Thursday Thoughts - Let the exits pass, all the tar and glass 'Til the road and sky align

Time is speeding up. Look, it's already October. JK but the past month is blurring. I always feel like we're hurtling toward the summer solstice in early June, with so many events and things compressed in between Mother's Day and then. I am trying to dig my heels in and slow it down, but it doesn't work like that, does it?

Let me set a morning scene for you that ends with this detector being installed where I would never, ever install it. The energy audit people MFD was supposed to be here for hijacked my morning, I had to wrangle my dogs, Bruce wouldn't stop fucking barking, there was a small gas leak so I had to call the goddamn gas company and be told and shown about the fucking leak, the  energy guy was so nice and helpful and identified with our Hate has no home here sign but was going on about fans and lightbulbs and Ireland as I was trying to work, I could not locate the shifty cat, and my house is a mess as all of these people are traipsing through it digging into corners auditing shit painting my heater doing all sorts of things changing lightbulbs touching windows and doors etc. 

Life with dogs who bark at the window.

Show Us Your Books is Tuesday. I've had a series of eh reads. Started this one last night.

Slivers of moon all over this week.

You all following the Humans of New York story today? It's a 15 part-er

Signs of adult restraint. I did not run over this sign

Anyone talking about how celebrities like Matthew McConaughy should stick to acting instead of talking about gun violence that impacts all of us and specifically his hometown of Uvalde, TX, recently, can shut the fuck up. You elected a fucking TV show host swindler as president, have elected a fucking actor with no business in politics as president in the 1980s, and worship at the blood soaked altar of the NRA, previously led by Charlton Heston, a fucking actor. Fuck off out of here

Have a good day, bye now.

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Angela by The Lumineers, Aubrey's favorite

TWTW - the one with the family for my brother's birthday

Bay skies, first weekend with beach tags, favorite lemon poppyseed donut from Drip N Scoop, creeping on other people's flowers season, pets in the vestibule

Fishing, Friday night pizza from Boyars, Saturday extra large orders at Wawa, China Glaze Planted & Enchanted, Shibumi working, porch sitting, using the pipe to block sandstorms

Worn out dogs, first gyro of the year from Opa on Sunday, stunning beach day Saturday, working on my Coastal Grandmother aesthetic, beach reads are back, the Falconer

Ferris wheels with visible slivers of moon, happiest 39th birthday to my brother, strong resemblances, fence flowers, tiny treasures, peace in a pic

Lumineers in Camden, sliver of moon, top of the hill hang on chairs rented by MFD, the most people I have seen in one place in years, parking lot pees, no one knew the cover they did of Thunder Road

No swings, but I did do the music ride at Wonderland with my niece. Really fun, on the go weekend. Loved spending it with these people as always

I had all the photos done for this by Monday and here we are on Wednesday. 

This five days on, two days off business is fucking bullshit.

Peace in the east.

Friday stories: The Saga of Jocelyn and Jacob and Cement Shoes

The Saga of Jocelyn and Jacob A few weeks ago we discovered a dove on our owner's porch at the shore. Her mate came to visit. She had eggs. There were some close calls of swooping in and out and we decided we would evict after the babies had flown the coop as vacation rental guests need to walk by this. At some point MFD named them Jocelyn and Jacob. Welp this week I was upstairs and saw a crow come in and leave rapidly and heard lots of fluttering. I started yelling for MFD, who was inside our apartment working. He ran out, saw one of the babies was gone, and found its head next door. As we were in a dither, the crow returned and snatched the other baby and I cannot even say what that looked like. Jocelyn and Jacob sat on the electric wires and watched mournfully. It was avian mayhem and carnage and while one who reads murdery books might assume I hired the crow since I was planning to evict, I did not. We left the nest intact for a day so they could mourn. The King and the Queen went back to the green but you can never go back there again so today it is gone along with soooooo much poop. Really so much. Circle of life shit, in the same week I saw a snake eating a fish in upstate PA. I am a roving National Geographic reporter.

