twenty-six.

I was going to do a list of "twenty six awesome things about this week," but realized that not only would it get difficult to think up that many awesome things, but it might not be a realistic picture of life. I mean, things ARE pretty good, but life has lots of sides to it. So here goes: Twenty-six Things About This Week, Awesome and Otherwise.

1. It started with a rainy Sunday. One of the best bits of that day: watching this part of the "David Bowie" episode of Flight of the Conchords, on YouTube of course. "What are you doing in my room?" "It's all part of your freaky dream. Am I freaking you out?"

2. I started my new job at a marine supply and yacht maintenance facility, here in my village. My feet were sore on Monday night from walking around on a concrete floor looking for marine parts and standing behind the corner. But, I was proud of myself for going into something brand new, and facing all that newness. It felt like when you're in a foreign place with people you've just met, who all know each other. And they're having a conversation about stuff they all know really well, and you have to just listen, not having a clue really who they're talking about - only in this case, it's "fuel connectors" and "retainer rings".

3. I'm house-sitting and dog-caring for some people I've house-sat for before.

4. The house is comfortable, sensually-pleasing (art, books, nice furniture, lots of windows with beautiful views of the lake and Kidston Island) and for two weeks, my temporary home.

5. It has a big queen-size bed decked out with a pile of down-filled pillows.

6. The dog, Nell the border collie, is a sweet, loving, frisky, excitable, entertaining and smart companion. She tries to chew at water in the bathtub.

7. The last time I was house-sitting here, I was with my then-boyfriend. He is now my ex-boyfriend, and I miss him fiercely. Everything here reminds me of him - the same way that everything reminded me of him just after we broke up, which has now waned to nearly everything.

8. There is a fireplace (which - of course - reminds me of how he took care of it for me when we were here), and I love to come home from work and build up the embers back into a hot, rustling fire. On Sunday, when it was raining, and on Monday, when it was gloomy, the fire was especially comforting.

9. Because I've been swimming in a pool (at a resort here in town - a month's pass is $56), I've had towels drying by the fireplace, draped over some of the dining room table chairs. They are summer's beach towels, and colored brightly, with stripes.

10. Although it's been a busy week, I've been able to get in some swim time. I get on my bathing suit (or "swimming costume" - which makes me feel British to say) and my swim cap (which makes me feel like a "real" swimmer) and shower quickly. Then I get into the pool, walking down the steps until the water is waist-high. I push off into the water. My stresses float away behind me.

11. The pool water is an artificial yet pretty, icy-glacier blue. However, it is not cold like a glacier, which is probably good. Its temperature is mild. Depending on the day, it can border on too warm, but mostly it's refreshing.

12. Words I've learned and/or used a lot, so far this week: anode, bilge pump, work orders, Mercury Marine, Stright-MacKay, rigging, teak, deck, anti-fouling, draft, charts, wharfage, mooring, spark plug, purchase orders, boom truck, accounts receivable, bolt, pitch... the list goes on, and on.

13. I drive around in my car, to get to work, to do groceries, to take the dog for a walk in the country. I've had my car now for two months. My dirty little secret - I really, really like driving. (I feel a lot of guilt about it, though. But I do really, really like driving. I'm thinking of doing a whole post on this at some point.)

14. I have a tentative plan to get some body work done on my car, by a guy who's known as one of the best body-workers in our area. I'll be getting some rusty spots sanded down, and the whole thing buffed to a nice sheen that might just restore her to her 1997 glory. Dealing with men in garages and talking about car things on my own car, and talking prices that I will pay, make me feel like I have truly become an adult. (Whether or not this is right, and/or is a symptom of our North American addiction to cars, is a whole other matter.)

15. For a similar reason, I am really liking this new job. I get to explore the masculine side of me - or at least, the part of me that likes to learn how things work, and work with actual physical things like machinery. I am feeling my brain expand, feeling it build new neurological connections as it takes in all this new knowledge.

16. Elise Blaha, of enJOY it, a blog I read pretty frequently, is getting married this coming weekend. She's documenting it on her blog - and she's a neat, crafty and designy gal, so it's an indulgent and pretty read.

17. It also happens to be Earth Week, and today is Earth Day.

18. My friend Bill Conall will be heading to Orillia pretty soon for the award ceremony. However, tomorrow night (Friday, April 23) he'll be here at the Baddeck Library, doing an event.

19. A man came into the library and said, "Do you have a humour section?" I said (without realizing I was making a pun), "Funny you should say that!" (I was in the middle of creating a display for books that had previously won the Stephen Leacock award.)

20. Burning papers in the fireplace instead of recycling them - makes you feel like you're REALLY getting rid of them. The to-do lists no longer exist. Or at least, they've become ash, which is impossible to read.

21. I have far more library books out than I can actually read. Thankfully, unlike agreeing to real-life events or actual responsibilities, with library books you can just return the ones you don't want anymore.

22. As impulse grabs go, library books are a good one. You see one on the shelf that strikes your fancy and you can just TAKE IT. No matter how much or how little money you make, you can go into a library and just take out books that make you go, "ooh!" And I don't pay fines any more because I'm library staff - but even if you did pay fines, they would be pretty minimal considering what you get from a library!

23. The week is not even over yet! On the weekend, I plan to go to a "feast" - a local chef who likes to branch out and try new things has these events where people he knows go to his house and sit down together for a meal. A six-course tasting menu all based on a theme, and using as many locally-sourced, organic ingredients as possible. Last month it was Alice in Wonderland. This month it is based on the 1922 novel, Enchanted April. It will be my first time attending one of these "feasts." No doubt I'll report back to you.

24. Today is a beautiful, sunny, sunny day. I have made a poster on the stand-up easel by the front of the library that says, "Happy Earth Day!" and have put a container of markers next to it, inviting patrons to add to it. So far we have gotten: a flower, "Happy Mirth Day," and "Happy Bearthday."

25. Making a list of things is fun, but can run out of steam too. Good thing this list is almost over.

26. Today is my twenty-sixth birthday! That's the reason this list has twenty-six items. My friend Mel left me a message with her singing "Happy Birthday," and my Mum and brother met me at the door at work, also in song. (And bearing a gift certificate to my new favorite restaurant, the Black Spoon. Hurray!)

Twenty-six. I feel both not-that-old-yet, and exactly-that-old. Funny how ages work - they're important to us, but we can definitely take them too seriously. How old did you feel when you were twenty-six? Or, if you're not that old yet, where you do see yourself when you're there?

...