I was so restless yesterday. I sat, then I stood, then I walked the house. I had twenty things I should have been doing, and didn’t want to do any of them. Sometimes it’s like that in my world. Perhaps it’s the unsettled energy in the news, or in the people around me, or my own unsettled life that stirs my blood up like that once and a while. For one thing, my eyes opened up at exactly the stroke of midnight and stubbornly refused to close again until around four. I tried all my usual sleep provoking techniques and yet here I sat at the computer typing this rather than snoozing away in my cozy little bedroom down the hall. As I said, restless. I started to wonder as I studied the small water spot on my bedroom ceiling for the second hour, if perhaps this wanderlust coincided with the arrival of my updated passport in the mail last week. I applied for it back at the beginning of the year. Because I was applying through the mail to the Canadian Passport Bureau in Canada, while residing in the U.S. as a permanent resident, did not make the red tape any shorter by any means. Once I took into account the monetary exchange rate, and had to arrange for mailing it a certain type of way, it ended up reducing my bank account by nearly $500. For a while there I was wondering if someone in my native land had simply used the money to finance a nice vacation at the shore, and whether I was ever going to see my updated passport any time in the near or distant future. Thankfully, it finally showed up. As usual, my passport picture looks as if I’d just come down off a two week bender, or was recovering from the bird flu when the photographer snapped the shot, but at least I am almost recognizable on a stamped official document allowing me to travel outside of the United States. Yay.
I don’t know where I might venture as yet, but eventually I will put the shiny new passport to good use. Next year, there are tentative plans in the works for a visit to Italy with a dear friend. As that country is on the top of my bucket list, I have my fingers crossed that trip will actually happen in real time. Also, I want to get to Canada again. It’s been a long time since I’ve set foot on Canadian soil and I have relatives there I’d like to see face to face again.
Concerning a trip of a shorter nature, I am going fishing for trout with my friend Richard on Thursday. I haven’t been fishing since married to my ex husband back in the early 1990’s. My first fishing trip with him was also my first experience casting a line, for fish at least. I found it a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Somewhere in my piles and bags of family photos, there is a picture of me holding up my first “catch”. When reeling it in, I would have sworn the beast would weigh in at the very least at around fifty pounds. Pulling it out of the water, all 5″ of the writhing small mouthed bass hung there at the end of the line looking at me with one bulging fish eye as if to say, “thanks, thanks a lot”. Sorry. It was so small, I felt I should throw it back, but my husband, knowing volumes more about fishing than I, said it would be delicious breaded and fried. There was something about discussing breading and frying in front of the still wriggling fish that made me feel a little bit queezy. Perhaps I don’t have a taste for the kill a good fisherman should have. Have to say my husband was right, however, our catch of the day made for part of a delicious fish feast that evening.
First thing this morning, I went down to the local sporting goods store as Richard directed, to purchase a fishing license. The woman at the front counter took my ID and my $54 and spit spot I was officially licensed in the State of California to “reel em in”. She asked if I wanted the regular license, or any extras. Extras? Wasn’t $54 ridiculous enough. Pa from Little House on the Prairie would be horrified to note we now pay half a hundred and change for fishing for what for what his generation would have been considered fair game. What extras? Apparently the $54 only covers your standard fish. You pay extra, for the special swimmers such as crab. Also, if you cast additional line in the water there is an extra fee for that. For just under $600 you can get a lifetime fishing license. No thank you. Costco has some pretty good deals on trout and they are already fileted and shrink wrapped. Wow.
In order to be able to sit in the boat for an extended period of time, I had to buy a shirt that protects me from UV rays. I’ve been taking a long term antibiotic for a couple of months and my doctor tells me I need to limit my exposure to the sun while on it. Apparently, I could self ignite if left too long without something covering me. Don’t want Richard to have to deal with putting me out, as well as watching his line. I have told him he will have to eviscerate the worm, as that is another thing I’m not crazy about, and I’m sure the worm isn’t on board with the whole program either. Also, he will have to take the hook out of the fish’s mouth, should I by some miracle actually catch something. Basically, looking at how little I’m willing to participate, he could have saved himself some money on the fishing license if he’d just taken me out for fish and chips.
Now Richard is pretty handy in the outdoors. However, my ex husband, David, was a serious outdoorsman, having been brought up in rough and tumble city of Odessa, Texas. If I was to get lost in the woods, David would be my number one choice of companions. Of course, I would want to give him back once we were out of the woods. He would be the guy you see on survival videos scooping grubs out of hollowed out trees to stay alive. I would be the girl standing behind him holding my nose and gagging as he handed me the fat little bug sausages. Several times during our roller coaster marriage, his expertise at angling provided dinner on our table. I appreciate that skill, as it’s not one you see much here in sophisticated California suburbs as a general rule. David was also an expert hunter, able to shoot a deer, field dress it, carve it up appropriately, and prepare the venison once carved as well as any field chef of note. Now, I am not a fan of venison personally. It is a bit “gamey” for my taste. I believe it to be an acquired taste, and one I never acquired. Conversely, I prefer lamb over beef as I was raised on it, while many people find lamb gamey, so it’s a matter of choice. Like most things, food comes down to personal preference. I never criticize what a person chooses for their lifestyle. I like that we are all varied in our likes and dislikes in all things. How boring if we all only ate chicken, or only cared for blondes, or everyone only planted roses, excluding every other flower. What a lack of diversity and interest our world would have.
This swings my mind around to a conversation I had recently with a friend. He was talking to me on the subject of “designer” children. That is children (babies actually) designed in the womb with say, brown hair, blue eyes, male or female depending on desire, and intelligence level. I’m assuming you could also pick out a perfect set of features, or what height or body type. Just can’t stomach the thought of that. How boring that would be. How would that look? Upon getting pregnant would you be handed a menu of choices from which to pick? Let’s see, I’ll have the No. 3 with long red hair and an upturned nose, with a side of freckles? Yuck.
Our world is getting a little too automated for me I think. I probably don’t have another thirty years in the can to ponder it, but it does seem it is getting so when I reflect on it.
I hope you are enjoying your Monday. I am in a cleaning mood so have emptied out cupboards and straightened drawers all day. Along with that project A dear friend of mine who housesat and Boo-sat for me while I was in the Bay Area, planted a myriad of new flowers in all my empty pots. She is a “plant loving lady” who simply can’t stand to see any growing thing suffering from a brownish leaf or drooping branch. My yard, I’m sure, must have proved a challenge to her entire being. Usually, I am very good about my garden, but this year has been too much of too much. I don’t always have time to take care of it like I should, and if I do have time, I don’t seem to want to use it pruning bushes. Also, I am taking allergy shots so often am not supposed to spend too much time outside. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. As much as I appreciate how absolutely lovely my yard looks at the moment, this means I have to take care of these flowers which adds another half hour in the morning to things I have to do before leaving the house. I guess I need to shift into my grateful mode and simply be glad I have flowers to water, eyes to see them with, and a body that allows me to stand on my patio and take care of them. Or, I could be a little annoyed. Looking out my window, I’ve decided grateful is the far happier choice.
End of story for now. Make it a good one. Today is what we’ve got. Fill it full of special and magic.
Wow I had no idea about fishing licence costs! It’s outrageous.
I know, prices for everything are getting ridiculous.