It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

It’s a good thing the neighbors are hosting a wedding reception at their home and using our driveway for some of their purposes. We have taken it upon ourselves to prune trees and shrubs for the guests, and learned early in the day that we had a huge dumpster at our disposal. Guess what the plan is for tomorrow?

The hosts may be surprised when a few large pine boughs, logs, and various dead limbs are found in there. Oh – we’ll get permission, but it sure is a happy thought! Years of growth and annual pruning are always on the agenda, but this year it hasn’t happened yet. I call this a fortuitous event.

Yard maintenance always bodes well for a happy marriage. I’ll be sure to thank the new couple for this opportunity – when I actually meet them!

Crazy and scary. I swear I only have to think, “new white blouse,” and I’ll start seeing ads and email offers everywhere.

Perhaps I need to start thinking, “a few million dollars,” “private jet,” or “new hairstyle.” Right now – just thinking, “What’s for dinner?”

Just checking. Wondering who of the desired readers is receiving this?

Even if curiosity killed the cat, I’m still curious. Gentle reader, you don’t have to respond, but if you haven’t received this in a month or two, please do.

Your faithful blogger…

This doesn’t even look like the mess I create with a new recipe. This looks like every after-meal heap. The stove with its many pots and pans and utensils would be a more apt depiction.

There hasn’t been a really new meal attempted for quite awhile around here. Perhaps I’ll work on that next? Just as soon as I finish cleaning up the breakfast clutter!

My writing is usually peppered with quite a bit of unnecessary punctuation. I have to read and reread my typed missives to eliminate half of what I employ. My hand-written notes? Exclamation point and comma overuse.

This little reminder brought all of those past English teachers to mind. Thanks to any, and all, who encouraged, and continue to encourage, our written word!!!

It would have been nice to let the weed-whacking dwindle this August. It’s so dry that it really isn’t very rewarding to tend to the few places that are in need of trimming. Most of the areas happen to be on the side of our house where a wedding reception will be held next weekend. Thus…

…we are whacking weeds, trimming the open grassy spots, washing chalk off the driveway (which will be used for the food trucks! Yay!) and cutting tree branches so that people can walk between the yards. We are happy to do this as our neighbors assisted in our Covid-era reception. Everything must be done in the early morning, however, as the blistering heat sucks the strength right out of us.

It’s wonderful to have great neighbors. We are truly blessed in that regard with three beautiful sets of friends on all sides. Looking forward to a little food truck heaven next weekend, and the fact that no more weeds will need to be considered until next year!

…I sent my texts the way they actually appear when I swype? Sometimes my “smart” phone finds the most amazing words to replace my simple writing. We know it would cause confusion, but probably more humor.

I think I’ll try it for a day or two? Or maybe just a text or two. Be warned!

”It once was lost, but now is found…” Obviously this line refers to many of my earrings.

About a month ago when I was mowing I knew I’d lost an earring. I even thought I knew where it would have been ripped out as I had facial scratches from the shrub to confirm it. It was just too much effort to go and look for it though, so I didn’t. (Too many adornments have been lost in the yard.) Then…Voila!

My son was helping me with yard work and mowing. He came trotting in with the errant earring. He had found it on the mower. It happens to be the mate to my favorite pair of hoops. Once, after four years I found an earring I’d lost hanging on the artificial Christmas tree. It was another favorite – a green and purple pair.

It’s been over ten years now, but I’m still hanging on to the ostrich egg earring I lost long ago. You never know!

Yesterday and today I could hear the change. It’s in the way the leaves rustle. They have reached full potential and they begin to understand fall is not far behind. The sound immediately takes me back to my childhood and to my great aunt and uncle’s farm. For some reason, that sound and understanding is in my memory as we kids ran around waiting for the adults to be done jabbering.

We didn’t visit my grandmother’s sister’s farm often, but we loved it when we did. My great uncle was my grandfather’s brother. Sisters marrying brothers. They always had so many laughs together. And stories! I was so young, but the stories enthralled me. My family moved when I was five years old so we didn’t get to visit the farm often after that.

Not an eloquent story at all, but a fond memory. This little musing sparked my mental wanderings as I listened to the sounds of past and present this morning.

My daily intake of trivia is vast. My daily recall of it is severely hampered.

I just get interesting things every now and then which make me smile. Our language is so varied, confusing, intricate. It’s fun to watch little ones acquire the patterns of speech and the tenses of verbs through our own communication. Sometimes I spend a few rabbit holes researching origins of idioms and words, but most times I breeze by them and chalk it up to the oddities of language.

Here are some fun thoughts: