June 14, 2009. Chevy Chase, Md. A Day At Home.

It is unusual to be at home in the apartment all day. But it was productive and pleasant. All my clothes have been put away, and the suitcase returned to the locker. The laundry for the household was done first thing this morning, so now I do not need to do more laundry until just before we go to Nova Scotia June 29. It seems silly, but one problem in my life is when to change our bed. Ken thinks I should use the calender and record whenever I change the sheets but that seems way too compulsive. My way is to leave from the house with clean sheets, so on my return, the sheets are clean. I have always loved clean sheets, probably from the days when sheete were hung out to dry. Notes were sent to the good folks in Mississippi who entertained or helped us. The political magazines who were waiting for our return have all been read, and during meal times, we watched the NCAA baseball playoff games on TV. These college kids are such good baseball players.

Jean moved into the apartment above us two years ago, just s year or two after her husband died. One day, she heard that we live part time in Nova Scotia. Now, every time I see her, she reminds me that she wants us to come up to see a painting done by a Nova Scotia artist, Joe Norris, that she and her husband purchased in 1972. He lived in Lunenburg and is famous but as he is a folk artist and paints in the primitive style, I am not in love with his work. It is certainly difficult to catch us in town, so today, when I met her in the laundry room, she invited us up for a glass of wine and to see the painting, which we did. She is a very pleasant lady and does some art herself, and we enjoyed seeing one of an original Norris paintings. What was interesting though was the difference in ambiance between her apartment and ours. Her paintings are all modern and her decor light and airy. Our units are identical in size, but they certainly did not feel the same.

It is hard to beat a day when he items on the list have all been checked off. As I said before, this was a pleasant and a productive day.