assignments from them in one year! At last, a decent stretch of well-paid work instead of having to slave over short newspaper pieces that take me nearly as much time to research as full-length articles. I’m lucky to break even on those if I value my time at all, and I do.
I don’t want to sit on the divan where I hallucinated Aunt Ginger. I flop into the big olive-green mohair armchair, switch on the lamp beside me and sink into the most comfortable chair in the world.
“Sadie B., we are living in interesting times, old thing,” I say, scratching behind her ears with my left hand. I stick out my tongue to see if I can still locate my bite mark. At this rate of self-inflicted physical abuse, I am likely to drown in my evening bath. Fear of bathtubs. Drainophobic? Hydrophobic? Mercy, get a grip.
I’ll have to make a list for this trip. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Nothing like a nice tidy list to settle a person down.
Van
tune-up, oil change
rotate tires, decide on spares (check specials at shops)
stove fixed and hooked up
ditto for fridge
wire mesh to protect headlights
new exhaust and muffler system
Total est. $650-$750
Work Gear
tape recorder, tapes, batteries
camera and bulk film
all the usual/notebooks/pens
maps, The Milepost guide to the Alaska Highway, compass
laptop, etc.
sketch book, pencils, charcoals
Food Supplies
40 kg kibble
30 tins of S.B.’s canned food
2 extra insulin
90 needles
90 dog biscuits
30 noodle dinners
30 herbs’n’butter rice pkg.
10 kg 7-grain cereal
5 kg powdered milk
2 kg demerara sugar
5 pkg. coffee
Earl Grey, mint, rosehip tea bags
24 tins mushroom soup
24 tins salmon
24 tins sardines
24 cans 2% milk
12 packs of rye crisp
popcorn
spices, engevita yeast, oyster sauce
dried soup mix (bulk)
1 pkg parmesan cheese
12 cans garbanzos
12 cans kidney beans
12 cans each green & yellow beans
olive oil, salad oil
apple cider & red wine vinegar
Clothing Supplies
blue suit
black suit
yellow rain gear
sweats and jeans
windbreaker
socks, underwear
swimming gear
2 cotton sundresses
old black sweater
plaid bush shirt
several T-shirts
one snazzy outfit
slippers, runners, bush boots, sandals, beige pumps, black pumps
Miscellaneous
health food store mosquito dope
make sure S.B.’s rabies shot still good re: U.S. border crossing
dry clean sleeping bag
hold mail May 15-July 15
pay Corey to mow lawn l/week
call Terry, Mike, Hope, Faith, George, Dr. Swanson
binoculars
kayak & gear
extra windshield fluid
vitamins
2 bottles of Chardonnay, 1 Irish Mist
10 bottles of no-name mineral water (large)
check condition of plates, bowls, etc. take the good pots & pans
S.B.’s travel bowls, leash, long line, basket, kitty litter
There! I always feel better after a good stint of list-making. As long as I can tick off my lists, I have the most comforting illusion that everything is under control. I’ll have enough food to eat a monotonous but nourishing diet even if a bridge on the highway washes out and I have to wait for a crew to replace it. I’ll buy fresh veggies and fruit en route and, I hope, some salmon and halibut.
Now I’ll tempt the Fates and run a nice bath with my special no-cruelty-to-little-bunny-eyes bath oil. Better put some nice bath and shower stuff on the list too. Nothing like a bit of pampering in a motel bathtub after a long stretch of driving and camping.
I’m just drifting off to sleep when I remember the rhododendron painting bee. I sit up straight. Will I delay my most lucrative and exciting freelance assignment to host the Rosemont Painting Club? Will the rhododendrons appear in good time and spare me the stress of making this decision? Will a spell of hot spring weather solve all my problems? We’ll have to see. It’s not on my list. Not to worry. There’s not a thing I can do about it. Good night.
good night little worr y wart
?...
Five
I wake up from a long, dreamless sleep and start coffee proceedings in my tiny perfect kitchen. Sun splashes over the peach and ivory walls and cupboards I painted in February. The new day out there looks glorious, not a cloud in the sky. My nose appreciates
