Tuesday

I spent most of the morning composing a letter--a real letter, typed out--to my darling granddaughter, Violet, who's 13, who reminds me so much of myself at that age: sullen, but needy. The reason it took so long is because I added pictures of myself as a child and teenager, along with explanatory notes. Copying and transferring them from various files to the paper was a chore because I kept screwing up.

I was still at it when the carpet cleaner guy came a little after ten. I had called the office to find out how much furniture I should move. I was told "wherever you want him to clean" and found he simply came in with a rolling machine, not the big hose they use when they do the whole apartment. That was a relief, as I just moved two chairs onto the hard floors. The part that gets noticeably dirty is the path from the door to the eating area and he did a great job on cleaning that. He put heavy paper over it and told me not to walk on it for thirty minutes. 

Hey, no prob: After lunch I walked to the P.O. to mail Violet's letter, then bused to town and was gone for three hours. Bought two sweaters--now I regret one of them--two mugs, and a DVD. While I was busing home, Olivia called. She has, of course, vacated her apartment, although she's paying the rent until tomorrow. She had asked me if I wanted the entrance mat she had had and yes, I did. This is one of those large vinyl mats--it's probably three by four feet--that keeps the carpet at the door clean. She left it at my door, I put it down and I'm pleased to have it, especially since the carpet had just been cleaned a few hours before.

Put a wash in before dinner; folded and put away after.