Bullets In The Moment

Sometimes it seems like it's easier to blog when there's not so much that I could blog about, you know what I mean?

There's quite a bit going on around here.

It's not so much that I feel overwhelmed.  It's just that I'm not sure how to break it down into digestible pieces, rather than yammer on in a not so interesting way.

For today, let's go with the bullet points...

o  I have discovered that there is yet another layer of stuff that I am ready to have out of my life that is still currently residing in my house.  I am in the process of purging more things again, even though I am probably the least pack-rattish of any of my friends. 

o  I have spent many hours with my little chihuahua doing more kinds of training than I have ever done with any other dog that I've ever had.  It turns out that although he is still quite typically 'toy dog' shy with strangers and we can't seem to change that about him, he has an extreme ability to learn tricks very quickly.  Although I wish that more than just our closest friends could see what a happy go lucky little guy we have, I have decided that it is not any more likely that I will ever truly change my dogs personality than changing my own innate self, so we are going to concentrate on his strengths.  Since he loves attention when he is 'performing' and almost completely forgets his shyness, we will soon start agility training!

o   On the way back from our July 4th trip to Yellowstone, my suv's A/C went out as we were traveling over 100 miles of eastern Oregon desert and it was 100 degrees out.  Now a month after having it repaired for $900, it is out again.  Did I mention that we are leaving on Friday to go back down to Palm Springs?  Yeah, another desert.  If this car is not careful, it will find itself in the pile of things that I don't need in my life anymore!

o  Here in Seattle, this summer has honestly been the nicest, warmest, sunniest summer of my life.  I wish it would never end.  I am trimming back all of my trees and shrubs as much as I can to maximize the light later on this Fall.

o  I have become very interested in the idea of people deciding to live where they like to vacation.  Why do so many of us spend so much time convincing ourselves that we couldn't do that? 

o  I love that my husband is easily the most easy-going person that I have ever known.  I used to find this a tad annoying and now I don't even know why I was ever annoyed by that!

What about you?  What's up in your life these days?  
Sometimes the fun is in the details!

Free Beer

I couldn't help myself.

My local grocery store had an advertisement for a $40.00 rebate on a $100 purchase if you also purchased a certain major brand of beer.

I don't drink beer.  Not because I'm a teetotaler, but because I've tried a bunch and they just don't float my boat.

However, my little old lady neighbor likes beer.  And one of the types that you could buy for the rebate was her favorite kind.

So I played beer fairy.

I bought the beer and brought it home to my neighbor and sent away for the $40 rebate. 

It'll take 6-8 weeks to get it back and by then I'll be all surprised and happy to get it.  And then I'll be smiling again like I was when I saw my neighbors face when she got some free beer right before the holiday weekend.

Beer Bottles On Ice by Napong, found at freedigitalphotos.net

 

 

 

Have a wonderful, happy and safe 4th of July! 

US flag backround with fireworks by Nirot, found at freedigitalphotos.net

My husband and I will be in Idaho Falls for the big fireworks show and then it's off to Yellowstone with my nephew and his Dad for their first time ever seeing the park!

Summer?!

There has been a lot going on since I got back from a recent road trip.  I'm choosing to let some still developing things work themselves through for awhile before I comment on their actual outcomes...

Since we've been back, my Nephew, Nathan, was super fun and yet super exhausting for his week long visit here: 

He played at several parks,

built some robots,

met a clients Great Dane puppy,

and even got in a workout while I caught up on some work.

And in huge breaking news in our corner of the world- I think summer is actually coming to the Northwest this year!  Sure it looks a lot like what many might call Spring.  However, just about anything tops last year and I am super grateful...


Our forecast for the week:

			High / Low (°F)	Precip. %
Mon Jul 09		Partly Cloudy	77°/54°	0 %
Tue Jul 10		Partly Cloudy	74°/55°	10 %
Wed Jul 11		Sunny	78°/56°	0 %
Thu Jul 12		AM Clouds / PM Sun	77°/56°	0 %
Fri Jul 13		Sunny	74°/56°	0 %
Sat Jul 14		Sunny	75°/58°	0 %
Sun Jul 15		Sunny	75°/57°	0 %
Mon Jul 16		Sunny	73°/55°	0 %
Tue Jul 17		Sunny	73°/53°	0 %

Sure, maybe it's a little bit crazy to be so excited about some 75 degree-ish days without rain, but I will be out and about soaking up as much of it as I possibly can.  Gotta' get while the getting is good!

Extending The Summer

My husband and I have taken the reigns on this whole 'summer skipped us here' in the Northwest thing and we have decided to go back to Palm Springs.  After his trip out to San Antonio and how very close he got to finding a job out there, we are not ready to settle into the grey mist that is already parked over our house as I write this.  So we are leaving at the end of the week and we won't be back until early October. 
I will be taking the tomatoes that did not ripen and laying them on the dashboard in my car window on the way down to Southern California, giving them one last chance to become what they were meant to be.  (They are oh, so close.)  Yesterday we picked up a couple of cruiser bikes that we will be taking with us, including one that is a wee bit smaller that fits my 5'4" frame just right.  I am so excited.  We decided these are our Christmas presents for this year.  I'm headed to the Goodwill to see if I can find a basket to put on the front. Even my dog is not ready to give up on summer yet.  He will be taking his favorite baseball along as our dogs will be joining us on this trip and enjoying a nice fenced back yard at the condo we rented.
We are not ready for summer to end.  We are not ready for going back to more stringent routine.  We are not ready to let go of the spontaneity that summer is.  So we are going away to where summer is not over yet and really won't be for months to come.

Normally, we go on vacation to 'go, see, do'.  This will be the first time in a very long time that we will be going away to unwind and just experience a place as if we lived there.  I may check out a few things, but there will be no set schedule.  I will take the time to soak up some more of the sun that helps to keep me feeling alive.
Then, when I come back, I should feel a little less like the Fall season has some sort of personal vendetta against me.  Hopefully I will be able to embrace it, after having pushed it off for just a little while longer...