1. I knew a man who carried seeds in his pocket. When he found cracks in the concrete he sowed them.2. We were just getting the car jumps right when I heard the clapped out Briggs and Stratton over-revving over the back lawn. I went out, cursed, and took over the mowing. The machine started easily, which was just as well. It stalled 15 times on the 15 square metre lawn, then I took it down to the shed and swapped it for the new machine. Another Briggs and Stratton. I asked the folks why they'd bought another one and they said the old one had been alright. 15 years ago.
3. In 1990 I mowed protest spirals into the front lawn stripes, my Grandfather made me a large gin and tonic and then I hitched to Queensland.
4. Joe stood on the porch and pointed at the bits I missed, over by the cattle yards. He gave me a thumbs up when the job was done to his satisfaction. Then he went inside and spread peanut butter on the table.
5. We have both been sick and my room smelt like old fever. I stripped the bed and pushed it under the windows. Then I let the sunlight disinfect it while I read a bit of Faulkner and Hemmingway. Joe found me. A banana and coconut muffin picnic seemed like a good idea. Now the mattress cover is clean, with a light crumbing.
6. I know a woman who is quite old and frail, but every now and then she has a bottle of champagne and a think. I did this last night.
7. I watched Liam Neeson in Taken and barracked as he shot every bad guy. I cried because Cary Grant was married to a plain woman and the judge wanted to take away their adopted baby. I went around the house taking photos of the composting clutter but everything came out yellow but all the other bloggers don't use flash so I didn't. I thought about the last four years and swore a bit, gave more thanks (because this is what the taxi driver outside the Royal Children's hospital told me to do) and went to bed.
8. Joe woke me at seven with a demand for electrical tape. I was not hungover. I repaired the broken wire on the Christmas lights. Then Joe slammed his finger in the fly wire door and I dropped the Christmas lights' adaptor on my foot. It was really heavy. We were both screaming. The lights didn't work. It appears that one pin on the adaptor was driven back into the adaptor when it landed after its fall. The broken lights are intricately strung up with the fibre optic garden lights and they look alright against the curtain, even though they don't flash.
9. Joe and I had a fight. It's called Mosquito Finger Wars. One person makes their index fingers into probosci and one person has to slap the mosquitoes down. When a mosquito gets slapped it makes a raspberry sound. I made the mosquitoes, but the slapping really started to hurt. Then we both started to laugh, round and round, cracking each other up. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first time we've done this. Really really both laughed.
10. The bitumen was freshly laid, outside the pediatrician's rooms, back in autumn. I had decided to stop trying to convince the pediatrician about the importance of optimism. His need to be right was greater. For him. The bitumen was freshly laid, but boy, the grass was fresher.
