Monday, July 30, 2012

when life hands you lemons...


i've noticed a kind of disturbing trend lately.  many of the cafes we frequent are changing from places we go, to places we used to go. 

one place hired one too many rude people.

one place changed ownership and fell apart.

one place... well... they just changed.  they quit having several of their "signature" dishes on the menu.  they quit making gelato.  they quit making muffins.  actually, they quit making dessert altogether and started buying dessert from a commercial vendor.  they even completely overhauled their decor; instead of looking like a cute little outdoor italian cafe, they look like a swanky big city american restaurant.  when we inquired as to the reason for all of the changes, the reply was "well, we have to change, don't we?" 

um... no?

i mean, was it change just for the sake of change?  was business declining?  were they were trying to hook in the big city folk who come in to their little town on the weekends?

maybe i'm old-fashioned (i know i'm old fashioned).  maybe i'm a creature of habit (i know i'm a creature of habit).  but i don't understand "we have to change" without some kind of reason. 

i'm not afraid of change.  i'm not opposed to change.  i think change can be a really wonderful thing.  but i also have a great love of tradition.  and i think it's nice to have some constants in life.

now, instead of traditions and constants, we have memories.





at least there's still starbucks.



********
you capture

Monday, July 23, 2012

great big gulps

by all reasonable, reasonably smart accounts, we shouldn't have gone.  we should have just stayed at home.  after all, we really couldn't afford it right now.

but the thing is sometimes you just have to throw reason out the window.  sometimes you just have to pack a bag (or two...  or four...), jump in the car, and head out.

so that's what we did.

we scooped up my youngest sister and her sweetheart, loaded up the car, and took off for the weekend.

we didn't go terribly far.  we didn't go anyplace we hadn't been before.

but we went.









we went.

we didn't think about "shouldn't."

we didn't think about "later."

we just had fun.  lots of fun.  rock hall fun.  ohmygosh that's bob weir right there! fun.

we were just grateful to have a little summer adventure.

we just drank it all in,

then headed back home.


*******
you capture

Monday, July 16, 2012

silver lining

june?  it knocked us on our asses. 

turning the calendar page to july was nice.  by the time july arrived, the chaos of june had settled a bit.  the upheaval had sunk in and been processed. 

by the time july arrived, we were starting to see the silver lining more than the clouds.



how long had it been since we'd done something together that didn't involve running necessary errands?

how long had it been since we'd been able to sit and enjoy our time in a cafe, instead of hurrying though to get to the next thing?

how long had it been since we'd been able to watch a movie and not worry about how late it would end?

how long had it been since i didn't need to worry about being in bed before eight o'clock or up by 3:30?

how long had it been since we were able to live closer to a circadian rhythm than a forced time frame?


holy wow, it's been lovely.  really, truly lovely.  what filled us with worry just a month ago turned into a gift a mere month later. 

time.  we were given time.

and it won't last.  we both know this.  in a few weeks we'll start to move back toward that forced time schedule, back to hurrying, back to seeing very little of each other.

but for now?  we are enjoying the time. 

even when it means standing in the garage, with a car full of grocery, waiting for a downpour to ease up.

because, for now, we've got the time to wait it out.


********
you capture

Monday, July 9, 2012

dancing screaming itching squealing fevered feeling hot hot hot

it's been hot.  really hot.  really really hot.  like, so hot you have to move the air out of the way before you can walk.  and then when you actually walk, you are instantly dripping with  sweat from the utterly minor movement of it.


i guess it comes with summer, all this hot.  and i know lots of people who love it.  really love it.  wait and wait for it to be so hot.  so summer.


and i've heard many people say, over the past few hot hot weeks, "oh, i need to remember this because in six months, i'll be wishing it was like this again."


and that always makes me giggle, to myself.


because six months ago, when it was cold and there was snow on the ground, i was saying "oh, i need to remember this because in six months i'll be wishing it was like this again."


but hey.  summer's got its good points, too.  (except for, you know, the hot...)

*******
you capture

Monday, July 2, 2012

record setting use of "flip-flop"

back in february, chiropractor gave me a nice talking to about my choice of footwear.  meaning he yelled at me because all of my shoes were cheap and crappy.

he gave me a list of guidelines that i needed to follow as i moved forward with the buying of shoes, and strongly suggested i do a major shoe overhaul. 

he also told me if he ever saw me in old navy flip-flops he would kill me dead on the spot.

sadly, old navy flip-flops were my summer shoe of choice. but, i'm not quite yet ready to die, and definitely not over old navy flip-flops.  so, out they went, and i began the process of purchasing some quality summer footwear.

the thing is, old navy flip-flops are about $2.00 a pair.  well made, supportive flip-flops run a little (lot) more than $2.00 a pair.  this meant i had to really maximize my color choices because i could now only afford a few pairs of flip-flops. 

after finding the requisite black and brown, i really wanted gray and neutral.  those four colors could keep me going and match everything.  apparently in the world of high end flip-flops, gray and neutral do not exist.  so instead, in a late februrary, two-for-one, clearence sale, i got silver and gold. 

i've kind of avoided them thus far into summer.  they kind of scared me.  they just seem so silver.  and gold. and shiny.  mostly shiny. 

but yesterday, i had to face my fears and go for the gold (so to speak) because my outfit just did not work with black or brown flip-flops. 

turns out gold is pretty damn neutral.

who knew?




******
you capture