Day 5 – The cauliflower couscous bought at market has gone bad and the reek demands an escape. I unscrew the pins on all the stays and lever the windows in liberation. The cottage exhales. Gathering trash, I make a dash for the bins in the gated alley way and hope to avoid detection. Here is the neighbor wiping down glass. Four days ago, we met a woman from Ann Arbor, “My father-in-law is Ed. He lives up the street and can help if you need anything.” Hello to Ed! He takes no obvious notice of my flannel pajamas, jacket inside-out, hair-askew. Just the windows and the compost and the top of the bin gone missing to the wind. (Amen to Canadians! Amen to Hughes!) Ed has been to Traverse City. He will be in Michigan this year. The alley way inhales. At the cottage, I tear the strip on the baking soda bought for a failed, first-date with a pan of milk and an induction stove. I dump half to the burned bits and set the remainder in the belly of the Smeg to aid the digestion of bad veg. The rest of the day continues at a domestic pace. Clothes to the Launderette. Fish and Chips from a cart. Back for a day of work, tapping away at my keyboard to the rhythm of horse hooves on the setts. Amen to open windows!
West Yorkshire – Day 5 Amen to open windows!
