September Morn...

It's here. September. Finally.

I know we're like 5 days into it already, but today is the first day it has felt like September. It's the last of my much-needed 4 days off from work, and I got up early anyway because I wanted to experience as much of it as I could. Weird? Maybe. But I figure I can enjoy a nap later.

It was still dark when I got up, and the temp was in the low 60's here. The A/C unit was finally relieved of duty (at least for a while), and I'm sure we could hear an audible groan of relief before it passed into a coma. I opened every window I could, grabbed my cup of coffee, and nestled into my favorite corner of the couch to let it come to me in the early morning silence.

The fresh, cool wind blowing through is like salvation for the soul. It is crisp and clear and fragrant with hope. The air moves over me, with a sensation that is never truly replicated with fans and air conditioners. It's a caress of nature, alive and changing and vibrant. I'm under-dressed for the new chill it carries, but I relish every moment of it. The 'burbs are oh-so-quiet this early on a holiday, and there is peacefulness that is so rare to find here. I can hear the wind moving through the plants and trees, softly rustling and then vigorously gusting, as if shaking off the dust and dread of the summer we've had. The wind chimes on the patio are tinkling in delight.

The bratty cats have even taken the morning off from wrestling and general brattiness to enjoy the change. They move from window to window, sitting on the sills and peering through the screens at the early morning world, longing to go out to explore. Soft little noses are twitching as they scent the flowing air, chuffing at sights and smells of things they want to hunt. They, too, seem to relish the feel of the moving air.

We can hear the odd random leaf skittering along the quiet street. Soon there will be more, as Fall edges in to overcome Summer.  It is undeniably my favorite time of year!

September is the initiation of change, the precursor of the delights of Autumn. You can almost sense the 'click' of the transition locking in. There is much to enjoy and anticipate in this early month:

• The welcome changes in weather patterns
• The return of the desire to cook (and eat!)
• The beauty of changes in plants and trees
• The enjoyment of outdoor activities
• Festivals, markets, fairs, and football

It's time to enjoy this day and make the most of it. September, I salute you. Welcome back!

What does September mean to you???

The end of August...

Thank God and hallelujah! This has been, by far, the hottest summer I can remember.  Today will be the 65th day of over 100F temps in our little part of the world. Many days have reached up to 11 degrees above normal. And rain? Ha! We had some in June.  We all watched the hurricane Irene coverage with envy, if you can believe.  I thought maybe I was the only one having such weird thoughts, but in talking with people at work this week, it seems there are many who confess to that now.  Not that we want any harm or damage to anyone, of course.  But you know it has to be bad when hurricane-envy sets in.

I *was* looking forward to today being the last of the triple digits. That's what our forecast was on Monday. AND they said we'd have rain through the weekend.
They lied.
Now there are no rain chances in the 7-day forecast, and at least another 3 days over 100.  That is no way to start September, and I think it's time to speak to someone in charge! (Yes, insert stamping of foot here.)

September is supposed to be when The Good Things begin to happen. September is the pre-cursor to October, for crying out loud, which is indisputably the most glorious month of the year! If we are dragging August's behaviors into September, then we are NOT proceeding into Fall at an acceptable pace.  I've already seen Halloween funlings in stores!  It made me giddy!  You can't drag Summer into this!!

I'm getting hysterical here.  Time out.
~~~

Okay. Second cup of coffee. Deep breath. (Please ignore if you think you catch a whiff of rum here.)
~~~

Oh, here, an amusement from my email this morning ~
A Thought For Today: For sleep, riches and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted. -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825) 


