swimsuit update

I found a new swimsuit today.  I tried on ten suits.  Narrowed it down to three.  All of them black or black and white.  Settled on this one:

Yeah, that isn't a picture of me.  Duh, I'm not that tan.
Jr went with me.  I'm just saying that every woman should have a Jr for swimsuit shopping.  He brought a smile to my face today.

saturday list

Jack is out flying his planes, and Jr is at work, and I'm sitting in my chair gazing out at the back yard through the partially open french door, considering my options for today.  Rusty is laying in the corner behind Jack's chair, occasionally looking at me sideways while, I suspect, quietly farting.  JoJo is spread out on her bed in front of the fireplace, worn out from racing around menacing all of us with a savagely half-chewed up Diet Coke bottle clamped tightly in her teeth, which she shook back and forth while bucking up and down like a wild horse.  Gus is resting now but could spring alertly to his feet at any moment when he hears the buzzing of an insect as it enters the house through the slightly open door, which will require him to dart about until he has done his best to down the wily beast.

I'm still a bit foggy from the migraine yesterday.  Or perhaps the treatment of the migraine.  Either way.  I suspect I got myself too worked up over the latest comments from someone, comments on Thursday that I couldn't seem to resolve in my mind, so apparently I needed to check out from thinking for a few hours yesterday by laying in the dark, alone, waiting for the pounding to cease.  Thank you, Jack, for nailing heavy blankets over the bedroom windows and blinds, thereby darkening the room and allowing me to find peace of mind.  And thank you, Lortab, for the mind-numbing rest.

Today, right now, seems like a perfect morning to go out into the gardens, pull up a few stray weeds, maybe prune back a bit of overgrowth before it becomes a lot of overgrowth.  But there is the remnant of the fog in my head and the pounding seems ready to begin anew whenever I lean forward. 

There are dishes and laundry and a stack of papers to sort on the counter, kitty litter boxes to clean out, houseplants to water, and trash baskets to empty.  And grocery shopping since I'm on my last Diet Coke.

Or I could sit in my chair and marvel at the wonders of the internet.

I could rise and shower and dress and visit the bead store--haven't been there in a long time and I've been visualizing something red and sparkly lately.

Also, it is new purse time.  My handbag is looking shabbier and shabbier, and while I'm out, perhaps I'll find a new swimsuit?  Because swimsuit shopping is always fun or maybe could be if you find just the right suit and have an upcoming need for it.

So.  There you go.  I think if I work it right, I can find a way to accomplish all of these today.  And the headache will fade away with the memory of the feelings that brought it on.

musical fun

Last night I went to a concert with some of my kids.  It was outdoors on a beautiful night with gulls flying home and a nearly full moon overhead.

We saw Guster and while I didn't recognize any of their songs I did enjoy every one of them.

Next up was Ben Folds Five

This was the band I wanted to see.  Ben Folds is such an amazing pianist and a total nerd.  How can he stand up and play the piano the way he does?  At one point he stopped, opened the top of his piano and pulled out a broken string.  He was playing so hard he broke a string.  Holy cow. 

One of my kids played the piano a lot over the years--he truly has a gift for it--and one of his favorite composers is Ben Folds.  So that meant all of the songs they performed last night were very familiar because Stu played them on the piano in my house all of the time.  From the corner of my eye I could see Stu's hands in front of him, air-playing along while he also sang. 

To my right I could see and hear Herschel singing along. 

This night, this good time--it filled me with joy.

father's day 2013

girlfriends

Girlfriends are so awesome.

I went to lunch yesterday at Finn's (a local Scandinavian cafe) with a girl who became my friend in jr high.  We had omelets (hers was shrimp, capers, and havarti--mine was tomatoes, green onion, cheddar, avocado, and bacon) and I think we agreed they were the best omelets ever.  And the omelets came with exactly the right amount of perfectly cooked hash browns.

Finn's was a delight as always.  It isn't just that the food is tasty and pretty.  It's the feeling of the place that I like so much.  I've been there a couple of times in the past few years with my mom because she likes the food.  And it's the place my parents ate at the night before I was born.  So there's that.

I maybe haven't always appreciated the value of girlfriends.  Growing up without sisters, I always thought the point of friendship was to just be nice and happy all of the time and then people would like you and want to be around you.  I don't think I realized there might be a different way to interact with people until Jessie went to college.  Getting to see her and watch the interactions between her roommates helped me understand that relationships might be more complex than I'd thought.

Seeing my friend yesterday reminded me again of the value of girlfriends.  The thing is, we hadn't seen each other for maybe over a year, but that didn't matter.  We picked up where we left off as though we'd talked just last Tuesday instead of the spring before last. 

We've known each other for a long time and we've watched each other go through all kinds of life experiences.  It always feels so good to talk, listen, care, and laugh and get all of that in return.

All of that--and bacon!  Must do this again soon.

since i was tired of long hair

I got mine cut today.

i have a question

I can't figure out the answer to this one--

Why oh why don't I own a navy blue cardigan or a pale pink cardigan? 

That might technically be two questions.

I need to find answers.

That is all.

camping

We went to the Spruces campground this past weekend.  This beautiful place is 30 minutes from our house.

These guys met us up there--

There was serious fire-building, hot dog and s'mores cooking and eating...and of course, pancakes and bacon...

 Also, discovery of small animals and much playing amongst the trees...

Some tickling and lots of laughing...

We played Yahtzee and Aggravation and dominos and go fish.

. 

And we talked around the fire.

 

Some of us slept in the trailer, some slept in their tent.

  

This pretty much demonstrates the emotions experienced while camping together.  

Some people said it was the perfect start to summer.  

Some called it the best.time.ever.  

Truly.

There will be more of this soon.

Thanks for the photos, Shi.

i made success

Tonight:

1.  Made dinner
2.  Made Jr laugh hysterically simply by singing in French (sort of)
3.  Made my heart beat faster by riding around the block on my pink bike with Jr, Danielle, and Joe (who were on other bikes, obviously...)

simple pleasures