I kind of have an unwritten rule, for myself. I don’t turn on the TV all day, until dinnertime. This rule only applies when I’m home alone. It works out, usually, because I’d rather sit on the deck and read or write there, enjoying the breeze and the shade.

It does not work well when it rains. Because, of course then I’m stuck in the house. Which was today.  A violent storm blew in off the Gulf this morning, complete with lots of lightning, thunder, a tornado warning and a water spout.  Forecast was for rain and showers on and off all day.   So I was inside most of the day after I went to physical therapy this morning and my back/hip/leg were killing me this afternoon. I sat in the living room, in silence…no birds, no cars passing by, no voices in the yards next door. Dead silence, especially with my hurricane windows, which shut out sound as well as wind, really well.

I promptly fell asleep. Considering I slept 7 hours last night, I was wondering why I was so exhausted. I slept for at least an hour and a half, in my recliner. I guess pain is exhausting. At least today. So, I woke up and actually did read for about an hour. In the silence.

For some reason, the silence did not oppress me. At first, it was. Oppressing me. It seemed thick, it was like the lack of sound created its own sound. I didn’t even hear my own ears ringing, though, they still are, and now that I’m awake, I hear them loud and clear, But the silence was like a cocoon I was living in, in this little house. I was hoping I would morph into a writer again. The words used to spill out of me, now I struggle to find them. I was living in sensory deprivation. It was a little weird.

So now, it’s almost 9:30. PM. I am watching a delightful series, from Masterpiece Theater, called The Durrells in Corfu. And killing flies. I swear, I got invaded. I’ve killed 5, with my own bare hands. In my pajamas. They are attracted to my TV screen, even though there are lights on. The screen makes it easy to kill them, though. They don’t see you coming. I broke a slat in the new blind Daniel bought me for my big kitchen window while I was chasing one. He bought it because the old one had a broken slat, and now the new one has one. I tried to tape it, but if you take a good look you can see it. Now I want to get another and put it up, so he won’t see how careless I was. Which is ridiculous, I can’t even walk through Home Depot, let alone put the blind up.

I’ll worry about it another day. It’s a $22 blind, for Pete’s sake. More important is the spider, small and black, that I keep sweeping off my leg while I sit on the couch. WTH? Flies, spiders. Did I just not notice these critters before because I’m outside so much? Well, I’ve watched 5 episodes of the Durrells, maybe one more and bed? Idk, I slept so much today.

Love and light.