Sabbatical

Yesterday was a very good day. Well, most of it--I had a slightly frustrating work zoom in the evening before bed about something I'm proposing to my institution that I've hoped for a long time, which may or may not get picked up--it may not get picked up now; it may not get picked up ever. I'm trying to remember to hold on lightly and just accept that God's will will be done. But when you spend time working toward something, it's also impossible that you don't get emotionally invested, right? Francisco is so kind and supportive. 

Okay, but the wonderful parts of the day--I did my writing: I'm working on chapter 6. I have this ambitious self-deadline, which I'll probably miss to finish it in a week and a day. Almost everything is in (perhaps everything will be in it after today?) it but right now it's in a gigantic morass of roughly sketched language. I'm also working on a presentation I'm giving Thursday to probably a very few (3?) people. 

Then Francisco and I went for a lovely bike ride to a canal, so nice to bike together. I love to see the canals--there are so many peaks into life there on the boats' little porches, on the boats' roofs, through the windows--I saw on the bikes, grills, gardening stuff and plants, a stroller, a graphic t-shirt and socks handing to dry, clothes hanging inside the windows, too (a glimpse into a closet?), a disused tea kettle, something that looks sort-of but not quite like a keg, a stuffed chair outside covered in paisley blue and brown, a solar panel on the roof. 

What in the world?! (above)

Blue paisley chair, above.

  

Chestnut trees in bloom

After picking up the kids, I ordered a surprise bag from that cheap app (we had no plans for dinner and our groceries weren't arriving until late) and we headed to a spot in the park to pick it up--it turned out to be 3 large sandwiches for 4 pounds. Francisco was so happy! (The kids refused to eat them because they had more than one ingredient--I ate one big one. Francisco ate 2.) Evidently I'd been depriving Francisco of fancy sandwiches, so I'm glad we could remedy that. We tucked into a nearby grocery story for sausage rolls for the boys. 

Then we enjoyed the park's waterfowl, which a woman was feeding, so was all gathered near us. We especially liked seeing the little goslings, which cuddled up under their mothers' wings. And the dad goose that really went after anything of the same species that came near them. Actually all the birds were pretty territorial, so we watched them all fly at each other. 

Now I'm going to head back to my  work from a comfy (well, not completely--my knees don't actually fit under this desk) coffee shop.