Fourth Day
Wednesday. May 4, 2011
In which another project is finally completed…
Before OLeif left for work that morning…
“You’re a good wife,” he said to Collette. “I should watch that movie, The Good Wife, and see if it’s about you.”
“Nothing like pick-up lines for your wife…” Collette replied.
“I should write a book about pick-up lines for your wife,” said OLeif.
He would be good at that.
Next commenced a wrestle match between Puck and his daddy.
The bulk of the day was spent in completing the 800-page book, in journal-form, that Collette had slowly pieced together over the last three and a half years. High time that dusty old thing was laid to rest…
Puck was on pest patrol that morning, scouring the kitchen for the return of the spring ants.
“If that bug tries to kill your baby, give him a quick smash,” he instructed, still referring to himself as ‘your baby’.
This was followed by a request for Collette to paint tiny houses on his hands.
The day never warmed up very much.
A few calls and texts made out.
Joe’s anticipated final grades and his ‘buddies bonfire’ scheduled for Saturday night.
Friday’s hair dye.
OLeif to pick up twenty packs of Kool-Aid on the way home. Ten of blue, ten of red.
The evening drew close with promise of thunderstorms the following afternoon and evening.
Driscoll.
Parks and Recreation.
A facetious prediction made by Collette of her oldest friend, for no particular reason, written on the 28th of June, 2006:
“[Diana English]… of whom everyone had such high journalistic hopes, at the ripe age of 24, found herself terribly interested in the science of bean-farming. After having researched the art, she aspired to become a doctor of ancient seed-ery, and founded an establishment in North Dakota dedicated solely to the preservation of natural bean seeds, the same types of seeds used in Native American crops of the northwest. She has been contacted by Hollywood for the use of her seeds and seedlings in several minor historical productions over the past several years. And she now has great ideals to add various grain seeds to her collection and cultivation over the next three years. She has only recently been contacted by the Head Gardner of the royal palace in Sweden to provide samples for their “Plants of the World” exposition in the spring of 2037. [Diana] met her soul mate, Barnabas, while involving herself in her love of beans, and was married at 27. They have five tall, strong young sons. The oldest is now nineteen and has opted to deviate from his parents’ profession to become a marine biologist, leaving for study off the coast of Madagascar this summer. [Diana] and Barnabas are also both currently involved in proctoring chess tournaments for the local school in preparation for regional play-offs next fall, both having found a love for the sport in their early years of marriage. In addition, they will take a brief sabbatical from seed-ery in two years to travel north Alaska where Barnabas hopes to rope his first caribou. [Diana] has promised to document the hunt and submit a short story to the local paper in the “Citizens Abroad” column, by request. Somehow Alaska made the cut to be labeled “abroad”. [Diana] will shortly submit her thesis to “Ancient Plants Anonymous” on the rarity and cultivation of a certain hybrid of red-shadow bean next May, which she has been studying the past six years. She hopes it will give insight to historical gardeners around the globe, and has been asked to travel with her samples to several foundations across Scandinavia after its publishment. But for now, she enjoys spending her down-time with her husband and sons over a plate of her specialty – freshly baked cinnamon cookies, and tending to her geranium boxes.”