with a headlamp. There were low clouds to the south that glowed with a pale orange light. I’m pretty sure it was reflected city light from Weiser or Payette or Fruitland. Maybe even Ontario. I’m not sure how far that kind of light would reflect.
I remember being back in Chicago one Christmas, and I was staying at my grandparents’ house. I snuck outside in the night to smoke a cigarette, and I marveled at the bright orange light reflecting from the low clouds. The city lights (and suburb lights) were brighter than moonlight. It seemed wrong, somehow.
After Labor Day weekend, my plan was to do an overnight backpacking trip with my friend Sally out of Big Creek, but the eye surgery derailed that plan. And I hadn’t put any of my backpacking or camping gear away. Inertia. I just moved around all the stuff that was out on the floor or on my kitchen table. But tomorrow I’m getting a quote on redoing my deck.
Sure, the guy will mostly be outside, but I will want to feel okay inviting him in for a glass of water or letting him use the restroom. So, I started picking things up and putting them away this morning, and during breaks and the lunch hour. After dinner, I got to it.
For the first time in perhaps months, my kitchen table is clear. My counters are clear and clean. I vacuumed. I’ll shut all the inside doors, but I will feel okay inviting a stranger into my house tomorrow. I’m glad I’m doing this because I might not have gotten the motivation to pick up otherwise.
I do still need to clean my backpacking gear and do some organization in that room. But the main area of the house is fit to be seen, and I’m glad of that.
I went for a run during the lunch hour today. When I went outside, I saw that there was snow on all the surrounding mountain ranges. Not a lot, not yet, but a dusting. It will be interesting to see if there is any snow on Cuddy when I hike that on Saturday. Though I may not make it all the way up. I’m going to have to pay more attention to time this weekend because I’ve scheduled a massage for myself at 3 pm, which means I need to be home no later than 2 to shower and eat. And that means leaving the trailhead no later than 1:30. If I want to spend the five or so hours it typically takes me to go all the way, I’ll need to be at the trailhead by 8:30. Doable, if I focus.
I’m going to start trying to get up at 5:30 every day but Tuesday. Tuesdays I’ll sleep in until 6 because it’s hard to get to bed by 9:30 on choir nights. I want that extra morning time. The calm, quiet time before I have to get to work, when the sky is just starting to lighten.
