Evenings out

Since Monday morning, Francisco and Lorenzo have been in our house, refinishing the floors in our kitchen and living room.  Mostly, [The Man I Love] has been staying home, while I go to the office. Each evening I come home, there's a new transformation.

The first day, they moved all our furniture out, and then shrouded all the kitchen cabinets and light fixtures in plastic. The second day they sanded the old finish off the floors with huge industrial sanding machines. The third day, they did the finer work, using hand-sanders to get the areas the big machine couldn't get. By yesterday evening, the floors were smooth and light new wood, ready for staining and polyurethane coating.

With our house a bit disrupted, [The Man I Love] and I have discovered a new evening routine. We can't sit in the living room and watch TV - so these last few evenings we've been sitting down on our lower deck. We can't cook or prepare food in the kitchen, so we've had carry-out.Thai on Tuesday night. Pizza last night.

We bring our laptops and I-pad down and read the news as the sky darkens. Another benefit is the coolness of the evening. During this heat wave, the house never really cools down, but outside at night it is pleasant.

Last night, as we sat, an immense owl flew low through the oaks and then sat on the rail of my neighbor's fence, rotating his head around. My photo doesn't do justice to him.

We're rediscovering the beauty and comfort of staying outside in the evening. What a pleasure.