45 Minutes of Quiet Contemplation

Lib worked today although it was supposed to be a day off for her. After she left shortly after 6.30am I tidied the kitchen and took my vitamins and a cortisone tablet and lay down for a planned 45 minutes of quiet contemplation while the cortisone weaved its spell. At 7.30 I snapped out of my dreamy state knowing I had an hour and a bit to get the sheets and other washing done and on the line, get ready for work including load the whipper snipper and bits and pieces and then get to Nobelius Park to meet a council officer re some park business. Earlier I had said there was not enough washing to bother putting a load on so Lib suggested I wash the sheets as it was a warm day with a change coming in the evening with possible rain.

I loaded the washing machine, it was now a big load and went back to rotate the mattress. We have a wool under blanket which I took outside and shook. The under blanket drops a fine dust onto the mattress so I vacuumed it thoroughly and did the rest of the room, moving the bed and doing under it too. While I was doing this I could hear a rumbling which was audible over the vacuum noise. Ah, thunder again, I thought. Then there was another burst and it stopped as thunder does. I couldn't work out why Pip hadn't run to me in panic, but I didn't worry as I knew she was inside and therefore not doing a bolting turn up the road. A third peel of thunder, louder still, but different, then an accompanying banging which made me realize it was not thunder.

It was the washing machine having a spell of not so quiet contemplation. I rushed to the laundry to find it askew and a large amount of water over the floor. The sheets had somehow all packed on one side of the machine and put it out of balance while it was emptying spinning. By the time I got there the machine had moved about and shut its function down but had red light flashing and was making a strange alarm sound. The sheets were jammed in so tight between the central shaft and the wall on one side that they were very difficult to extract and rearrange, so I could get the blunny thing to rinse cycle and spin dry. Before I got to that I had to soak up all the water with towels.

I was 3 minutes late for my 9am appt. I had no time time for quiet contemplation for the rest of the day and by the time I got home the cool change had come. I brought the dry washing in at lunchtime when I returned and remade the bed, and the laundry floor had had a good clean to boot.

Amazing things washing machines. We take them for granted and they rarely disfunction. We've lived here for 33 years and have only had two. The first one, a wedding present from my parents, lasted 24 years. The current one has been good but has needed a repair man twice.

But before the drama today I did enjoy my 45 minutes of quiet contemplation and how good would it be if we could all do it every day, just relaxing and thinking positively about good things. Bliss.