Cement Shoes Not more murder and mayhem, but I did step into wet concrete directly in front of my house and had to pull my flip flops out of it with my hands full of printed material, shower curtain rings, wallet, keys, phone, and Flex seal, and no one even fucking saw it. I was eyeing a crow on the sidewalk, likely the bird murderer referenced above, and walked right the fuck into the edge because no cone was there. What good is doing something so foolish if no one sees it? Not like it was new, either. I  have watched them do this work for two days immediately outside of where I sit to work. WTF! Dad and Carol were at the house but not on the porch. MFD was fishing. I yelled HEY to the guy on the corner with a constant cigarillo in a white tip clenched in his teeth who was borrowing our electric and music and had overall responsibility for the concrete work and he even fucking ignored me so I drug my wet self to the outdoor shower and hosed off my flip flops, calves, and feet. Can I just take the rest of the day off.

ALSO. Other Shit I Wanted to Include in Thursday Thoughts yesterday but my brain is a sieve and there's a lot going on

Matches. Who has a dog that eats them aside from us? Ben loves to eat matches.

Simparica Trio This is what my dogs are on for flea/tick and heartworm. I've used a lot of things over the years and this is by far the best with the least side effects. People in the southeastern PA/NJ  area (and probably elsewhere in the Northeast, ask your vet), your dogs should be on flea/tick all year now, as well as heartworm. It is not getting cold enough in the winters for the flea/ticks to die off. 

Happy Weekending!  

Thursday Thoughts - Reminded who are we by the girls of wild strawberries

I carried a watermelon. MFD wanted to run and get his camera to capture the moment. 

Pasta salad season. Mine varies but is typically a Barilla veggie pasta base, some type of cheese, and obviously veggies. I lean to cucumber, broccoli (I throw it in with for the last minute and a half of pasta cooking), olives (kalamata in here but open to all), grape tomatoes, a bit of red onion, italian salami, an orange pepper that was about to go down, garlic salt, onion salt, garlic powder, and Olive Garden dressing. It's like a complete meal for summer. 

Getting rental season ready by doing things we could have done all winter. Insert upside down smiley face here. Painting shelves, touch up paint, trim paint touch ups, having powder room sink braced by a local handyman, replacing broken trim pieces, dry wall repair, Mermaid surgery to reattach the hangers to the back, anticipating arrival of new bench and stools that will need assembly. When I paint furniture these days, I prefer the Heirloom Traditions All in One Paint. No prep aside from cleaning needed, dries quickly, and it lasts. This is it after 1.5 coats in Capri on the right, I left it intentionally distressed in spots. It is pretty impossible to fuck up. I am painting two dressers this fall, one in navy and one probably in tea rose. 

Multiple mass shootings since Uvalde - which I wrote at length about last week - we have work to do as citizens. We cannot accept strangled minority rule. We must become ungovernable in the current system, and everyone operating in it holding change back must go, regardless of who they are and what "side" they represent. Follow Emilyinyourphone on Instagram, who is bringing action items as they come. Follow Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand. Moms....demand action here. Please. I am sorry it is falling on you like most things do, but if you just continue the work school after school activity wash rinse repeat nothing will change and we really need it to. We're all being ground down to not have the energy to effect change, but we must. We cannot have kids dying like this in America when it is not happening elsewhere on the globe where there are also guns, mental illness, otherness, misogyny, etc. These shootings and this culture of violence is entirely preventable and all of us are responsible for breaking the broken system. Some thoughts that resonated with me. 

Reminder, especially to women who are chastised for being aggressive or too much when working for something you care about, like kids being safe in schools. 

General reminder.

Analog LOLs

My perfect iced tea is brewed in a maker, and it's Boston Mint-in-Tea with a smidge of sugar and some fresh citrus, whatever is available

Happy happy birthday to my lady loves of over 30 years, KVSR who had her birthday yesterday and Kim who celebrates Sunday. 

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Girls of Wild Strawberries by Guided by Voices

TWTW - the one with Memorial Day

Took refuge from the collective angst and pain in this world right now and from the crowds at the shore to spend the long weekend with one of my people at her lake house with the dogs. MFD stayed back with Billy Cat and did mummery shit. I arrived Thursday night and left Tuesday morning. 

I finished a book, read three more and a short story, and started a fourth. Lounging with dogs, spending most of the time outside, easy but good food. 

sdfsd

Black raspberry soft serve from Antol's Drive-in. Shopping small in Montrose, a town I love. Mimosas, nice wares, and immaculate vibes at Cold Creek Gardens in Wyalusing - I got a rose bush and a frog reading a book statue. 

It was the peace and quiet, good energy and laughter I needed. 

Thanks Lori, always, for everything! Mostly for being one of my people.