“The momentum of the mind can be vexingly, involuntarily capricious.”
The weather and I have much in common today as neither one of us is at all content. The day is cloudy then sunny then cloudy again. It is as if Mother Nature is trying to figure out what best fits her mood. I too don’t quite know what to do. I have this antsy feeling of needing to do something, but I don’t know what. It isn’t the travel bug: I know those symptoms all too well. Driving home from breakfast I checked out houses and yards as if I hadn’t seen them before and looking, I think, for something out of the ordinary, something new to satisfy my strange mood. I noticed many different sorts of fences. My least favorite was the white vinyl picket. That doesn’t seem to belong here and is one I would discount as a good neighbor. One house had a Williamsburg bird house attached on the front. I hadn’t noticed that before even though I’ve driven by that house countless times. The Yarmouth Garden ladies were working on the side road medians planting and rearranging flowers. Theirs are always the prettiest medians. I’m not a fan of seashell pieces as a border between the yard and the road. They become choked with weeds and their essence is lost. I noticed some house fronts are bare: a door and two windows: no ornamentation, no shutters and nothing to catch the eye. They are the plain Janes who never draw attention to themselves. I wonder about the people who live in those houses. I think of them as unimaginative, their closets filled with interchangeable clothes of bland colors. They buy yellow cheese in individual cellophane wrappers. Their bread is always white.
Even the river was quiet this morning. No one was fishing, and I didn’t see a single boat. The water was calm; no white caps broke the monotony. I waited in a line of cars to turn at four corners, each with its own stop sign. Every driver was polite. No one rushed through taking someone else’s turn.
I came home to a quiet street and a quiet house. All three pets are sleeping and Gracie isn’t even snoring. I will be hard-pressed to find anything to satisfy my mood today as I’m not even sure what it is. I am not a fan of days like today.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: antsy feeling, back and forth weather, calm water, fences, moods, Mother Nature's quandry, plain houses, plain Jane, seashell landscaping, unimaginative people, Yarmouth Garden ladies
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
August 12, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Hi Kat,
It’s quiet here, too. Not a bad thing after all the dog-related drama over the week end.
Rocky and I are lounging. But fresh peach ice cream is back at my favorite ice cream stand today so we may go there. I was there yesterday but nothing says I can’t be there again today. 🙂
It’s finally decided to be sunny. Hope your weather makes up its mind.
Enjoy the day.
August 12, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Hi Caryn,
Nope nothing says you can’t, I thinking fresh peach ice cream deserves several visits! Pampering ourselves is a must!
I am glad your day is a quiet one. I feel the same way about mine. My back took quite a hit yesterday by my hauling all the movie equipment, especially the screen, and food to the deck for movie night.
Mother Nature is still wishy-washy!
August 12, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Lots of rain here today but no thunder, I think we’ve had enough of that for quite some time. The machine from hell is still out there but either he has moved iot or turned it towards another direction, it sounds distant in a strange way but so quiet now that Hector isn’t bothered by it.
Most houses here have no ornaments, perhaps a wreath closer to Christmas and perhaps one in spring and at midusmmer too. I’m afraid that You are right about people without ornaments, most swedes eats cheese that doesn’t taste anything and white bread too 🙂 🙂 🙂 but few buy already sliced cheese though.
I can feel in the air that it has turned now, it can be and often is schilly in evenings even during summer but yesterday I felt a raw feeling to the chillyness, autumn is on its way I’m afraid.
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 12, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Christer,
I’m glad poor Hector isn’t bothered any longer. He’ll have a long year of peace!
Here houses have window boxes or shutters purely for ornamentation and most have painted fronts but not the back and sides. They are shingles which weather to gray as time goes by.
We eat so many different kinds of cheese. I love trying new ones. The last one I liked was a wedge of asiago with olive oil and rosemary. Last night we had cheddar with horseradish.
It is still summer here, at least for a while. I wish yours could be longer!
August 12, 2013 at 3:09 pm
I love all kinds of cheese but they don’t have to be strong as long as they taste at least something 🙂 Most people seems to want something tasteless for a reason I just can’t understand.
One of my departments when I worked in a big grocery store was the cheese department and it was more or less impossible to sell cheese that had any kind of taste 🙂 🙂 🙂
Christer.
August 12, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Christer,
I am a cheeseaholic. I could have it for every meal. I like most cheeses except for blue, gorgonzola, limburger and Stilton: too strong and too smelly.
When I lived in Ghana, I really missed cheese. They have none.
August 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm
You know me. I can’t resist putting in my musical two cents. First up is the second mood song that came to mind. I’ll follow with the first song that came to mind. If the first one doesn’t improve your mood, the second one is practically guaranteed to get you up and dancing!
