on the bright side

I had a lovely dinner last night across the street at A+B's house, along with neighbor D (and her beautiful dog, Zeus) and Gary, an old friend of A+B's who was very nice. A+B have two little dogs -- Gemmy and Ubu -- who completely dominate poor Zeus (he's a sheepdog, mostly).

D was praising K to the skies; she thinks he'd make a great boyfriend -- and I agree. I've got a vendor crush on him. I had D down as gay -- a contractor with a booming voice who loves to watch boxing and favors super-long basketball shorts. But last night she mentioned both an ex-girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend. Anyway, as D put it while we were gossiping about the neighborhood, it's the relationships that matter -- neighborly, professional, whatever.

Speaking of vendors, Ivan called the other day to see I wanted to get together socially. I told him I'd be happy to, as long as we are getting together as friends, and he said he was fine with that.

The sky is bright white today so I am posting a photo of Limantour that I took last month, on that wonderful hike with J+K. I baked oatcakes while the Giants were losing to the As, and now I am thinking about calling JSV. Or reading -- I am finding the second volume of Knausgaard's My Struggle as addictive as the first volume.

raccoon stalker

Half and hour before I cross the street for dinner. A tremendous mix of feelings lately, many of them stirred by a raccoon. I had to keep reminding myself that it's just an animal, and I was not always convinced. It had started to nest in the attic, and after it was evicted it spent hours in the early morning working on a vent outside my bedroom window -- a vent that seemed quite solid. I kept shooing it away but it kept coming back -- and there were some very peculiar moments, the raccoon up on its hind legs, leaning toward me, then finally turning and walking along the top of my fence until it jumped down into the neighbors' back yard. It gave up around 5:30, but the next night while I was sitting on the couch, exhausted, it ripped off enough of it to gain access to the crawlspace. I heard it and got to my bedroom window in time to see the tail disappear.

Anyway, that strange feeling that I was being stalked was fueled, no doubt, by sleep deprivation. I felt better the next day, even before the critter control guy arrived to make sure no babies were involved and then seal off all the vents, leaving the one-way doors in place. In the early evening I heard the raccoon leave its spot underneath my bathtub and I assume it went out one of the doors, because I haven't heard anything since. I found myself watching episodes of Don't Trust the B, putting off going to bed because I hated the thought of waking up and hearing the raccoon. Anxiety, pure and simple.Also: Anger. And fear. Uncertainty: What am I doing here and why did I buy this house?

P and M+D

Had consecutive visits from p and m+d and it all went fairly well. I am currently hosting some kind of critter -- a racoon? -- and that is not going well. On Tuesday morning some rodent control guys are coming to clean out the attic and the crawlspace, seal the many openings, and then, after a period of trapping, replace the insulation. It will cost me a few thousand dollars but I am ready to pay anything to get rid of the problem.

Anyway, it was surprisingly easy to have m+d here. D fixed the toilet and the ceiling light in the entryway and put up a ceiling light in the bedroom. Oh, and he also hung my new bathroom mirror -- I can't believe how much better the bathroom looks. I was grateful and he was glad to have things to do.

P and I had a rockier time, at least at first. It was my fault, mostly. We got over it, I think. I took a day off work and we had a really nice drive around Marin, with the not so urgent goal of getting to Abbott's Lagoon.

I am sunned out -- went to West Portal with A for a long, slow walk with about 25 others, led by a man named Howard. It was a good day for such a thing -- uncharacteristically sunny, even over there. I can see the fog creeping over San Bruno Mountain now. Am surprised to see that it is 7:00. I should eat.