6:30 Look at clock on phone with one eye. 30 more minutes to go.

7:00 Look at it again. Make bargain with self for ten more minutes

7:10 Get up. Am surrounded by the zen beauty of the cedar walls in the cabin. All is silent.

7:15 Pull sheets off bed. Take them downstairs to the washing machine. Back up to kitchen. Feed Nala.

7:25 Put on run gear. Add gloves. Hook on Nala’s vest.

7:35 Out the door. The sun is out. But it’s 45 degrees. Turn Right. Down the hill. Along the river. It is flooding a bit. The turkeys are out again. More even than last time. I thought there about 30. Make it 40. They part for us. Half going on one side of the road. Half on the other. They gobble. Nala would like to stay and visit for while. But keeps moving with. Over the bridge. The wild brown rage filled Wawa river below. Farther. Turn right. Go to end of the road. Turn around. Make way back. We did not see even one person the whole time. Just a few dogs who barked as we passed.

8:45 Back home. Wipe down Nala’s damp legs. Take off her vest. She runs to see if by some miracle there is more food in her dish. There isn’t. She laps at the water. Grumpily.

8:50 Go downstairs. Move sheets to dryer. Back up stairs.

8:52 Hurry. Jump in shower and out. Throw on clothes.

8:59 Turn on computer which is on the kitchen island. Sit on the stool. Hit Teams.

9:00 Biweekly All Firm meeting starts. Ask Lisa to be this morning’s moderator. She takes everyone through their fun/soggy weekend adventures. Pull out can of beans. Put some in bowl. Add vegan cheese. Nuke. This is my current favorite breakfast option. Opposite of historical donut/sweet roll/brown sugar oatmeal fare.

9:45 Meeting ends. Wash bowl. Alysha has pulled off her sheets. Throw them in washer. Go thru email.

10:00 Call client for pre deposition meeting

10:35 Call Kassie to go over marketing matters.

10:50 Still on phone but move it to bedroom because Alysha is in big room in zoom with Andrew.

10:55 Hang up. Go downstairs. Get dry sheets. Go upstairs. Make bed. Get another set of sheets from big chest and make Alysha’s bed. Tuck it all in nice and tight so no bugs can ever survive if they manage to find their way in.

11:15 Empty refrigerator contents into bag. Empty garbage and stick in trunk. Put Alysha’s original sheets in dryer. Take Nala potty one more time. Get everything else put away and into the car. Lock the cabin door.

11:30 Hit the road just as the skies begin to darken. Go about 15 minutes and the rain starts. Pouring. all the way back up over Stevens Pass not stopping until we get to Sultan.

1:00 Pull over to Alysha’s favorite coffee stand so she can get one.

1:20 Pull into 5 guys Monroe. Alysha purchases delicious fries which we devour.

2:00 Drop off Alysha at her home.

2:15 Arrive at my home. It is damp and dratted leaves are all over the place. Dump everything out of car. Take Nala potty. Order Salad from Evergreens to counterbalance delicious fries.

2:30 Set up computer start reviewing email.

2:45 Pull out blower from downstairs and blow the leaves off of entryway and sidewalk. Bus goes by. Cars go by. A runner goes by.

3:00 Get on zoom - am all by myself. Get off zoom. Email group - when’s meeting. It has been pushed forward to 3:30. Perfect timing. Salad arrives. Eat it.

3:30 Get on zoom for CR 26i discovery conference with two opposing counsel and our team of Andrew, John, Taylor, Cheryl. Tell Andrew to begin. He does. But Attorney A on the other side decides to flex which he has a bad habit of doing. Repeatedly. I flex back. He mansplains. I interrupt. He mansplains more. I interrupt more. His default attitude with us is supercilious. But today he’s being extra ridiculous. I tell him so, saying: how old are you…3. We are going at it. Andrew and John have their videos on. Andrew is sideways in his chair laughing. John is chuckling watching the goings on. Attorney A and I are misbehaving grandly. You know better than that - you’re getting paid millions, I say. This begets a very improper response from Attorney A which I cannot repeat here as it would violate several confidentiality agreements. We tussle here and there and everywhere. Finally I put a stop to it by saying: stop it. He can’t resist throwing more jabs which I deflect with ease. Channeling Keanu in the matrix. And then as suddenly and seemingly viciously as it began - we pivot. I tease him. He teases back. We are laughing and all good natured. Seemingly at least.

4:00 back to email.

4:54 Read email from Attorney A to court confirming part of what we agreed to.

5:08 Send email to court completing the sequence.

5:25 Read email from Attorney A to me saying I’m off base.

5:57 Send email to Attorney A telling him he’s off base.

And we’re back at it again.

Photo: from my zen run outside the cabin