Although our garden tomatoes are in abundance and quite luscious, we also like the heirlooms from a favorite vendor at the farmer’s market. It’s supposed to be 100 degrees here today, so we headed out early in hopes that we could be back in time to walk/run before the heat kicks in.
I’m wearing what I call desert chic with mask. It’s all about the fashion statement. Oh, for those of you who may be new to the blog, yes, it’s true I don’t have breasts. I had a mastectomy without reconstruction and am living the flat and fabulous lifestyle.
Anyway, we wanted a stash of tomatoes for a tomato pie I make with cheddar cheese, basil and a biscuit crust. But as we were getting into the car, I said, “I don’t have to make tomato pie. We could do Greek salads again, if you’d rather.” Dale said nothing.
Did you hear me?
Yes.
Well, what do you think?
Yeah, that sounds good.
Seriously! That is not a response. This is a binary choice, Dale.
Oh, you!
I may as well be saying blah, blah, blah, and you’re like, yeah, that sounds good.
We both started laughing, which is a form of grace these days. Then we decided we could actually do both. I made a command decision and said, OK, we’ll do the pie tonight and the salad later in the week. He makes bread for that, so the ball is in his court.
As they say on TV, during these unprecedented times …
Sane and crazy
Sane: I saw some people at the neighborhood park having a socially distant get together. Each chair had a balloon tied to it – I guess as an easy way to keep them six feet apart. Or maybe just for the party effect. Such a simple little gathering, but it made me happy.
Crazy: Our county numbers are still pretty good in comparison to the rest of California, but the whack jobs driving up to South Lake Tahoe to party are making it harder for everyone. An article in this morning’s newspaper quoted a visitor who said, “Everybody seems to be pretty healthy, so I don’t have a concern.”
I can’t even speak to that.
Woodburning
I’m continuing to work on my woodburning projects. It’s quite therapeutic. When I wrote my first post about it, Bobi shared a comment that it reminded her of Zentangle. I checked that out, and it’s pretty cool stuff. I might take a class someday. In the meantime, I’ve been looking at lots of Zentangle images to give me ideas.
The biggest difference is that Zentangle is on paper, which is a perfect surface. I’m using recovered wood and burning it. Although I’m a novice woodburner, I think it’s safe to say wood does what it wants. Sometimes you just can’t get a smooth line. The tool hits snags and resistance.
Just like us! That’s one of the reasons I like burning wood.
I have noticed a big difference between the pallet scraps and a piece of teak scavenged from our neighbor’s bench that was damaged in a fire. Teak is smoother and burns cleaner. And the coloring is different, too.
Perfection is not my goal. In fact, the less perfect the better. The burned bench might be my favorite surface so far. It has a story, a history. I like hanging out in the garage, imagining the possibilities, listening to music and letting my mind run free.
Somehow, it gives me hope for the future. After the fire, the flowers bloom.
Our numbers had been pretty great until the beginning of June when our governor, whose performance I had admired, succumbed to pressure (IMHO) and opened a bit too much, too soon. 20-30 year olds partied like it was 1999 and now our numbers are so high we made the front page of the NYT. I’ve had a couple of 12′ distant porch visits with each of my two sisters, and I’m glad for that because I think I’ll be pretty locked down for the next couple of weeks while they sort it out. I’m planning to make your chocolate/peanut butter cookies to save my sanity.
The whole thing is ridiculous. This should not be that hard. However, I am happy to report cookie medicine is powerful. Unless you don’t like or can’t eat salt, I highly recommend a tiny smattering of it on the cookies before you bake. My sister forgot the first time she made them and said that won’t happen again!
Love your Zentangled wood! And your desert chic look.
Looks like you’re blooming while the pandemic is still on fire.🙂
Deb
Thank you! As for blooming, we can only try.
Definitely put a Zentangle class on your list! I enjoyed the one I took and still use the idea behind it to “calm” down and relax! But it is fun to use the tangles in other mediums. Your work is beautiful!
Thank you, Pam! I will definitely look into taking a class once we’re past social distancing and all that.
I want your pendant and the tee shirt is not bad either:)
Thanks! I do love that pendant, and the earrings are like diamonds to me.
We are wary of what we call the ‘furnaces’ – those people running or biking toward us on whatever trail we’re at, breathing hard and not wearing masks. And even worse, some want to call out ‘Hi, good morning’ as they trundle past. I’m like, ‘Noooooo! Keep those vapors to yourself!!!’
Seriously, people. Keep a mask around your neck and pull it up before you pass. It’s not that hard. We do it all the time, because we are out on the trails pretty much every single day. We walk, bike or hike mask free, but pull it up if we see people approaching. Then we put it down again once we’re safely past.
OK, rant over.
Regarding spouse tussles – my spouse and I have our respective apologies on repeat these days. It’s simply the nature of the beast, which I think we both understand. If things get really testy, it’s a pretty good indicator that we need to exert more energy on something we enjoy, either separately or together. Meaning, it seems to be more of a cabin fever thing, which COVID has provided us an unending supply of.
I love that term — the furnaces. I also get annoyed with those who insist on walking side by side and won’t line up single file to let you pass.
Yes, the good news is we’ve become quite expert with apologies.