POOL REPORT
Let us compare, shall we?
Here’s the pool on July 30th - one week ago. Tree crud starting to blow in, but the water clarity was still okay.
How are things looking today, August 6? The pool is still completely untouched by human flesh, unless somebody is taking a dip at 3:00 a.m.
Uh oh, things are starting to look a bit cloudy. I would like to point out that somebody is going to have to reach into the pool to pull the plug when they decide to drain the pool. Will it be Grandpa? The Mom of the Kids? The Teenager? The Screechy Girl? It sure as hell won’t be The Matriarch. Unless they push her in.
Speaking of the kids, they haven’t been seen in weeks. They’ve probably gone off to their dad’s for a while, or maybe Covid Camp. We were imagining the scene when they return…
“Look girls, we got you a pool!”
“EEEEEWWWWW! I’m not going in there! GROSS!”
How long will the saga of the pool go on? Only time will tell, and I will tell you.
We had a cute little visitor on the front porch the other day. It sat still long enough for me to get a good portrait!
The yard has been busy with birds, bumblebees, and other little creatures as summer winds on. I’m pretty sure I’m seeing baby pigeons amongst the regulars of the local flock that spends most of its time on the neighbors’ roof. Not the neighbors with the pool. They don’t have a very bird-friendly yard. The baby pigeons are almost full size, but look thinner and have less distinct markings. I’ve counted over 40 pigeons sitting on the roof at times - it’s a good distraction from work now and then.
Why?
Lawn-free landscaping isn’t a bad thing, but this is a bit jarring. Maybe they’ll plant something to soften things up a bit…
I took the Durango for an oil change today, and it was traumatic. We go to a local Dodge dealership for service, and apparently they’ve discovered an amazing COVID-free vortex. Not one single employee was wearing a mask. Not one. It’s a pandemic miracle! The Delta variant is starting to blaze through our area, but I guess they’ve got 100% vaccination rates and amazing safety protocols in place there. Yeah no.
Friends, I felt anything but safe in that establishment. Thankfully my time inside the building amongst the unmasked was minimal. It still elevated my anxiety levels, just watching everyone go about their business blissfully as if the pandemic never happened. Oh - there was one small plexiglass shield in front of the cashier desk, but it was completely pointless. It was a busy day there - plenty of salesmen, service technicians, various and sundry customer service agents, and customers wandering around.
I went for a long walk, and found a spot outside where I could hang out away from people. Light poles are surprising comfortable to sit on.
Wherever you are, please take care of yourself and your loved ones.
To keep myself happy during all of this, I’ve made a point to spend time on my art. I was slacking off a bit, and realized that I need to give myself a small challenge to keep up my motivation. Enter the August Daily! I made myself a small sketchbook and am now at minimum doing a watercolor and ink piece of some sort each day. I find that when I do this, I also do more on most days.
Day two featured some interesting trees I saw while out walking.
Today’s entry featured a sign I saw while avoiding the plague at the Dodge dealer.
I started a new Instagram account that focuses just on my art. You can see all of my daily drawing there (and other artsy things). I want to be able to quickly access it in one spot free from pictures of sidewalk sofas…
And finally, we got notification today that Michael’s new computer is about to ship. The computer catastrophe occurred on July 7 - it’s been a full month for him without! It’s been a challenge, and we’re glad it’s soon coming to an end. There may be a day in the future when I want to live without the internet, but now is not that time. I can say after watching his frustration of not having the internet easily available I don’t want to go there. As soon as it’s unavailable, you think of 36 things you need that can only be found on the internet.
We’re happy this chapter is coming to an end soon.
Depending on where you are - stay cool, stay dry, stay not-on-fire, stay well.
Until next time…
I am going to get obsessively curious if the pool goes on much longer without use. I mean WHY???