A couple of weeks ago, I was riding my stationary bike on the balcony when I saw smoke wisping around the tree in front of me. I thought it was strange that I did not smell the wood smell. With so much smoke so close, surely I should be able to smell it. Then the smoke cleared, which was also strange. If there were a fire burning for heating it would be fairly continuous. Then the smoke returned, but just wisping around the tree. Then I realized that it was the pollen. Woe to the allergy sufferer on that day. Great clouds of smokey pollen continued to blow from the tree for several hours. Quite a spectacle.
Lat year I mentioned to the landlord that the kitchen faucet leaked. I thought he would like to know because it was wasting water and besides I did not like to hear the drip drip drip into the sink. His solution to the problem was for me to place a sponge under the faucet, so it would not make the irritating sound. Well, this year the leak has gotten worse, but knowing Goran's reticence to repair things, my Japanese room mate has fixed up this contraption. The water that leaks from the handle flows down the sponge and into the funnel she shaped from a half-liter bottle. It works very well at keeping the backboard dry.
This spider has taken up residence in the corner of my bedroom. I know it is evidence of my lack of house keeping skills, but I have not removed it for two reasons: 1) It has been several weeks and the spider has not died , so it must be ridding me of other undesirable creatures, and 2) It reminds me to remember those who are in solitary confinement throughout the world. I remember a story of Corrie ten Boon. When she was first arrested, she was kept in solitary, before being sent to the labor camp. Being an extrovert, this was very difficult for her and she befriended the ants that marched across her prison floor. So, as I blow gently on my spider to see if it is still alive, I think of those who do not even have a spider to commune with, who are being kept all alone because of their thoughts, beliefs or actions.
Not very exciting, but some things that have caught my interest in the past few months