August 12, 2013 at 3:04 pm
im6,
I wouldn’t have ever thought of this even though I liked Pat back in the day.
I just went to e-music and downloaded it!
August 12, 2013 at 2:12 pm
Shine up those dancing shoes:
August 12, 2013 at 3:06 pm
im6,
I’ve always loved this!!!!You can’t help but move to this music. We need big bands!
August 12, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Hi Kat,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having a bad day – I hope your back isn’t acting up with the changes in weather. I get restless and out of sorts when I don’t get out of town and this year I had to cancel my usual June vacation plans, so I can empathize.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about “values” lately. It seems to me, based on some of the creative people that I’ve been fortunate enough to know, that there are some for whom the externals mean very little. The folks I’m thinking about couldn’t care less about whether people admire their homes or their gardens or whether they dress in the most colourful and fashionable clothing. Yet, they’re truly committed to a life of the imagination – writing, making music, painting – or teaching and volunteering in their communities.
I doubt Kraft slices or Wonder Bread would ever end up in their shopping carts, but if I’m offered such when I visit I’ll know that they chose to sacrifice the tasty delicacies that week in order to replenish their art supplies or to purchase some over-priced concert tickets.
Marie
August 12, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Hi Marie,
No, not weather for my back but the hauling I did yesterday and also changing my bed didn’t help. I hauled all the outdoor movie equipment to the deck and also a huge tray with food then when the evening was over I put everything away and cleaned up. Too much for one day!
I think adventure comes in all sorts of surprising ways, even food. Trying something different is sometimes a risk but that’s what makes it worthwhile. My house isn’t fancy, but my garden is lovely. Flowers brighten the world and they do a great job on making my front yard far lovelier than it was without them. In the mornings, I stand a while sometimes just to look at the flowers. They give me pleasure and I take joy from their beauty. Many come from cuttings given to me by friends and a few came from my mother’s garden. They are not mere ornaments: they are memories and they are love.
I wear colorful clothes, love reds, but I haven’t many. When I worked, I had to wear dressier clothes and I had quite a few. Now I have a spring/ summer dress and another one for fall/ winter. I only need those two. The rest of the time I am as casual as I can get away with. I do admit, though, that I have more underwear than the average person, enough so I can travel a month without having to wash them. I made a vow not to wash underwear on a trip ever again after I spent 8 weeks in South American and had to wash my underwear the whole trip.
I don’t decorate my house inside or out for admiration. I do it because I love my house, and I want it to reflect me, who I am.
Many people chose bland lives because they are far easier to live. Taking chances is too risky for them.
If I were offered Kraft, I would eat it too. That’s all my mother bought, but it wasn’t to save money for art supplies or concert tickets. She just liked it.
August 12, 2013 at 10:53 pm
I agree completely with you on your dislike of smelly cheese and big band dance music. Nothing says 1940s and WWII than Glenn Miller playing In the Mood. The world lost a great musician, arraigner and composer when Glenn Miller took off across the English channel and was never seen or heard from again.
Another Hot one here in North Texas but one degree less than triple digits.
August 13, 2013 at 8:22 am
Bob,
My mother grew up in the big band era so I owe my love of it to her. In the Mood was a great song, one of the best!
See, it’s getting cooler!!
August 13, 2013 at 8:18 am
“Many people chose bland lives because they are far easier to live. Taking chances is too risky for them.”
Who are we to make such smug judgements based on our happy lives as to whether another person is leading a bland life or not taking enough risks? We usually have no insight into the life-altering experiences that might have influenced the choices of others.
I don’t expect you to understand the above, as you seem to have missed my point on the last comment, too.
August 13, 2013 at 8:38 am
Marie,
“I doubt Kraft slices or Wonder Bread would ever end up in their shopping carts, but if I’m offered such when I visit I’ll know that they chose to sacrifice the tasty delicacies that week in order to replenish their art supplies or to purchase some over-priced concert tickets.” I guess we all make judgments one time or another.
My tasty delicacies sometimes come down to cheddar cheese and crackers. Okay, I do admit to brie once in a while, but none of these break the bank even though I do live on a pension.
My judgment wasn’t smug. It was based on experiences. I have friends who have told me they would never go here or there because they’d hate the food, can’t speak the language or would be afraid in a foreign country. They haven’t ever been anywhere but they know such and such a country would be terrible. One of my friends will only go where they speak English because he believes the whole world should speak English. I once asked him if he didn’t think travel might be exciting. He said he was content to sit at home and watch TV, excitement enough for him. I consider that bland, “Without any excitement, strong opinions, or special character.”