TGIF Fill-In

Yes, it's time for another end-of-the-work-week Friday Fill-In:

1. The last thing I ate was _____ a bowl of oatmeal and _____a peach.
2. A litle package of Hazlenut Spice Chocolate bark from the chocolate shop in town_____ is something I recently bought.(saving it for a night when J and I can enjoy it along with a deep, smooth red wine--a Cabarnet?)
3. When it rains, it _____ nourishes the earth. Enough with the nourishing, though--we have had quite a bit of it! So much so, that when I do wake up to a bright and sunny day(like today), it seems like a miracle and something out of the ordinary. I am going to enjoy every minute of my extraordinary day today, then--even if I have to work with an aching lower back.
4. _____ My daughter was the first person I talked to today.(telling her it was 7:00 and she might want to get up soon to be ready for Beach Camp)
5. Hugs are _____free.
6. The ice pack I applied to my back last night gave me some_____ extra comfort. (it seems to have worked because my lower back is not as bad as I feared it would be this morning, but I will still need to call the chiroprator--something is out of whack)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____an outdoor book club night at my friend's house who has the loveliest old brick patio, tomorrow my plans include _____yard and garden tidying and Sunday, I want to _____call my brother about our trip down to see him and also, simply relax!

Random Summer Thoughts(and a Blogthing)

Just some thoughts from the Blah Blogger. Yeah, that's me. I have not had much to say lately (really!)and it was difficult to be on line for any length of time in the last few days because of all the thunderstorms.

The neighborhood kid who just whizzed down the street past my house on his bike made me smile.

We live at the bottom of a small hill. It's not a scary steep one--but just right for coasting down on a bicycle(R used to do this a lot when we first moved here). Just a few minutes ago, I heard the unmistakable sound of bicycle tires whooshing past, and the boy riding the bike(maybe about 7 or 8 years old?) shouted, "This feels s-o-o-o good!" Yeah.

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The air and earth and growing things smell SO good lately. The damp, rich earth(after a month of dampness) and dry sunny days(we have actually had a few now, in between thunderstorms and sun showers) seem to combine to make the perfect ozonic cocktail. The other night(4th of July evening, actually), I couldn't stop marvelling at the good scent in the air. Maybe the wafting smoke from the exploded fireworks combined to make it that more special, but I have noticed the fresh smell in the air on a few other occasions in the last few days. It's the smell of early summer. I am enjoying it while can before the humid and tired summer days roll in, later on.

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It is impossible to eat a juicy peach quietly and politely. Slurping noises and dribbling can't be avoided. A pretty embarrassing thing to attempt to eat at work.

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Weeding the flower beds is much more enjoyable when the sun's out(late afternoon or early morning sun is the best for this task, though) and even more enjoyable without garden gloves. Even though it is always going to be some work and a good soaking to clean under my fingernails, I prefer to use my bare hands to do this.

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An interesting framing job item:

Someone brought in three copies of black and white photos from the 1950's today, of Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor. They visited and stayed overnight for a weekend back then, in the house my customer lives in now. I never even knew they ever set foot in Rhode Island, let alone my town. In the photos, it was interesting to see a few scowly faced children off to the sides in the candid group shots. They were probably miserable having to be all dressed up and wondering what the big deal was about these visitors.

Since I haven't indulged in a Blogthang is some time, I decided to try this deep
and meaningful(ahem) "What Kind of Transportation Are You?" quiz. Although I really don't know about the "willing to do hard work" part, I do agree that I am a bicycle sort of person.

You Are Bicycling

You are an energetic, driven person. You try to live a good life. You are industrious and determined. You happily and willingly do hard work. You are deeply philosophical. You are concerned with doing things the best way. You love freedom to explore and experiment. You don't like rules.

What Type of Transportation Are You?

Unblah

Or, Friday's blog, part 2.

Man, do I feel like a foolish whiner, since about three hours after I wrote my lament about the dreary weather and lack of sun earlier today, the sun actually came out in full force. We had heat and sunshine and blue skies ! Right now, there is a cool, fresh breeze coming in the open window and we don't need a light on in the room, as we had to do some days with the storms and rain. For now, at least, it feels like a Rhode Island summer late afternoon should.
Ahhh...there we go! Someone on our street is letting off a string of fire works as I type. It's really pre-4th of July summer now. I was saying last night to R that we usually hear fireworks in the neighborhood all week leading up until Independence Day. But this year...nothing. Until now. Luckily, I have two pets (the cat and dog) that deal with fire crackers and thunder(which we have had lots of the last week) noises quite well.

Back to what I was first going to write about, though:

Today turned out to be one pretty darned good day.

Not too busy and frantic at the shop, as I had expected it might be. We were able to catch up with completing all orders. It was was quiet as far as customers. I think everyone was at the beach or at least doing something under the sun, outdoors. Or, at the grocery stores, getting what they still needed for tomorrow's cook-outs and gatherings.

Even Boss No. 1 was feeling good and came in earlier than he usually does and bought us ice coffees and seemed happy for a change.

And, the first thing I saw when I parked my car in the lot at work, was this:

I was in bumper sticker heaven!

Because it was slow enough, I even sat down to get my arm hennaed. A former co-worker comes in from time to time to do henna on site. Usually, I am too preoccupied with working to even think about getting it done, and I thought it wasn't anything for me.

But, after Boss. No. 1 went and had a simple design drawn on his wrist(I told you he was in a good mood!), I started thinking I wouldn't mind having one done on me, as well. I wasn't going to have anything like my whole hand(palm) covered, but this paisley-ish design on my lower arm was perfect for me. (please try to ignore the whiteness of my sun-deprived skinny arm)

If this turns out alright, I may have more done. It is was relaxing to sit with my arm on a pillow while D drew on my arm and it smells wonderful, too. Kind of a mild cumin and lavender spice scent.

Supposedly, with the proper attention(keeping it moist as I have been trying to do every half hour or so), and not scrubbing it, the dark paste will flake off, and the underlying orange stain(which I can already see where some of the paste has fallen off) will darken up within the next 24 to 48 hours. The design can last up to two to three weeks, I was told.

More Blah

I hate that my mood and well-being can so easily be affected by the weather, but I feel like I am half alive these days because of the same old grey that I see when I open my eyes every morning(such a strange summer, since the middle of June around here--dark, barely ever any sun and fairly cool). I haven't even been into blogging or visiting blogs lately. The only good thing I can say is that at least this weather is good for the skin(no sunburns possible) and we haven't had to use extra energy use for fans. I wear a light sweater when I leave for work every morning!

Here, a limpid attempt at a blog this morning:

i need

............. to bake in the hot sun , like a lizard

i want

....to feel energized and light-hearted

i listen

.....It hasn't started yet today, since she is still sleeping, but....every day since his death was announced, R plays Michael Jackson songs in her room. They are kind of imprinted on my brain at this point. She is slightly obsessed, which Mr. F remarked made him feel even sadder about the death. Just some birds outside the window is all I hear now. And my typing on this keyboard--sounds quite loud in the otherwise quiet house. Oh yes..also some gentle snoring sounds from Mr. F in the next room.

i feel

....at loose ends and lethargic

i watch

....nothing. No movies or TV lately. Just not interested.

i play

hmmmm....PLAY. I need to do that.

i read

Daphne DuMaurier's "The Birds" (the short story Hitchcock's film was loosely based on) the other night before bed. Now every time I see a bird, I have to think of that chilling story.

i eat

a slice of pumpkin bread and a banana

Nearly Wordless Wednesday....

..because this left me speechless!
Celine Dion as Michael Jackson in some (short) footage from a concert of her's from who knows when. So very bizarre.