days 5-6

This is the background to my computer. Before Quinn left the background was a picture of a chocolate chip cookie pizza. The cookies were baked onto the pizza. Quinn likes to find weird pictures on the internet and set them as the desktop background. Usually the picture changes daily. I think of it as a rotating gallery that no one sees but me. Ninety percent of the time I like the pictures he chooses, but not always. There's this one picture where a crab has a tylenol gelcap between his pinchers, and I really hate that one.


After work today I started cleaning our house. It hasn't been done in months. When ever we wash dishes I find dishes that we haven't used for weeks. It's really gross, but also not that gross. I can think of worse things... I'm attempting to get our stuff organized. When we moved two years ago we fit all of our possessions in the back of a truck and a pull-behind trailer. That included our mattress and our bikes. We've managed to accumulate a lot of stuff, but most of it we don't use anyway. I'm pretty minimalistic with living space and the less stuff I have around the happier I am. This is the direct result of being raised by hoarders. My sweet Southern parents keep everything. The last time I went home dad got really mad that I threw out the soy sauce packets. He had been collecting them in the plastic container the egg drop soup came in. My depression-era grandma is even worse. She keeps the empty tooth paste containers once all the toothpaste is gone. 


Now that I think of it, I might be living with a hoarder. Quinn keeps all of his soda cans, toilet paper rolls, and the little cardboard cards you get in credit card applications. He says the soda cans and toilet paper rolls are to "make something" with, but in reality, they've been sitting in our basement for one year and nine months. Are other people married to artists? Does this happen to you? He must have gathering instincts. 


Not much to speak of yesterday or today. Bonnie invited me for dinner last night and made roasted garlic and broccoli penne. It was fantastic, and the second home cooked meal I've had since Quinn left. The first one was when Kate sent me chili and cornbread. It's a little strange living solo, but I haven't been lonely. I feel lucky to have such good friends close.


My days are what they always were: working and reading. I ran yesterday listening to my ipod, and today with Laci's running group. My running looks like power walking but I won't be embarrassed until I get those fanny pack water holders, where the water bottles sit like bear claws on your back. Those ladies are serious.