January 28

Thursday, January 28, 2010

That morning, OLeif introduced Puck to the unusual world of mixing fruit juice with grape-nuts.

“Thank you, Daddy!” Puck squealed in delight.

Puck read his books, snuggled up in his dalek robe that morning, after Collette had opened the windows for fresh, cold, wintry air. The sun was back, but the machinations of winter had certainly not yet come to a close. There would surely be more to follow on another day.

At lunch, there was fresh hot ‘milk bread’, which OLeif had made before he left that morning.

In the afternoon, Puck was eager to discuss things.

“You… you… you spicy, Mama,” he said, seriously. “You… you… you don’t… you don’t taste good!”

“Why don’t I taste good?” Collette asked him.

“‘Cause, ’cause I can’t eat you!”

Then Collette read to him the entire Klutz Marbles Handbook, every set of instructions, with him listening with rapt attention.

“I want to read another Daddy book,” he said, afterwards.

While Collette took her jog inside, Puck ran around with her, stomping as fast as he was able, from the kitchen to his room. Then he would lay down in Collette’s path, his legs straight, and wait for her to hop over him. He would then burst into an avalanche of giggles.

That evening, it was a Roads marathon on the AMC channel, with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Joe came, and Rose, bringing with her a batch of test chocolate chip cookies.

Of old was an age

when was emptiness

there was sand nor sea

nor surging waves;

unwrought was Earth,

unroofed was Heaven —

an abyss yawning,

and no blade of grass.

– Upphaf (Beginning), VÖLSUNGAKVIÐA EN NÝJA