Just a thought… It’s a tough life, and it’s the little things that get us through the day. [Jeffery Deaver]
Welcome to a new week – the second half of June and, soon, the longest day of the year in terms of minutes of light. Another summer is already landing softly (or not-so-softly, if you’re my friend and podcast partner Lisa Brandt, who’s already had two instances of multiple tornado warnings this spring in southwestern Ontario) on our doorsteps.
Cities like Toronto, and closer to us, Vancouver, have joyfully exploded with World Cup excitement, while those of us who prefer the silence fill our cups with quiet and solitude.
Nestled in the tall pines and cedars on a small Gulf Island, the sounds of hot tub occasionally running or the persistent cheeriness of a robin singing lustily morning ’til sundown, the quiet swish of a car passing by on the road past our cottage lane and the occasional riff of music carried on the wind from someone’s outdoor speaker are all we hear. I’m even finding that life in small bucolic Sidney, where our supposed residence is, just a bit too busy. Funny what we become accustomed to. It’s like my body and soul have craved this peace and silence and I just didn’t or couldn’t answer that call during our working lives, except on weekends, when we could escape to our quiet spaces.
But last Tuesday there was one night that was just a little too silent. At about 7:00 pm the power went out, something that happens on a fairly regular basis here. With high winds and so many trees, it’s not a surprise when an entire island goes dark, as it did.
We had a salad for dinner (could’ve barbecued but didn’t) and then just kind of killed time. Finally at about 10, Rob, the girls and I went to bed, as two of us worried about the next day’s task: recording episode 180 of Gracefully and Frankly.
Without getting too much into the weeds on the podcast sausage making, usually wherever I am, I’m connected by WiFi and Lisa and I hook up so we can talk to each other through our respective mics/laptops, each doing recordings on our own end. Then we put them together, do some editing and mixing, adding music and other touches, and it goes up to the world the next day. Rob and I had figured out how I’d connect to my phone’s signal and link with Lisa that way. Phew.
We were about to go to sleep with our minds eased, until it occurred to me that recording without caffeine in the morning was going to be a BIG problem. What to do?
“Ah!” I exclaimed, “I boil water for coffee on the barbecue like I did camping last year, and use our French press!”
And that’s when Rob reminded me of something.
Have you ever seen that episode of The Twilight Zone where Burgess Meredith plays a mousy bank teller who only wants to read? He has no time, and no one will allow him the quiet to do what he truly wants: pore over countless books.
Well, then there’s some apocalypse (of course there is; the show was made in the shadow of the not-so-Cold War). Everyone’s perished but our bookish friend, who’s delighted to see that the massive town library still stands. With unfettered joy, he methodically stacks the library’s majestic stairs with the classics and just as he’s about to dive into them, his thick glasses tumble off his face to the ground, their lenses shattered beyond repair. He has all the time in the world to read, but no way now to make out what’s on the pages.
Well, to me, that story is the absolute best episode of TZ ever, and it was echoed in our little cabin as we realized that we have three ways of making coffee: our countertop machine, our Nespresso and the French press, but ALL OF OUR COFFEE IS IN BEAN FORM!
Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to pour over ground coffee????? Yes, dear Ancient Mariner, that was my dilemma.
Fortunately, the power returned at about 10:45 pm and our G&F listener didn’t have to hear how hard I’d work to put words together in my head and get them to my mouth hole without my two or three coffees.
Crisis happily averted, and if you listen to episode 180, you’ll hear what Rob and I did by the light of a candle while we waited for the power to return. It ain’t sexy, but it was very, very funny, as was Lisa’s reaction to it.
Have a gentle week and may your cup be full of whatever gives you joy. For me, it’s Rob, the dogs, nature and coffee, but the happiness of my marriage dictates that I not share with you the REAL order in which I rank them!