“Time is behaving strangely. Sometimes an afternoon goes on for days and then a whole week will disappear altogether and I’ll find it’s Friday again …”
~Mary Lawson, A Town Called Solace
Looking back at these photos I have a hard time even remembering that first week of August … my last matching book/manicure (I’m giving my nails some needed R&R and anticipate resuming the polish routine next week), Tosca in HD on the 4th was a real treat! And then … a lot of sticking close to home. Morning walks with a new place to pause by the lake (My Bench), weekly trips to the library, a little knitting (the socks on the 1st were actually finished in July; the baby sweater on the 13th is my only FO), and a lot of changeable skies. I did order those pretty masks … just in time for the site visit to Sara’s new place on the 26th.
A Gratitude List: the boys went back to school in person on August 5 and so far everyone is doing fine and staying healthy, having the ability to switch things up (change my walking route, rearrange furniture, rearrange schedules) to get a refreshed perspective, being part of Sara’s next adventure, my “basics”.
Life Giving: bright colors on my morning walks, hearing the lake when I pause at My Bench, FaceTime with Katie and boys, engaging discussions with caring women about hard topics.
Life Draining: watching the COVID stats rise, parents protesting mask mandates in schools.
A (short) Happy List:
- Fiction Matters and Novel Pairings Patreon communities.
- Spotify playlists curated by Sara and Katie.
- New glasses! (I’m all in for progressives … and being able to see anything all day should maybe be on my Life Giving list!)
What made your Happy List last month?
mere-et-filles 
I can’t even comprehend the anti-maskers. But don’t get me started on what I can’t comprehend… Because Texas has me *out of my mind* right now.
But that wasn’t the question 🙂 Happy List in August? Taking my best friend for a Thank You Lunch. She kept my houseplants alive all summer, and it made for a fine excuse to take her out for a 2 1/2 hr lunch at a spectacular new restaurant where, in addition a delicious salad, I had an elderflower + prickly pear margarita. It was like being on vacation together after a whole summer apart! The joy of an {extra]oridnary day. Thanks for the pause to remember it!
Here’s to a lovely September for you.
My happy list: having coffee outdoors with two good friends, a mask mandate in our county in spite of our conservative gov. (it’s a long technical legal story) Norah’s sweater, sunflowers, fresh peaches, my husband. I can so relate – it is hard to remember the first of August.
My happy list? “Patio time” with Tom every evening, ice cream cones, dog joy, hummingbirds, and embroidery. 🙂
I’m glad to hear all is going well with the boys at school. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with these parents who want to send their kids to school without masks. It’s like saying they want kids to go around sneezing in each other’s faces and licking each other! Even without COVID, schools have always been germy places.
My happy list includes some much cooler weather after the hurricane moved through (it’s 52 right now!), an extra-long weekend, and a kiddo who has finally settled on a furniture layout for her new bedroom and is happy about school.
My happy list for August was seeing the joy radiating from my daughter when she got married! And also family time and vacations (two!) and picking lots and lots of zinnias and tomatoes.
Even after 7 months, my hexie blanket still makes me happy!
My happy August list includes so many bees and butterflies on our butterfly bush. Sitting under the pergola in the morning watching them lazily flit around is the best way to start the day!
My happy list: visits to the library, sunflowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, toads, frogs, thunderstorms, fresh eggs from the chickens every morning, sleeping with the windows open, pumpkin swirl coffees from Dunkin, a (relatively) smooth transition for Colton into Kindergarten, a wonderful week of homeschooling, and letting go of expectations of myself.
I’m looking forward to connecting with you more in September!!
That quote at the top made me smile – I read it to Himself who laughed in rueful recognition. Glad there have been happy things, especially family things, despite the awfulness of everything else that’s going on Out There. Listening to Pantsuit Politics, as well as UK podcasts, has informed me hugely but also at times widened the net of things to be agast about. On the happy front, there’s been time with my little grand-daughter and the family, finally finishing the reshaping of the rooms which were my parents’, and adding to our growing collection of houseplants :).
My happy list is that August gave way to September 🙂 Also our wedding anniversay is in August. I am enjoying cooler weather thank goodness.
Happy to be home and back to a regular routine.