June 27th

Day 179 — Day one of the holidays — and it was lovely.  Got up went for a nice long walk along a different path.  Not the usual 30 minute circuit Heather and I usually navigate when I’m working.  The air was warm, even though we’d had a helluva storm last night.  Lots of thunder and lightning, and, of course, rain.  But, other than a couple of slight showers that was supposed to be the end of the 40 days and 40 nights we’ve been enduring.

I did a lot of little things today — made pineapple marmalade, tidied the house, took care of small chores I’ve been putting off since forever.  I even found time to read my book outside on the deck a couple of times.  (In case you hadn’t figured it out, my deck is my favorite place to be in the summer time.)

For dinner I made crab cakes and salad with asparagus on the side.  Of course, I ate it outside.  Then I finished off a nice little glass of white zinfandel and read a few more pages of my book before going back out into the garden.

I love not working!

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June 26th

Day 178 — Ahh, the last day of work for this school year!  Bliss!  I came home, pulled up a lounge chair on the deck and had a little siesta.  Bliss!

Actually, aside from making  supper last night I did nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  And reveled in it.  Towards the end of the evening I pulled up that lounge chair again and sat outside doing crossword puzzles until the mosquitos drove me in and in front of the television.

Bliss!

June 25th

Day 177 — I like that number – 177 — something kind of neat about it — neat as in tidy, not neat as in ‘cool’.  It’s interesting counting the down the days of the year like this.  The number doesn’t seem all that big, but when you think about it — that’s one hundred and seventy seven days of getting up, going to work, packing a lunch, buttoning a coat, brushing your hair, fixing breakfast, stopping to get gas, and on and on and on.

Well, today is the end of the getting up and going to work and packing a lunch part for me.  At least for the next two months.  Yes, today is freedom day!  That big ol’ carrot is dangling within reach now, I can almost sink my teeth into it.  I’m sure today will go quickly and then I’m going to come home and sit on my deck with a cold beer in hand (if the sunshine holds that is) and ponder the joys and possibilities of the next eight weeks.

 

June 24th

Day 176 — Well the first of the last 3 days of work before my holidays begin is done.  Two more to go.  Here’s hoping they go by quickly.

I managed to get out for that evening walk I’ve been talking about.  Went out for about an hour.  I forgot how much I enjoy that time to myself.  Time to think, to ponder, to work things out.  And then there was the getting reacquainted with the rythyms of my body as I walked along.  The ebb and flow of air in my lungs, the surge of my leg and torso muscles as they contracted and elongated with my steps and the swing of my arms.  It’s a pattern of motion that is so conducive to calm and constructive thought.  I am definitely going to get back into the habit.

June 23rd

Day 175 — It was a gorgeous day!  The sun shone, there was barely any wind — a slight breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay.  I spent the bulk of the day outside planting and weeding and just generally enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin.  Absolutely fabulous!

June 21st and 22nd

Days 173 and 174 — Discovered a new place for lunch on Friday.  The department I work for took the OT team out for lunch as a year end thank-you.  Very nice.  The place we went to is Don’s Bistro.  I was a little put-out when the Reuben sandwich I ordered came un-grilled, but one bite told me that it was all right.  In fact, it was pretty damned awesome.  (And I know my Reubens!)

The OT I worked with had twin baby girls on Thursday.  They are approximately two months early and weigh about 4.5 lbs. each.  Thrilled for her.  I was really beginning to think there was no way she could continue to walk, let alone work, she was that huge.  But Mom and babes are doing fine, so that’s tremendous.

Last night we went to the Transit Celebration dinner.  This takes place at Ft. Edmonton park.  It was a gorgeous night.  I only wish my son and his family could have been there this year.  Everything was open — not like last year when nothing was open.  Tim and I strolled the streets, watched a short film about the history of Edmonton in the beautiful Capitol Theatre.  A beautiful blend of state of the art technology and old-time theatre design.  We even got to catch a ride on the steam train — the last of the evening.  This gave us a place to get out of the rain and an up-close look at how high the North Saskatchewan River has risen.

Well, here’s hoping the rain has left for good for awhile.  I bought me up a mess of plants and I need to get them in containers and in the ground.

June 20th

Day 172 — Unbelievable what is happening in Southern Alberta.  Parts of Calgary and many smaller surrounding communities on flood alert and evacuation notices.  Our relatives in Lethbridge are all fine, but many others have had to leave their homes.  It’s kind of eerie — this is usually the kind of story we only hear about — it doesn’t happen to us.  My thoughts are with everyone affected — let’s hope the rain ends soon.

This has been the weirdest June ever.

June 18th & 19th

Days 170 and 171 — Quiet days.  Work is slogging along — everyone can feel the end is near, we just can’t quite see it yet. . .

Attended my youngest grandson’s Pre-school ‘grad’ last night.  Very cute.  But you can tell that the little ones are done.  Ethan spent part of the performance — which wasn’t even 10 minutes long — crawling around on his hands and knees after another little guy who ran and squealed with laughter.  It was hilarious.

Had intended to go for an evening walk, didn’t have the energy.  My throat is bothering me again, but I think poplar fuzz might be the culprit this time.

Sigh.

June 17th

Day 169 — Well, I made it back to work.  All in all an easy day — just office stuff.  I officially only have 7 more working days until the Summer break starts.  Can’t believe it’s here already!

Some amazing thunder and lightning storms during the night, accompanied by torrential downpours.  The road beside our house looked like a river while the storm was at the height of its activity.  Everything is so soggy right now — I wish we’d get some heat, now.  I’m sleeping with two blankets — and here it is the middle of June!

June 15th and 16th

Days 167 and 168 — The weekend.  Yesterday I ventured out for a bit.  Went with Tim to the hospital in Redwater to have his staples removed.  Then went for breakfast — which, sadly, wasn’t very good.  After that it was in to the city to run a few errands and pick up a few groceries.  Got home around 2 o’clock.  Totally tuckered out.  Had a nap, then got up and watched t.v.  Boring.

Today was Father’s Day.  Went and had breakfast/brunch with my son and his family.  Tim was working so he missed out.  It was very nice — eggs benny and all the fixin’s.  Stayed and visited for a little bit then got home and actually did stuff!  Cleaned up some dishes, did some laundry, some CUPE filing that had got way behind and made a few CUPE related phone calls.  I even had energy to make supper!

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I really do feel like myself again.