Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Snapshots from Memorial Day Week-end

And now it's back to work, for those of us lucky enough to have jobs that gave us the day off yesterday.  Before I say a final farewell to the week-end, let me record some highlights.

--We created a beautiful outdoor space on the front porch, with a teak table and 2 barstool chairs.  We put pots of plants--2 pots of mixed flowers, 2 pots of mixed herbs--in the arches and moved the windchimes to different hooks.  We got a citronella candle.  Yesterday, I stood on the sidewalk as the day darkened to night, and my husband sat at the table talking to his dad on the phone.  I thought, if I walked by this space, I'd want to linger for a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and a dessert.

--With our small house, it's good to have some living spaces outside.  Yesterday afternoon it turned quite hot, with blindingly bright sunshine and no shade in the back yard.  I spent most of the day outside and was feeling a bit woozy from the heat.  It was good to relax on the front porch as the sun set--good to have a shady alternative to the back yard spaces we've created.

--Yesterday morning, a group of friends was going to the beach.  Our house is on the way, so they stopped to pick us up.  Yes, it was madness of a sort, going to the beach on Memorial Day at 10:00--not a parking space to be had.  We came back to our house and had a great several hours poolside and in the pool.  Happily, our floaty toys from my nephew's visit are still around, so the 10 year old had a great time, even though we couldn't build sandcastles.

--We were with the same group of friends plus other friends on Saturday, when we all went to a wedding.  It was great to see the couple get married--they'd already been through a lot, including a near fatal car accident, in the years leading up to the marriage.  No one can doubt their vow to stay together through better or worse.

--And we were with a different set of friends from school on Sunday.  We had good food, good wine, and good conversation.

--I finally wrote a poem yesterday.  The last time I did this was May 8.  Sigh.   I resolve to write a poem at least once a week this summer.

--I took my notebook on the front porch in the morning and wrote that poem.  It was wonderful.  I like that space better than my study.

--I also worked on a Pentecost project:  wind chimes!  More on this project in coming weeks.  We have a service that combines traditional elements with arts projects; I'm leading the Pentecost sessions.  On Pentecost, we'll be creating wind chimes.

--I paid bills and put away the stuff that wants to migrate to empty, flat surfaces.  I reorganized a file box.  I put all the tax documents into a file in that box.  I strategized with my sister about a summer sailing trip.

--How lovely to have a week-end where I can get together with friends, celebrate love, eat good food, be creative, and also get some chores done.  I am always happily surprised at what a difference  a 3rd day of a week-end can make.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Sounds like you've had quite a holiday. What's really amazing about those types of days is how it brings up all those facets and dimensions of our existence, with the time it leaves for us to run through them. Glad to hear that couple stayed on, in spite of the fact that they experienced such an accident. That could even be a moment, in which to think of how that even came to pass, so it would be mitigated in the future.

Howard Kurtz @ Kurtz & Blum, PLLC