Bleck

I am unsatisfied with that previous post. What's the point of it? Eh. It's a series of poorly executed snapshots of insignificant parts of my Colorado daily, bumbling across and weakly reaching for... I'm not really sure what. I spent a lot of my initial efforts here interfacing and introducing and letting my gracious hosts and employers know that I'm competent and approachable and willing to give input and not an abrasive prick. I like to think I succeeded, they're all smiles so far and I'm working to keep it that way, of course. My brother texted me today and said, "Middle-aged women love the boys in our family for some reason..." I wonder if that's true. Well, no - really, I wonder WHY that's true. Because it is true. Awesome... ?
OK. This cavernous home is lovely and there are, of course, the necessary creaks and hitches etc. to keep us on our toes when we get too comfortable. And I'm getting back there (to comfortable) but I'm still carrying around this solid steel meat tenderizer/mallet. Yes. I've practiced quick, furtive (and deadly!) swipes into the dark. One recent night, while working away on my laptop in the kitchen, the fireplace in the nearby sitting room turned on. This means, the gas was released and lit and a fire was burning pretty aggressively. All of a sudden.
I know! I was just sitting here! EITHER it's on some strange timer... in May... or the obvious answer, there's someone(s) else in this house with me... but they don't want to kill me (yet) because, of course, they lit the gas... otherwise, they would have merely released the gas and slowly fill the house, and my mind, and I would have gone with a sudden blaze or a gradual, catatonic slumber.
I FOUND the switch for the fireplace a handful of frantic hours later BEHIND THE TELEVISION where I had never been remotely close to venturing... Carol and Jerry, if you're reading this from Tajikistan, you could have mentioned the wandering souls in your home... I'm still cool with it, I still have the mallet, but it could have been brought to my attention. Not a big deal. Also, I didn't take the garbage out on Monday night because I accumulated half a bag, so I just didn't bother.
What else? Creaks, inconsistent shade positions, water dripping, toilets randomly flushing, pale English children in antiquated riding clothes playing in the basement/watching me sleep from beneath the bed etc. I'll keep an eye out for the next really freaky thing though.