He makes a good point. The lack of something does increase its appreciation. Very true.  Now, if I may, I would like to suggest that I have enjoyed more than ample interruption of all three.  I guarantee you I am more than ready to truly enjoy sleep, riches and health with glorious abandon!  Commence now, please.
~~~


All the Back-To-School activity has made me feel a bit nostalgic this week.  My little one is now 19, and we don't get to partake of the hubbub anymore.  I sort of miss the building anticipation, the organized lists of supplies, the smell of new supplies (yes, I am a 'smells' person), the fun of discovering new designs for the new supplies, stocking the kitchen with snack- and lunch-friendly things, encouraging earlier bedtime in preparation, waking the little one up when I'm barely awake, readying the necessities of the day for the two of us, bodily shaking the little one to wake up, being greeted with snarls, encouraging him to hop to it, hunting down the shoe that's always missing, coaxing him to hurry with breakfast, trying to get his input on what he wants for lunch, begging and pleading and yelling at him to hurry the h*** up, ....  Whoa. Nevermind.


Happy Back-To-School Week for those still having to endure it.  I'm going to get a massage.

...Wine or Tea?

By the time we got home it seemed foolish to start in on the wine, but I can tell you that tea just isn't cutting it this evening.

Pondering the earthquakes in Colorado and Virginia, with 24 hours of each other, as well as the growing hurricane Irene and the devastating droughts in Texas.  Are we almost to the Apocalypse?  Has our country screwed itself up so bad (via our government) that it's going to just be imploded by Mother Nature?  Hmmm...

I will say that there has been some amusing propaganda generated by the earthquakes:

     One of my favorites was the first pic to show the devastation that resulted:


     Another was the headline, "The shaking was felt on the Martha's Vineyard golf course as Obama was just starting a round." Well, good heavens! (I would certainly hate to think that anything would disrupt his vacation. If so, he may start to wonder that he might possibly should have considered NOT going when his would-be constituency are in distress.)

     And one more, a PSA:  Text "Sorry you spilled your chai latte" to 90999 to donate $1 to the victims of the U.S. East Coast earthquake.

Yes, it is often the little things that amuse me. Little and snarky.

It has to be a sign of desperation that so many people here are having the thought that we would sure like to see some hurricane action ourselves.  We don't want any harm to any people or property, of course...just some pressure to break up our own terrible weather pattern.

So, will wish good luck to those Irene may be heading for, and give thanks that the earthquakes haven't broken us all to hell yet.  As for the Apocalypse, well, we'll see...

May tomorrow be a better day....

...Fais do-do

Oh, I had a doozy of a song stuck in my head today! "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road".  You can guess what I encountered on the drive to work that got this started. So, being the sharing person that I am, I put it on Facebook as soon as I got to work. I was a bit disappointed that only one person got the reference (and the desired effect of the endlessly looping ditty), but it was a looong time ago. 1972-73, as a matter of fact. Written and recorded by Mr. Loudon Wainwright III - songwriter, folk-singer, humorist, and actor. Now don't go thinking I just knew this. Curiosity got the best of me after several hours of the chorus in my head, which was the only part of the song I could remember, so I had to look it up this evening. I began wondering if there was any more to the song than that, as it seems a pretty silly topic. But, no. It was just a novelty song about the smell of dead skunk. And as weird as that may be, it also made me smile with recollection.  I remember the song playing on the radio, and I can remember singing it and laughing with my mother. And then any time we'd smell a skunk while driving, we would start singing. Pure silliness, from the long-dormant memory of a 5 year old.  So thank you, Mr. Dead Skunk. Your stink made me smile.

We saw the 'Glee' 3D Concert Movie today. Yes, I'm a Gleek. Even more so now than I was before the movie. It was Fantastic!! Not just because it is the Glee characters and songs that we love, but because of the stories related between the songs that show how the characters have influenced the lives of a handful of teens. It was truly inspirational, in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just a big ol' sap.  But the beauty of Glee is that it's not about celebrating the A-list teens. It's about embracing who you are, popular or not, and celebrating yourself.  And with the show's rise in popularity, this way of thinking has really affected the lives of real people. Kids (and let's be real, adults too) have identified with the characters, overcome challenges and fears, and have gained confidence and joy in their lives. And the movie shows this. I think that's a beautiful thing.  It's a shame the movie hasn't been more successful. I think many people didn't really know what it had to offer.  I certainly didn't know it would be the uplifting fun that it was.  