Saturday mornings, walking, adolescence and charts.

Saturday morning (probably like most people's) is a time of restructuring the house, family, etc, after a week of work, travel and learning - depending on age of the family members.
Ezra is at Lycee, half an hour away - long days including getting up at 5.30, (all of us) lots to take in during the week and all the usual questions a sixteen year-old is asking themselves, one of which is, err, what should I do in life?
This is causing much brow-furrowing and temper. Combined with my own 'pre-menopausal woman' brow-furrowing and swearing, the house can be quite resonant with sound (apart from all the noise Mark makes).
A mouldy silence hung over the breakfast table when all the shouting had been done and I decided action had to be taken as even a brief suggestion of raising the weekly allowance didn't seem to be having any effect.
In the long lost past, Star Charts would have been drawn up - if you do this, you will get a gold star: room-clearing, washing in basket, eating cooked carrots, etc; of course non of this now applies.
We went for a walk.
I remember hearing a report on the radio recently about walking, (one of those scientific reports, usually carried out in Scandinavia somewhere) They, whoever they are, had worked out after years of research and much financial input, that walking is good for you . . . not just physically, but mentally. Erm, excuse me, I could have told you that over a cup of tea for about thirty-five euros.
The residual anger faded as we observed nature doing things well in advance of when it should be doing things - thrusting leaves, blossom, birds tweeting manically - and spoke of electronics, housework and yes, the question . . . what does he want to do in life?
That question isn't much further on in answer, but we did get back to the house realising that we did still all like each other; that some jobs, such as Cleaning The Fish Out could be dealt with, and Ezra would make lunch . . . brilliant.
I'm sure it'll all deteriorate fairly quickly, but it's just good to know that he can make an excellent fish stew, and has realised that offering to get everyone else a glass/plate/cup of tea, makes us strangely happy, and a lot less shouty.

Extraordinary things

We are surrounded by them.
On my own personal list of extraordinary-ness for today - the fact that when I woke up this morning my knee had inexplicably stopped aching; that we managed to acquire an entire boot-load of perfect, untreated wood from the dump, thus replenishing the wood pile, and that the boy mopped up the floor after the dog peed - without me asking him to (boy mopping, not dog peeing). Tiny, insignificant things of no consequence other than to me and the rest of the family.
Then the slightly bigger scale things: blossom coming out in February that should be making an appearance in March, and the machinery involved in replacing railway sleepers on the line opposite our house. I just stood and gawped in amazement this morning at the variety and complexity of the yellow machines, heaving, grinding and lifting. How does anyone create a machine like any of those? I could just about draw one, but to think it up and put it into construction? extraordinary, like I said.
In the category of extraordinary things that are not of great world consequence, unlike uncontrollable weather conditions, (or possibly controllable in the long term, some would argue) and Kim Jong-un's activities, I would add the acting abilities of Matt Damon and Michael Douglas.
We watched, for the second time, last night, Behind The Candelabra.

How wonderful to watch two such type cast actors embracing such an utterly different subject.
Matt Damon stars no longer in my mind as bloodied Bourne crashing though buildings bristling with weaponry; nope, he's stuck for ever in a white Rhinestone-encrusted chauffeurs outfit, with a light application of lipstick.

Moving on to a category of total 'uh what? and following on with the theme of gay.
A visiting American friend this morning noted wryly that they probably wouldn't enjoy the film in Kansas.
Apparently, the Kansas House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a measure to bring anti-gay segregation to it's state - allowing shops/cinemas/hotels, etc, to eject people; making it possible to fire people from jobs on account of their sexuality, and even meaning that a policeman/firefighter/doctor, et al, does not have to assist someone gay, if interacting with a gay person violates his or her religious beliefs.
In fact, no one is supposed to enjoy the film in the U.S . . . it's not on general release and only available on cable T.V. as it was deemed to be Too Gay.
Shouldn't people be worrying about something that really matters rather than a fellow human's sexuality? like how we can keep the world from caving in on itself due to our own stupid actions.

sign image from politicususa. Sorry who ever made the Gif image of Matt Damon, I can't find it again to credit - but it's wonderful.