At-Home Album and Thigh Thoughts

Thigh-Land: A geographic portion on my white fat leg which seldom sees the light of day. 

Meanwhile, back at the Lovestead, we enjoyed a rather ordinary day in these extraordinary times. 

Dead heads and errant stems went from their anatomical homelands to the dead-plant burial grounds out behind the barn.  

Hot weather worked a number on many of my plants, so now most are looking better with yesterday's grooming sessions. 

One planter of beans with little or no yield saw a transfer of green bean plants to the ground and new seeds into the soil.

I picked the last of the raspberries yesterday.  Oh, there are hundreds still on the bushes but with virtually every one either shriveled up or partially disembodied thanks to hungry critters with messy eating habits, I left those berries so the pilferers could finish the job. 

It's been a good raspberry year, so the freezer has a good supply for when jelly-making season starts. 

Blueberries are still coming, and thankfully, the berry thieves have left them alone. 

I loved yesterday because it seemed that so many "roundtoit's" were completed and in a leisurely fashion, so much so that I watched way too much television news.  

One item of the day focused on Michelle Obama and the low-grade depression she has been suffering for months. For some reason, I think she is not alone, for many of the same reasons she revealed in her podcast. 

Indeed, life on a daily basis has dealt us a rollercoaster range of emotions, and with the future continuing to be uncertain and somewhat dreaded, it's tough on all of us. 

Occasionally, I see Facebook friends---normally very upbeat people----uncharacteristically bite the bullet and let loose with their personal frustration of the times.  

Happily, when these posts appear, their friends send messages to lift them up. 

So, there's some good news out there, and it often comes from sources we take for granted---our circles of friends and family and from others who empathize.

And, so we soldier on with the ordinary, often welcoming it as extraordinary.  

When a former student posted a comment on my kayaking photo from Wednesday night, stating, "My blood pressure just went down just seeing this," I smiled. 

It's the little things that make such significant differences in our lives these days-----just as my friend and former student and babysitter Cherry sent the Irish video today.

Of course, the gesture and the video made me happy, and I decided to post it in hopes of making others happy and able to forget the depressing stuff for just a moment or two or maybe even enjoy a blood-pressure decrease.

We all have to lift each other up when those low moments come.  As they say on the TV ads, "we'll get through these times together." 

For me, both ordinary and extraordinary stuff can provide therapy.  

Last night, for example, I derived some pleasant joy watching Annie (a meticulous planner) lay out and try out her camping equipment for an overnight back-packing trip she's taking with her cousin this weekend. 

We did have one rather extraordinary moment when the propane in a little stove produced an unexpected giant flame.  

Everyone, including dogs, stepped back as the flame burned in the lawn.  Bill grabbed a towel and doused the small fire. 

One reason it's good to test things beforehand.

Anyway, life moves on as do the emotions.  So, the ordinary scenes around home like a beloved dog resting in the grass or a daughter trying on a mosquito net or even a herd of cows grazing in a pasture light up our lives.

And, by golly, it's Friday.  It's still embedded in my soul, even 18 years after retiring that Friday promises some positive vibes no matter what. 

So, enjoy the day, and find the beauty in the little things and raise a glass!

Happy Friday.  

So, when I originally posted the song, I thought I had a glitch, so I posted again and can't undo it.  

The song is THAT good, so listen twice if you wish.  

SMILE!  

Life's like that sometimes.