Trust Me, I've Been There

It seems I count my years in summers. Being an eternal kid at heart, life is all about the freedom of summer. Screw that pile of laundry and toilet scum that is the envy of every Shell station west of the Mississippi, dammit, the pool water is 85°! Trips to the beach, vacations, swimming, sun and just plain fun are where it's at. Okay, it used to about where the boys were, now it's just where the dishes aren't.

Lathering up the sunscreen, hitting the pool and realxing seems to come with a tad more guilt year after year but I am still able to push my way through and be a total sloth now and again. Having that back yard pool helps a little, despite being the coldest summer on record for Chicago, I managed a few good days.

We may still get a handful of hot, sunny, sweltering days, yet it feels as summer is over. Today, my baby started high school. Summer school and soccer practice served to ease me in as much as him, but today it was official and I am OLD! OMG! High School! When did that happen? I ask myself, did I prepare him? Will he handle it? In a last ditch attempt, I sent him off with a few tricks and some sage advice for the first week of school:

yes dear, that 8x11 canary yellow schedule in your hand = a stamp on your forhead that says "Freshman" to every bully this side of the tracks

No, there is no elevator in the school, please don't spend your lunch $$ on a pass

yes, that upperclassman sending you to the pool on the 4th floor is a bone. There IS NO 4th floor

trust me, learn the school fight song. It's only a matter of time

you will not get from 2nd fl bio to 3rd fl locker to locker room and then PE class, dressed and ready in 5 minutes. it's just not physically possible. come up with a better plan

have fun, explore your curiosities and be your own person (even when the entire school is wearing the same Hollister hoodie.

Most of all, remember and believe me when I say, I did this once. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Be a risk taker and believe what I say once in a while that I am not a total idiot.

I love you, my son. Go, enjoy your life as a "big kid"

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

Sing it with me........
I may have mention these before and I may mention them again. Bottom line is, they really are my favorite things and sometimes I just can't get enough of them.
It's summer, it's hot, the pool is inviting and I become easily distracted (or hard to motivate, you choose). However, I can always be persuaded to mix a batch of these.



and like the pied piper of vodka, I am forever turning someone on to the addictive libation. It may look pretty, but it's got a punch and even men love them. They're not a sip, suck, swirl and swallow as they appear.

Well, there goes that focus of mine. Off to the martini well. I'll have to talk about my other favorite things another day.
**shake, shake**

Frustrations Left and Right

We are all frustrated with the weather. That's for sure. Last night felt more like October than July.
We have had more rain than I can remember in a long time. Lake Johnson, kids canoeing through the yard type rain. A good solid week of killer heat to follow. Of course it was the week I was at a show, on the pavement, under a tent, feet in the ice chest (trust me, I was being polite by not offering those few and far between customers a cold drink). Now, and since (of course), cool, cloudy, rainy, blah, blah, blah.
BBQ for the 4th, poured rain. Plans for Great America, poured rain. Friends over to swim, poured rain.
I'm beginning to believe we should have bought an Ark and not a pool.

So, tomorrow the in laws start arriving. The weather is better and headed up in the 80's and beyond for at least the next week. Yeah! We're thrilled. Finally, the pool will warm up again (see, the last time the water got int he 80's and even hit 90, of course, I was at that stinking, and I literally mean stinking in so many ways, show and no one could use the damned pool. No adult home and I was gone 14 hours/day). So, with excitement, we check the water temp, 82°, great! Pull back the cover, test the water and all looks good (on paper). In person, not so much! Cloudy water. SOB!
We may be new to pools, but I spent many a year as a lifeguard and around pools. I know cloudy = algae and algae = frustration. Lots of frustration. and NOT lots of swimming.

So, warm weather, sunshine, warm water does not equal (need to look that symbol up) swimming.
end rant/ off to work on pool.

Taking the Plunge

well, eventually, we hope. The pool purchase is done, installed, finally full of water (can't wait to see that bill) and up and running. Now, if the weather would cooperate we might be able to swim without contracting hypothermia. It will be our luck to have a cool summer (like those snowless winters after you break down and spring for the big ass snow blower).
As with any major experience, there were lessons learned. First off, it's like buying a boat. The day after you buy it, you wish you had a bigger one. Of course, no matter how savvy a buyer you think yourself to be, the salesman still gets you in ways you are NOW wise to and no matter how many times you learn this lesson, you still need the refresher course; the cost is never the cost. The extras involved always cost as much as the initial purchase.
After all that, still, it's worth it. The mud pit of a backyard (after burying electric wires), the headaches of getting it all set up, the outrageous cost of said wire (now I know why it's the hot item to steal from construction sites), blah, blah, blah..........I still believe that hot, stifling, humid til you feel choked day will come and all will be forgotten as I float in the cool water, drink in hand and relax in the comfort and privacy of my own back yard..............................................
..............and dream of the next expenditure (deck, landscaping, pool house, toys and of course a rugged blender that can withstand the elements :)

Summer and Sore

What a weekendd! I never plant anything before Memorial Day. Many plant at Mother's Day, but being a lifelong Chicagoan, I am well aware of the late May frosts and cold soil. Outside of Pansies, which I love, I hold out for a touch of color until we are fairly sure the frosty nights are a thing of the past.
This does make visits to the garden center a bit more challenging. Things are more picked over, the stores are much more crowded and I get overwhelmed with getting everything in the ground or potted quickly. Usually I can spend a few weekdays shopping and browsing, thinking of color combos and what I want where. Not this year. Time is not my friend this year. Graduation and a few other obligations have put me on the fast track. Thus, I found myself at the garden center not once, not twice, but 3 times this weekend. Memorial Day Weekend. Busy as hell, everyone is shopping for plants weekend.
Oh, My, God!!!!!!!


Now I sit, enjoying the plantings, the water fountains, the perennial garden and the deck with a nice glass of red. and the rain. :(