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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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Sheltering at Home Day 9: I’m Going for the Small — Really Small — Pleasures.

March 26, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

small pleasures new barn-lights-for-an-unfinished deck
The deck isn’t finished — no railing. The siding still needs to be replaced, and inside the door, you can see the living room is still a construction zone. But I’m finding small pleasures everywhere, starting with getting a close look at the barn lights I ordered on line for the deck. Photo by Jon Newhall
Sheltering at Home Day 9, Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Here we are, stuck at home in the middle of a scary pandemic. Yet there are small pleasures to be had, plenty of them.

OK, they’re really, really small. But I’m making the most of them.

small-pleasures-a-fallen-camellia-blossom
One very small, soggy pleasure: This camellia blossom fell on the stairway I had just raked clean. Nature is persistent.

Our front steps are tidied up and looking good, for example. I spent an afternoon earlier this week raking up this spring’s dead camellia blossoms, with pleasing results for all the people not coming up and down our front steps these days, and that includes the food delivery people, who won’t be here till Saturday.

There’s the fun of working on the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle with Jon. We had this week’s nailed by Tuesday.

And there are the barn lamps I ordered to light up our new deck. They’re stacked in boxes in our unfinished living room, waiting for us to decide — the 14-incher? Or the 10-incher? I dunno. They’re both pretty. But no rush. We don’t have to decide till the designer can come back into our house and measure things.

Best of all — there are the friends who keep emailing and phoning. Friends are good. My Episcopalian friends are having a Zoom meeting tonight. So there’s also the iffy pleasure of figuring out how the heck  Zoom works. That might take a while. Gotta go.

More fun stuff at “She’s Shaved Her Head Bald. Is Our Daughter Headed for the Dark Side?”  And here’s a story about young Peter: “When Your Six-Year-Old Wants to Talk Money.”

small-pleasure-two-new-barn-lamps
The two barn lights, the 10 incher and the 14 incher. I like the big one. That gorgeous walnut slab is our new mantel.

Filed Under: A Case of the Human Condition, Sheltering at Home Chronicles

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Comments

  1. Blake says

    March 26, 2020 at 10:36 am

    Hey, nice mantle!

    Maybe the bigger of the two lamps for the deck.

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      March 28, 2020 at 10:11 am

      Good. I’m leaning toward the bigger one. Good to know you agree.

      Reply

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