Or maybe some people were put off by critics that underrated it because it didn't offer a lot of backstage hangouts with the cast. Meh. I think it was excellent the way it was. The songs were very well done, as they always are on the show, but with even more energy and enthusiasm. It really is impressive to realize how truly talented these kids are. That's what makes it so enjoyable to me. Not the silly relationships between the characters, but the characters themselves and the talents they share. And can you imagine what a trip this all must be for these kids?  They went from relative obscurity to rock-star status. From being part of a hit TV series, to now having a real concert tour around the world. All the while inspiring others. I danced in my seat. I laughed. And I was verklempt. All at the same time. It was wonderful!

Geez, who knew I had a Glee soap-box?  Actually, I guess it's just my Underdog soap-box. But I have one more thing to say about the movie:  Thank Glee I have much better songs looping in my head now!!!

I'm digging this random thought journaling much more than a gratitude journal.

Hell continues: High Temp Today = 107F; Heat Index = Inferno.  We complain because we are uncomfortable. And because the electric bills are so high.  But the big downer is that there are people in the state losing their livelihoods. Farms that are burned up, and ranchers having to just sell off herds because there is nothing to feed them. There are no politicians or big business to rant about for this. There's just helpless waiting. And a 7-day forecast looking just like today.

But to end on a good note... My favorite late night smells:  #1.  Earl Gray Tea. It smells like peace and calm in a teabag. How I lived without experiencing this for more than 40 years is just beyond me!  #2.  Wildflower Honey.  Oh, you lovely bee geniuses!  #1 + #2 = Om.

Fais do-do. Go to sleep.
Yes, cajun dances are known as fais do-do...because that's what they used to tell the children so that they could get on with dancing once the little ones were abed. Interesting, no?

...Lights Out

This life-sucking heat is just so defeating. Running a few early afternoon errands rendered me totally useless. We hide out in our bedroom in the late afternoon because it's the furthest from the West side of the house. Like a cave. Except it really makes me want to decorate more in there. Make it a pretty cave.

I realized today that the time spent laying in a tanning bed is a great opportunity for meditative breathing exercises. Of course this realization would come to me on the day that I cancelled my membership with the facility due to the financial affliction. Which would explain the anxiety-driven hyperventilation I'd had fun with all morning. Anywho, yes, laying in the quiet chamber of light is a great place to really breathe and focus. Yes, I know tanning is not a really healthy thing to do, but I delusion-ally reassure myself that it's not so bad because I don't do it very often. 

What is it with all the "i"-whatsits everywhere? Why on earth did Steve Jobs not copyright that? Maybe you can't copyright a single letter. I don't know. But I do know that product naming and marketing is getting i-ridiculous. Today's example: " i-Cool Menopause Relief Product "  i-Kid you not.  A few weeks ago it was a billboard for "iLasik".  Seriously?  Is that laser eye surgery by iPhone?  I'll keep my glasses, thank you!  I know, and truly do understand, that it all stems from the wild success of the actual i-Products. But for some reason it strikes me as notably wacky. Somewhat teetering on the brink of idiocracy. Or would that be iDiocracy?  I think I'm going to look forward to sharing these products as often as I find them. We'll call it the " iWTF? ".

Is there an app for that? Yes, a selection from the actual apps that do so often gleefully embrace idiocracy (my so far ultimate favorite):  "Confession. A Roman Catholic app for i Products". Yes, indeedy. Salvation via iTunes.  Because you know they have a direct line to God. (Well he's probably hanging out with Steve Jobs anyway.)

I love the movie She's Out Of My League!

Go to sleep. Tomorrow's another day...

Good Morning...

I'm in love with my coffee maker. We've been together for many years now, but the passion is still strong. And how could it not be? I give it less than 2 minutes of attention at night, and it makes for me fresh, hot, delicious java before I even make it into the kitchen each morning. If it could bring it to me in bed on my days off, I might just marry it. (kidding...I'm not one of *those* people!)

No more watching news, especially political discussion news programs, before bed at night. I do not need all of those people in my head in the dark!

WHAT is with the "hook-up" followers on Twitter?  Does anyone really think these are real hot-babes that are going to make all their dreams come true? It's not my deal to judge, I suppose, but eww...could you do me the favor of not following me? You're making the place smell bad. 

Per our weather man this morning: "Day #52. Today we tie 1954 for 3rd place. Highs of 106 today...107 Friday, 105 Sat, 103 Sun, Mon & Tue. If we're lucky...only 100 Wed!"
If this isn't Hell, we're definitely the neighbor next door!

Per the Dalai Lama:  "Moral ethics are the basis of world peace."  *sigh*  That's why world peace has become a fairy tale.