garden. wild blueberries. kayak. river. invasive species. many sink-fulls of dirty dishes. groceries. more groceries. even more groceries.
faces at our table. weeds to pull. knocks on the door. laundry. more laundry. even more laundry.
birthday cake for breakfast. new friends. pickles. beets. lettuce. weeds. more weeds. even more weeds.
sawdust. paintbrushes. cans of paint. more cans of paint. even more cans of paint.
the neighbors are here. someone wants to buy our boat. a tenant wants to give us rent. six people randomly stop by to say hi. three lovely people are staying in our driveway. two are crawling on the garage roof. two are cleaning a filthy rental apartment. one is developing a business plan.
company. more company. even more company.
Welcome to my summer life.
I cannot sit in the front yard & swing with you --well, perhaps only a minute.
Then I must water Grandma Jean's flowers & make some more iced tea & wipe down the porch table & mow the front lawn & bring my husband his dinner & greet the person who is here with an overnight bag & move my car to make room for someone else's and figure out how to stretch tonight's dinner & maybe throw together some dessert & oh no we are out of dish detergent.
Last week I rehearsed a cabaret & then performed it twice. The week before that, I rehearsed a chamber music concert & performed it once. The week before that I wasn't too certain I still knew how to play the piano. But I kayaked a lot.
My parents graced us with a surprise visit today. They brought two friends -a married couple they have known for many years. They treated us (Hubby, myself, #1 Son & #1 Daughter) to lunch at the smokehouse down the road. They relaxed in our family room ( which was quickly cleaned this morning) & told delightful stories for an hour after lunch.
We had five extra people sleeping here last night. One from China (who is staying here for the summer), two from Schenectady, one from Nashville, and one from I don't know where --but he is a Clarkson student. He works for us. We like him immensely.
We hosted a birthday party last night. Sixteen people were at our dinner table.
There were two bats in our house last night: one in an upstairs bedroom and one in the family room. They have been conquered. We hope none come back.
The house is miraculously quiet this evening. The driveways are somewhat empty. I made three grilled cheese sandwiches: one for me and two for someone else. I am now donning an old shirt & hopping onto the kayak. I think I shall travel downriver where the blue herons lurk & the muskie jump.
I shall leave you with this picture which defies explanation:
