Another new occupation.

I call Charles he calls me back this morning as seems to be our more or less daily routine. He's down and out with a sinus headache and has to work at Gertrude's and there's really nothing I can do gardenwise by myself at the moment so it's not the week for landscaping, plus he's bought a new armoire and has to move a piano to make space for it. Next week promises to be busy though as more work needs to be done at the Manor and several other places besides. We chat for a good 45 minutes. I enjoy it thoroughly but am sufficiently freaked out about having used so many daytime minutes that it takes me a good half hour to build up the courage to pick up the phone to retrieve a message from a new number.

Good thing I do -- it was Jane from Gertrude's. Seems they want me to come in on Saturday -- that would be tomorrow -- and work in the store. You know, answer the door and the telephone, be charming, surveil customers in a very polite, low-key way, look for the sparkle in their eyes and thus generally sell antiques. Good heavens. How this happened I have no idea, but I'm thrilled. Called her back, I would love to come in I said, she picked up then and there. Can it be that I am on the verge of actually doing a job I've wanted to do most of my life? Seems basically I'm going to be a sort of underbutler who sells antiques to visitors.

Since Kitten D -- who won't groom or eat without almost being forced -- had a diarrhea fest on my laundry pile this morning I still have a mess I've just begun to clean up. Since I start a new job tomorrow in a really nice place I need some really nice clothes. My mother's thrilled to hear the news and says go ahead and charge a couple of pairs of pants if I need them. So I go out to Savers and get some marvellous things for not a lot of money. Then to Goodwill to round out my wardrobe. Good thing I'm distracted on clothing and someone else buys the fully functional spinet Pianola out from under me. I do not need another player piano, though this one would have been worth it: it works, and it's small. It was also incredibly ugly and being a spinet is utterly inferior in every technical way to even a slightly problematic upright or grand. Bought fruits and vegetables. Just ate an eggplant parmagiana sandwich -- perfectly cooked and flavoured, but too, too much food for a sandwich. I'm stuffed and tempted to go home now even though it's only seven and go straight to bed. I think I'll do just that.