Author: Rene

My sister gifted me a mood ring back in May when I visited. I decided to wear it to the dentist today as that would be a good indication of its abilities.

“Mixed emotions.” That was the determination, which in fact, was true. Although I was irritated at having four reminders from the practice about my appointment and then having them be LATE in seeing me, I knew I needed a good cleaning.

It turns out I had the best hygienist I’ve ever had. My ring returned to a calm color and I left feeling relieved, although exhausted from the initial dreading of the whole ordeal. God bless the people who make a living keeping our mouths in fine form!

I shall relish brushing my pearly whites and getting the fluoride off of them this evening. I’m ready for Candid Camera!

Believe it or not, I wish this was me today.

However, two weeks ago I managed to begin mowing and encountered “issues” with the newly replaced belts and blades. My repairman has been absent, so I haven’t been mowing! It’s a jungle out there, with more rain to come.

Hopefully my neighbor’s son and mower will come to my rescue today, before the deluge begins again. Until then, I’m firing up the trimmer and heading out to continue abating the growth with my little battery-operated tool.

Looking forward to the return of my gas-fed mower, which is really the ONLY way to successfully mow this property.

“Shark Week” on Nat Geo occurs during July when sharks are active in the warm water?

Hm. Could we be swimming near a shark nursery? Are we being stupid and acting like prey? I’ve been binging the shark-fest shows. Such cool and amazing photography! How do they get inside the womb of a shark and show the fetus devouring its siblings? Instead of fear, I feel like I’ve missed out on identifying sharks when I’ve went diving. There are so many species I never knew existed.

Although my husband and I did dive with ragged-tooth sharks and probably saw a nurse shark on another dive, I think being with the big ones would be pretty exciting. I would, however, like to be in a shark cage, “just in case.”

Emulating them, I shall endeavor to “take a bite” out of the day. Weekend anticipation…

My conclusion is that I should fund the neighbors each year. They have the best fireworks and it only requires my porch and comfy chair.

Of course, last night I had to move indoors for the fun as a lovely squall came up, pushing leaves into my entry and kitchen. But they really do have beautiful displays! And they so kindly take turns with their ignitions as they battle across the street.

My only request would be that they cut the fun off at midnight and not take it into July 5th. Perhaps they would decline my generosity then? They do seem to go into the early morning hours each year.

It may be a “nap required” day.

The bin containing my 4th of July decor was pretty sparse. I hung the bunting and then found this lovely roll of metallic ribbon.

As you can see, I artfully arranged this smidgeon of red, white and blue in my colorful summer tray and plopped it gracefully on the counter. The complexity of the design required careful attention to detail. A leftover candle from Christmas completed this tableaux of delight. We are now prepared to celebrate fitfully.

Enjoy your holiday and/or birthday, if you are celebrating that, Mrs. Williams.

Years ago when I had a minor surgery in the hospital, I thought how pleasant it could be to have your color choice of tubing running through the machines. After all, you get to choose the color of the tape bandaging your arm after donating blood? A brightly colored lime green tube or hot pink one could perk up the atmosphere.

Albeit poking fun of the pharmaceutical needs we all have at some point, I thought this little gem went along with the idea.

Taking a moment to be grateful for all pharmacists and doctors who keep us rolling along!

There used to be one. It was “cleaning day” for me years ago. The weekend arrived with a house ready for visitors or entertaining. Now, I just “think” of cleaning on Thursdays.

The list for “some day” grows longer and longer, especially when I open the windows in the evening for that cool air and allow the dust and pollen access to all dust-able surfaces. I’ve been exploring many options for tackling those niggling chores: dusting blinds, vacuuming under beds, floorboards, etc…

Finally, a realistic solution.

And I think we all have a touch of OCD about something. Thankfully, aging takes care of some of that obsessing business.

Go clean something. I’m off to employ myself.

There was a report on this morning’s news of a man catching a flight to find himself the only passenger. My daughter and I could have made the news, too!

Years ago we flew to San Francisco with a connecting flight. We landed, deplaned, sat in the small terminal awaiting our 20-minute flight, and sat. There was no one at the gate, the counters, and of course, no security as it was pre-911. What did we do? We called my husband.

As a 500 million mile flyer, (slight exaggeration) he knew the ropes. He learned we still had a flight and we just had to wait. Apparently, our connection left early as everyone but my daughter and I were there. Perhaps they were gambling we wouldn’t show? We did and had an entire flight to ourselves.

The flight attendant did her job and ran through the safety business. We sat in the rear and mid-flight rang her little call button. We just wanted to thank her and give her a little something to do.

Apparently those days of travel are gone with thousands of delays this weekend. Safe travels holiday wanderers.

The recipe taunted me, looking so delicious. “Easy. Simple. Ingredients in your pantry.” These were the descriptors in my search for an uncomplicated appetizer.

There were 13 ingredients, and only salt and pepper are in my pantry! I may have to head back to that old church cookbook for an idea. Those tried-and-true really relied on what was at hand. As a matter of fact, whenever I feel the urge to bake, I know I’ll have the ingredients and the recipe right there.

It’s too hot for any culinary crafting anyway. I guess I’ll just keep researching.

Along with ice cream, nothing else initiates summer like an outdoor concert. Last week I happily attended two!

While one concert was at the Botanic Gardens on the lush lawn, attended by hundreds and surrounded with floral delight, the other was in a backyard with family and friends surrounded by neighborhood dogs. Of course, the second one was my favorite since the lead guitarist was my son! I am now officially a groupie mom.

Onward summer fun!