“Happiness is part of who we are. Joy is the feeling”
Did you ever have moments when everything is just perfect, and you can feel it all over, in your head and your heart? That was this morning when I went outside to get my papers. The sun was shining and there was a cooling breeze. I could smell freshly mown grass. The hollyhocks, white and dark pink, are in bloom in my front garden. The clematis are getting closer to blooming. I can see all the buds. Where my wild rose bush was trimmed, I can see a nest, strong and big. Everything was quiet. I stood outside for a long time savoring the moment. I didn’t want to miss anything.
My father always kept a back scratcher handy. I do the same. I just can’t reach a spot on my back. It is too far down and too far up for my nails to reach. I usually sigh in relief after I use my back scratcher. Simple pleasures are sometimes the best.
Watermelon is my favorite summer fruit. When I come inside after doing sweaty work, I grab the watermelon chunks from the fridge. They are sweet and juicy this time of year so I usually finish them all. I do give Henry some. He likes watermelon too.
Summer has started its downhill slide. The nights are in the 60’s, perfect for a fire in the chiminea and for sleeping, even with a warm dog on the bed. Last night, or rather early this morning, I went outside with Henry. I waited on the deck for him. I loved the chill feel of the air, the feel of autumn.
I want to buy some corn. The taste is just so sweet this time of year. I remember my father attacking his corn, eating it quickly in rows. Small pieces of corn flew in the air. He never wondered why he had no one on each side of him. It was the same when he ate lobster.
I need to go to the grocery store for a few items I held off getting until the last minute, bread being primary. Dinner tonight is a charcuterie. I have a new board I have been waiting to use. The movie tonight is Lady in White. My sisters and I loved that movie. I hope my friends do too.
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August 17, 2019 at 1:13 pm
Hi Kat,
The simple pleasures are the best. I hadn’t thought of the back scratcher but it’s a simple delight. My wife uses the obtuse corner of two walls to scratch her back which she learned from her father. My father used the back scratcher. Watermelon, cherries and other summer fruit are all simple pleasures that are delicious and refreshing. While we traveled by car in the 1950s, farmers would set up watermelon stands along the highway. They had a few picknick tables and for a dollar you could dig in after they cut it open. I remember folks putting salt on their watermelon which seemed strange. 🙁
Eating sweet corn on the cob is another simple pleasure. I eat mine from left to right while some people turn the corn and eat the kernels in vertical columns then eat another column from left to right. Which way do you eat your corn? 🙂
School starts around here on Monday and I have to be careful to slow down in school zones on my way to work. The low temperature in the morning is a good indicator that summer is not coming to a close. Here the low temperatures have been in the low 80s. 🙁 Summer here has at least another month to go before the morning temperatures go down into the low 70s. That’s when I open my car’s moon roof and really enjoy my 22 mile drive to work.
August 17, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Hi Bob,
I would go crazy without my back scratcher. I say ah! after using it. Before I got my back scratcher, I used your wife’s method of scratching.
Now that you’ve mentioned it, I think I remember seeing people use salt on it. I never tried. I’d think salt would cut down on the freshness.
I also eat my corn from left to right. One of my friends uses the up and down method. Most people, though, are left to right eaters. That seems the most logical way to eat it.
Schools won’t open here until the Tuesday after Labor Day. The mornings are cool by then, and the hope is the days will be too as no schools here have no air-conditioning.
Our most perfect weather is coming. September and October are lovely here.
August 17, 2019 at 2:13 pm
It’s a shame that our public schools are shuttered from Memoral Day until next week because they are all air conditioned. I believe that having a 180 day school year is the reason we are going to become a second rate country after China. I believe in year round school with students and their parents allowed to take a month off whenever they want per year. With computer based training year round school would be a great boon to our economy in the future.
August 17, 2019 at 2:53 pm
Schools here are not out until the second or third week in June.
The cost of making schools full year would be astronomical here. Few schools have air conditioning it would have to be added. Most schools are maintained but are just too old to add AC. Allowing families to take any month off would be detrimental for their kids. Much happens in the day to day classrooms. We have kids whose families take them out for a week, and when they get back, they are way behind. Providing the material ahead of time is unfair to teachers. All the hours of planning so far ahead should be compensated in the same way people get overtime pay.
Parents can choose to home school their kids which is flexible so it would allow for time off at any time.
August 17, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Happy Birthday Kat! Thanks for sharing your life with all of us! XoXo
August 17, 2019 at 3:05 pm
Many thanks, splendid!
It’s always nice to have you visit!!
August 17, 2019 at 7:11 pm
Hi Kat,
Yes I’ve had those moments and I still treasure them. I miss the summer where the local fruit stand was across from our store. My mom and I would go down and get fruit and vegetables. I can almost taste the corn now. I don’t know what my fruit is now–though I seem to eat a lot of blue berries. I also love plums and peaches.
Enjoy your movie.
Love,
Lori and the gang.
August 18, 2019 at 12:27 am
Lori,
I still have new wonderful moments and still treasure the ones which came before. A smell, a sound or even an event will propel a memory right into my head.
My fridge is filled with fruit: wild blueberries, watermelon, kiwi, mango and honeydew melon. It is my go to snack.
August 18, 2019 at 3:24 am
Cool and sunny here this morning, most of yesterday reained away but I didn’t mind. We’ve had unusually warm nights lately but the temperature didn’t rise during the day and that felt a bbit odd 🙂
I wish I had a back scratcher, instead I use an old bread knife 🙂 🙂 There’s no risk of cutting myself because it’s really dull 🙂 Why does it always itch on that spot that is impossible to reach?
Yes it is corn time but I haven’t seen any fresh ones in the stores yet, canned and frozen ones are what we can get still.
I understand You had a great birthday yesterday 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 18, 2019 at 11:29 am
Christer,
We are going to have humid days for the next few. Those are the worst. I sweat when I do the least bit of exertion. The AC will be blasting!
Our backs seem to be taunting us. Until I got my back scratcher I tried everything. Now I just pull it out and kill the itch. I found mine at a local store and was quite surprised.
Fresh corn everywhere here not.
It was a wonderful birthday.
Enjoy your Sunday!