practicality...

particles, formed inside of chimney, clinging hard against the brick:
experts call it creosote, hazardous at 1/4 inch thick.
buildup, takedown. (it only has to happen once).

she's bad at math, &
1/4 inch could be nearly anything: the width of a dime. the side of a lemon seed. two pieces of grosgrain ribbon, purchased at the sewing shop down the road, sewn together (back to back) out of boredom.
1/4 + 1/4 = half.
she knows that much. learned to double recipes early on.

ah, the creosote. just another thing to think on, to worry about. nightmares :

"it was both of us, and the dog and the cat. standing barefoot on the wet lawn, just watching. i sunk to my knees, you started apologizing, saying sorry, i should have heeded the warnings. should have put some money aside, called a chimney sweep, just to check things out. preventative measures, hindsight always 20.20, and so on and so forth..."

chimney fire took the whole place down. it certainly was a shame.

strangest thing:

while watching as it burned, all she could think of (besides the wedding album), was dick van dyke, and how, as a child, she'd considered him strange, commented on how mary poppins could have done better, if only she'd tried.



favorite pastimes include
(but are not limited to)
the following:

collecting aprons, (VINTAGE, of course!)
hanging & rehanging curtains,
warming up leftovers,
scrubbing the fishbowl,
roughing up the
ends of things,
dusting, panhandling,
eavesdropping
& making lemonade.

(please, whatever you do,
do NOT tell the govenor. he's:
in-his-chair-with-his-feet-up-and
would-hate-to-be-disturbed).