Sunday, March 5, 2017

SOL 5: Lazy Sunday


            Even on vacation, Sunday can be lazy. While my hosts get the weekday New York Times delivered, they don’t get the weekend papers, meaning no Magazine section, meaning no Sunday crossword puzzle.
            Their local paper, however, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, has a big New York Times crossword puzzle, which must come from the Magazine. Since neither of my hosts does the puzzle, I have it all to myself. It’s late afternoon, and I’ve done a bit over half of it. I haven’t yet figured out the overall theme, i.e., what weird PUN-ishment editor Will Shortz is offering us for clues with a question mark. (Ah, just got some in-house help: “Celebration after a coup?” is “uprisersparty.”) And some of the clues have bad definitions: “Detergent brand with a fabric in its name” turns out to be “woolite”; no, “wool” is not a fabric, it’s a yarn or thread.

            For lunch we have the California version of a BLT, which adds an avocado. For the L, I go to the backyard, to a half-wine barrel, where lettuce is growing. It’s chilly and windy, so I put on a jacket, scarf, and hat, strange clothing for a vacation in Central California. I’ve never picked lettuce before: should I pull the whole plant, or break off the leaves near the root so new ones will grow? Obviously, the latter. The BLT&A is the best I’ve ever had.
            Soon after lunch, it begins to rain – while the sun still shines. In this area of the country, when that happens it’s said that the devil is beating his wife. Back in New York it could also be a monkey’s wedding or a fox’s wedding, or even liquid sun. 
-------------------------------------
I’m participating in the 10th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 5 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!
 

No comments:

Post a Comment