La De Da

Hi. I'm here. Did you miss me? This and that took me away. Living instead of writing about it, although one of the things that took me away was writing but not here.

I'm sitting on the deck. Em's in my spot on the porch reading The Handmaid's Tale for class. I think it might be nicer here. Total shade. The chimes are singing in the strong breeze. Where's my 'Life is Good' t-shirt? Oh right, I don't have one. I will say it's amazing how black clouds can come and go.

It's been brutally hot and sunny these last few days. In my younger years I'd be out on the deck working on that tan. Now it's my daughter, much to my chagrin. Sun causes cancer and wrinkles but that means nothing when you're 15. More than anything I pray she never, ever smokes. She'll get tattoos, and I'll hate that. Hate. That. I hope she'll change her mind before it's too late, but I'll love her just the same. Am I rambling? Yes? So be it.

I ran my errands this morn. Bought a heavy duty fan for Emily's room cause our upstairs gets so hot due to shoddy air duct installation (is that the word, Brad?). Bought lime (thanks Brian) and razor blades. Any one use Gillette razor blades? They cost a fortune. And that it's $34 for a 20 pound bag of Niger (thistle) seed at Walmart? I hope the finches appreciate my generosity. Anyway. It was a big money day. I bought 10 bags of mulch; a start. Went to the grocery store then stayed inside. On this brutally hot day with my AC not working. 80 degrees inside, and that's downstairs. I had the fans going. Thanks Mom for teaching me to have service contracts. They'll be here on Thursday between 7:30-noon for the routine maintenance and to fix what's broken. So as I said, I'm sitting outside and it's so comfortable. If it weren't for all the pollen, I'd have the windows open. I'm looking at the yellowish green layer on my glass patio table and thinking: not. I'll stay out here till it's dark.

Em just called my cell from the porch (aren't they great?) to tell me she saw a hummingbird at the feeder. The first sighting of the season. I ran out and watched for a while, but alas, it was not for my eyes to see.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. The active social life I enjoy at work is great. It feeds the part of my ego that needs stroking. My home life is probably pretty typical of a single parent of a teen. In other words, not too much fun. I'm ready for more fun. I'm ready for company. I'm just at the thinking stage, but it's a start. I keep myself busy, but I think I need a person.

And with that, I bid you adieu.

PS. The squirrels are actually eating the tender new leaves on the trees. Geez!