Reflections on the Seventh Week of Fall

This week highlighted the perils of home remodeling. Monday, Spence stained the thirteen rows of oak flooring he'd installed by the sliding glass door. He reached for his cell phone to join a conference call. The phone slipped and landed in the gallon of stain. Thinking the worst, he pulled the phone out and wiped off sticky liquid. But, he made his call–just with a shinier phone. Friday, our cat Emma climbed through the spiral stairs to rest on the open shelf of the china cabinet Spence had pushed against the railing to apply sealer in a back corner. When she got down, she stepped on a stained trim board that was balanced on the railings to dry. The board and Emma fell to the basement. Horrified we ran downstairs. She'd landed in a box of Styrofoam chunks that Spence had cut for basement insulation. She jumped out, made complaining cat growls, and ran away. Later that night, Spence used his table saw to cut trim for the stairwell opening. He came upstairs and said, “I think it's emergency room time.” The saw had cut through the nail and tip of the bone in his left pinkie finger. Disinfectant, eight stitches, tetanus shot, antibiotics, and pain pills later, Spence came home with a banana-sized bandaged finger. He could still type except for “a,” Tab, and Shift.