The  work expands to fill the time allotted for it. This is an awful rule of nature. But only because it works against those who are not list checkers or goal setters.

Without diligent adherence to a plan, one drifts. For me, that meant a trip to Australia and into the outback via the adventure of a girl and her little brother in a big award winning movie from last century.

This movie is nothing earth shaking. It’s a familiar theme. Person lost in desert/jungle/space/city tries to find their way to what’s familiar facing hunger/thirst/weather/creatures/ and with the help of /alien creature/indigenous dude/talking animal/magic rock/ succeeds in reuniting with civilization while retaining powerful memories of /finding God/culture clash/coming of age/satisfaction/relief/confidence and moves on.

I stayed with it until the rescue.

Then the phone rang.

I was near to embark on a rare outing when I got the desperate call from one who had made a strategic error by  fretting over her rent and fearing it would be raised if she didn’t renew the contract. Turns out the land lord had forgotten her unit and had no intention of increasing it. But the call to renew the lease  was made and an inspection had to be performed and the landlord jacked the rent up. I was asked to house a cat temporarily, just for a few hours so he wouldn’t escape during the inspection.

He’s black and the size of a small bear and he did not like being  transported so he complained all along the way.  He was so upset that he refused the food I offered. It was fancy feast. So you know he was frazzled.

Then I was off to a local restaurant called Beaches where I’d never before set foot. Turns out it was excellent and worth every penny. Nice place. I paid them the extra $.80 for some perfect goodies that got me one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

We had a nice visit and caught up on the big news – big good news, then we headed up the walking path where we passed the usual college aged runners, the fitness pro’s, the old couples, along with a hobo holding a stick with a bag hanging off the end of it just like in the old movies. My walking partner had to photograph that. It was so classic. The bag held scavenged aluminum cans and his face looked right for the part. Dapper Dan he was not.

The air over the water was opalescent, making the distance a pastel haze, detailed but with muted contrasts. Everything was pretty.

The trail ended after we passed “art” in the form of welded steel sculpture. It was called Rosie the Riveter.

I pointed at the geese that waddled across the lawn by the trail and proclaimed them “food” and we noticed that the path was actually a goose toilet.

I should have taken pictures of all this.

I’d left home in a light vest. Even though I found some gloves and had a hat, by the time we were done walking the cold had penetrated to the point where it was a relief to get back into the Land Rover.

The wee Lotus car is a slow project. Tonight I put the seat back in and like every other operation on this vehicle it was no easy thing to do. It should have been. All that is to be done is bolt down the four corners of the slide rails. Easy, right? No. The car is sitting out there right now waiting for me to reattach the dampers, lower links, and drive lines.

Tomorrow I hope to get more done.

Last night I wrote in the story, Flat Scream T – P as the first of the little tales from Chichiyaboo which is a fictional land I created for story writing. It’s the post prior to this one. Feel free to comment. I like feedback. Especially as money. Note that we’re no longer accepting $100 bills. Unless you want to send them. In that case, we’ll make exceptions just for you.