the telephone rings…

…it rings for me. I lay down to take an innocent little nap. The cares of the world that do such a great job of getting one out of bed at 5:30 or 6 in the morning also provide justification for an honorable forty winks after lunch. So there I was, just starting to drift off when it began to jingle…downstairs. The telepathic person at the other end immediately figured out that I was lying within earshot, pretending to be an island unto myself alone. After ten rings, I realized that my caller was serious—but certainly would give up before the receiver could be at my ear. At twenty rings, it was clear that a mistake had been made (on my part) but now there was absolutely no point in bestirring my bones, was there…? Twenty-nine rings were achieved in all! (If the caller is reading this, my hat is off to you—kudos). [If one can hear the Telecom NZ double ring in his/her mind’s ear, we could technically count this as fifty-eight rings…]

Tessa’s outgoing call this Monday morning to our NZ broker/mover turned up the information that our container has landed!**##@! The additional news is that MAF (food and agriculture gov’t types…I give up on the M) have kindly consented to inspect our gardening implements for us! This means that our entire, tightly-packed 20’ container that has seen the antipodes will be unpacked by some guys somewhere that we are not. Oh, we are allowed to pay for this government ‘service’! The remains will be packed in a truck and appear at our door on Wednesday—don’t hold your breath. The piano was to ‘land’ at Wellington this morning at 6 AM. [Yes, I was awake and imagining this event.] I think you know this: customs will probably clear the piano “in one to two hours or days…” and this just in...the piano has cleared customs and is in the hands of piano movers...

Commerce: The new phone we await was like the bed and mattress we fell in love with. The story is--you visit the beautiful store. There are attractive, useful items on display. You turn things over in your mind as you try to make a choice, balancing what you need with what you want and what you can afford. Your partner-in-buying is making parallel calculations in a non-parallel universe. Discussion ensues. Mars and Venus send mutual planetary emissaries. Things eventually fall into place…a decision is hammered out. The ever-so-helpful, well-informed, earnest salesperson congratulates you on your choice. You can expect your phone in the store in three weeks time. Harvey Norman called late in the afternoon. The 29-ringer on redial?

Garaging Suzuki registered the fact that the temperature was as temperate as it felt. 20 degrees C on the dash—add 15 and multiply by 2—and yes, it really is 70 degrees Fahrenheit at 7:36 PM and feels like it. Your scotch-guard moment has finally arrived! It did not seem like this protective coating could do its thing at the 35 to 50 degree F. range we have been experiencing. (Don’t forget, it should dry for at least 12 hours before contact.) Tonight was the first application at the first opportunity. Civilization leaps forward! Hello spray, good-bye yogurt worry. Have any snack you want on the way to summer vacation (in December) (well, perhaps hold off on the soda-pop…) onwards we meander...towards a rehearsal tomorrow for one of the four (for me) concerts in two weeks time. we hope to leave pathways through the boxes and to be able to find the rest of our concert program (oops, programme) ; )