'the art' continues

My dearest friend,

You ask how things are going. Well, things have been unraveling as of late.

In my ordinary reality, the atrium project is 2/3rd's done. That's awesome progress and I must say I'm impressed. But my hubby promises there's a lot more left to do outside. Outside? Ok, well then, I can deal with that. As long as it's all cleaned up before Thanksgiving, I'm good. Come to think of it, better make sure I stress several days before Thanksgiving, otherwise I might be construed as having an easy going, permissive attitude towards the whole thing and it drags out to barely a few hours before T-day. So far the project is on schedule and going as planned, so I have no reason to worry.

In my non-ordinary reality, however, things are a bit more chaotic.

The muse woke me up in the middle of the night, as did the cat. Together they came up with a duet, a mix of words - beginnings and endings, with no in-between-ess - and lots of caterwauling. It failed to impress me so I plugged my ears and fell back to sleep.

When I woke up this morning, she was two inches from my face staring at me - the muse, not the cat. I could feel her breath warm and misty on my eyelids. She does things like that just to spur me into action. Action meaning get up and start the routine. But before I got to go to the bathroom she startles me again saying she has arrived at a grand conclusion. She needs a nom de plume.

Really?? What do you suggest?

Lily Gene.

I raised an eyebrow. I had no comment.

She didn't seem to mind my attitude of underwhelm, she has an uncanny ability to be very self-possessed. There's a bit of a stubborn streak that belies that sweet southern belle of a name she's chosen.

Aside from stubborn, the muse is duplicitous as well. She takes me down unknown paths than lead to cliffs and abysses, and then deserts me. Doesn't sound like a Lily Gene, now does it? However, my opinions don't ever seem to matter much to her anyway, and she's simply tired of being called 'the muse.'

Even the cat has a name. And so does 'the lime', she stated matter of factly.

The lime is Char the Lime, a character who as of yet has only a variety of viridescence, the best scent in the world, and a super power - the tendency to fall without getting hurt - ascribed to it.  Nothing more. And whose fault would that be, I wonder?

But the muse continued to act non-plussed and I figure she's got something up her sleeve.

Since I hadn't fully awakened yet, I was caught totally unprepared to find her cousin, none other than CFS, sleeping on my couch. Remember him? His back was turned to me, but we both know well the shape of that long, thin angular body wrapped in a blanket completely covering his head like a cocoon. In case you've forgotten, he longs for the snug assurance of his beginnings - before he emerged as something resembling a giant grasshopper. And, anyway, had there been any doubt, CFS's dog, Grand Aplomb, was on the couch as well.

No wonder Preciousness was caterwauling. The muse had let them slip in right in the middle of the night disturbing the peaceful slumber of my kitty.

I hadn't seen CFS in quite a while, but, as you know, he's the type that sleeps in and wakes up for nothing, so I didn't greet him. I petted Grand Aplomb instead and was instantly rewarded with lots of snorts and slobbery kisses. He is the only dog Preciousness will tolerate somewhat, and being quite invisible, gets away with murder in this house.

I then, injudiciously you'd say, decided to humor the muse, and typed Lily Gene in the computer. Well, let me tell you, she went berserk with delight, pirouetting all about and singing I've got a name, in a tune that was vaguely familiar. Preciousness started caterwauling, Grand Aplomb howling, and CFS just kept on snoring. From my perspective this simply was not promising to be a very productive start to my writing. And, anyway, I had to get to work. But at least I have been able to record the events with a great degree of accuracy given the fact so much is in flux, and able to report to you.

And, you know, considering I left all that madness to the workers in the atrium. It's really amazing they were able to get so much done!

Yours always.