...and the living is easy. (Relatively.)

May 10, 2007

Iteration 05/09/07 || Thursday Thirteen 92::28: Summertime

This post covers both Iterations and Thursday Thirteen. Why? Because my back is sore, I didn't get either of those posts done on time, and with 26 consecutive weeks of Thursday Thirteen posts, I'm taking a "week off". Sort of.

Even in California, the seasons change. The signs are just a bit more subtle than, say, Ohio or Virginia.

1. Apples. I can now be extremely lazy and buy a container of sliced apples...then totally ruin any and all health benefits by dipping them in caramel. A good, if potentially messy, snack.
2. Good weather for walking...at least, before 10 in the morning. After that point, it heats up quite a bit. Still, even in the midst of Smogville, it's good to start the morning by walking around the block.
3. The trees are all bright green, and full-leaved. I am once again living in a “treehouse”.
4. Living in a treehouse + having the windows open = wonderful, fresh-smelling home.
5. The pool is open. And since I'm working from home, I can use it in the middle of the day when the kiddies are still at school. (Though, technically, that does count as a break. Ah, well...such is life.)
6. It's warm enough for me to sit on my patio in the evenings, reading a book. (Speaking of which, have any of you ever seen or heard of the Book Owl? It's a little clip-on book light that's smaller than a cell phone and costs only slightly more than a venti frappucino at $tarbuck$. Reading light without the generated heat. There's a winner right there...especially when I want to keep my apartment cool, and don't really need to see much more than the pages in front of me.)
7. Shakespeare in the Park. If you're fortunate enough to live in an area that has something like this, go attend a play. Up in Seattle, Greenstage puts on free performances every weekend beginning in July. The locations vary, as do the plays - usually they do one history, one comedy. My friend's auditioning again this year, and if she makes the company again I'll catch the performance when I visit there the last week in July.
8. My upcoming vacations: one up to Seattle, one a month later to Atlanta. Yes, I'm voluntarily going to Atlanta GA during hurricane season. That's when DragonCon is held, every year. (Last year, a bunch of people arrived to find that FEMA had appropriated their hotel rooms. The FEMAFolk were waiting for a hurricane to strike the Gulf Coast. It never did. The Atlanta Marriott lost a bunch of revenue that weekend because by the time FEMA decamped, people had found other rooms and were disinclined to move, even if those other lodgings were farther away from the convention venue. Hell hath no fury like a torqued-off science fiction geek.)
9. Longer days. Some folks in my family suffer markedly from SAD, but I haven't really had that problem. I just like the earlier mornings and longer afternoons.
10. Clearance sales. Yes, it's incredibly stupid. But the Mother's Day, Labor Day, Summer, White, and Back-to-School sales mean that, if I plan things carefully enough, I can get most of my clothing replaced without having to pay full price. (I have extra levels in Strategic Shopping.)
11. I am going to miss being able to burn candles whenever I want. They generate extra heat...and I really don't need that. I love candlelight, though. I think this winter, I may try living as much by candlelight as possible...not for the energy savings, but for the ambience.
12. I'm also going to miss enjoying a mug of hot coffee while wrapped up in an afghan, reading a book. Though, to be fair, in winter I miss being able to sit out on my patio and read a book. Tradeoffs abound...

And because this post gets to do double-duty...

13. What do you enjoy most about summer? What are you looking forward to?

Other Participants (...or, sites I intend to visit later)

• A little piece of me with her blog time line
• Wrongblog with lists she hopes never to post
• Bad Homeschool Mom with things that don't bother her
• Tina's Snippets with places in her imagination
• Around the Island with things that have to happen before she goes to the States next Tuesday
• Soliloquy with things she heard when she closed her eyes and listened
• Tennessee Text Wrestling talks about RSI
• The Story of Me with things that make her smile
• Cozy Reader with things on her mind
• Scribbit with cool things about her new kitchen
• Eve of a New Day with ways she can expand her mind
• Journeywoman with thirteen women who made a difference without being mothers
• The Hidden Side of a Leaf with Shakespearean insults
• The Screaming Pages with facts about her mum
• Chicken Scratch with answers to two taggings
• Romance Author with movies she'll watch over and over again
• A Gentleman's Domain with nonfiction books from his shelves
• Just Another Day with facts about chocolate
• Gem-osophy with reasons why English is a difficult language to learn
• Easy Reading is Damned Hard Writing with amusing warning labels from a romance book publisher
• Gone to Plaid asks visitors questions about their vacations

Keywords: | Wednesday | Thursday | simple pleasures | memes |
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