Thankful Thursday Thoughts

This post is inspired by Thankful Thursdays on The Frugal Girl. It's an especially good exercise today, because I felt lousy all day. 

As I told a neighbor the other day, I'm thankful every day that we moved here. After 37 years in Norwalk, I was sick of Prospect Ridge and sick of Norwalk. I wanted to go south, but not too far south. (Okay, maybe the warmer weather we wanted didn't pan out so far.)  We wanted to be able to get a bigger--more reasonably priced home.

This place had all the must-haves: two full baths, washer and dryer, balcony, over 1000 feet. Plus so much more. We have a dining room. a laundry room, and a sitting area as part of our primary bedroom. We have extra kitchen cabinets, drawers, and counters personally built by the previous owner. We even have a boat slip.

We have a wonderful trail and boardwalk down by the water. It makes me happy to see the Middle River and wildlife every day. 

We have good neighbors. 

I'm so glad we moved. 

Midsummer, Summer Solstice, and Father's Day

Summer officially begins today in the Northern Hemisphere with the Summer Solstice --the lightest day of the year. I prefer to say the lightest and darkest rather than the longest or shortest day of  the year. 

This year it's also Father's Day. We decided to go to Pooles Island for some beer. We considered Key Brewing, but knew we could go inside at Pooles, so that decided it. Pooles also has a good selection. 

There was a crab focused food truck. This was better than the limited kitchen it previously had onsite or the short list of restaurants that would deliver. Jace was a hit, though today it was with guys, except for a mother-daughter duo just before we left. 

I can't think of Midsummer without thinking of Cassandra.

Concert at the Pool

On Tuesday night, our condominium hosted the first of three summer concerts in the parking lot by our pool. There was a food truck (I tried crab cake eggrolls) a lemonade stand, and a cornhole game (featuring the Ravens logo.) The weather was perfect.

At first I thought the singer/guitarist was meh. He grew on me as he played more songs I liked later in the program. He played an eclectic selection ranging from Lionel Richie to Johnny Cash to the Who and Led Zeppelin. I was intrigued when he played Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and then Pinball Wizard by the Who to the exact same music. 

After the concert, I asked how he came up with that. He credited another singer whose name he didn't remember.

Intriguing. 

Book 9: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

I found this book while browsing the Science Fiction section at the library. 

Dietz enlists in the infantry during the war against Mar; she wanted to become a hero. The soldiers are broken down from mass into light for interplanetary travel. But some soldiers, including Dietz, experience combat drops that differ from those of the of the platoon. They are members of the Light Brigade. 

The concept of "getting busted down to light" reminds me of the Star Trek transporter system. But it's much less understood and safe. I enjoyed the book, but it was a little long.

I remember reading Kameron's blog in the mid 2000s. I read about some of her work about Nyx and God's War. When I picked up The Light Brigade, I read that she had written several books--several award winning books. 

I have to admit it made me feel inadequate. I'm struggling to write. Maybe seeing Kameron's success will give me the kickstart. I need. 

Connecticut and Back Again

We left here last Sunday morning--later than I preferred. The  main reason for the trip was to attend a memorial service for Jeff's sister Melissa. 

We decided to stay in Norwalk for two days and meet up with some friends for lunch and dinner. We had to stop at our favorite Asian Fusion restaurant. We had an early birthday dinner for our friend Cynthia there. It was delicious.

The next day we stopped by our old condominium and ran a few errands before lunch with friends Elaine and Marti. Monday night was dinner with our friend and ex-neighbor Diane.

The next morning I visited the birds at the New Canaan Nature Center: Phoenix, Archie, Tupelo, and Gus. I even asked Gus if he remembered me.

There was a fifth bird I didn't recognize. I couldn't get a picture--he seemed to be hiding in the dark. I figured he was a new arrival and was uncomfortable.  

Next, we picked up some Bridgewater Chocolate and our favorite bison grass vodka. It's hard to find in Maryland; when I can find it, it's about $10 more than in Connecticut. 

Wednesday was Melissa's memorial service. It was tough. She had said no one would come to her funeral. There were at least 50 people there. After the service, we had some of Melissa's favorite food and drink in the fellowship hall: Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, cheeses, fruits, and  Mimosas. Our nephew's in-laws hosted us for dinner. 

We drove home Thursday--a good drive despite a crazy detour courtesy of Goggle maps. It was good to see Jace and return home. 

A Busy Week

In addition to Jeff's three therapy sessions, we both had eye exams, a financial meeting, and Jace had minor surgery and a teeth cleaning. We also ordered a new rug for our balcony. 

Our brother-in-law is coming to have dinner with us and stay overnight. Then we're all headed for Connecticut for a memorial service for Jeff's sister Melissa. It will be nice to see Jeff's family. But as everybody says, it's a shame it takes a funeral to bring us all together. 

While we are in Connecticut, we're going to meet friends for lunch and dinner. During our last visit, it was freezing with snow piles everywhere. This will be quite an improvement.

Could this be our last visit to Connecticut? 

Let's Go Mets!

As I mentioned recently, Jeff and I had a lot of trouble getting TV access to the Mets. On Friday, we watched our first Mets game. We had only seen a few innings here and there before. The Mets now have many new players that I don't even recognize. The Mets have been horrible--just hearing about them has been depressing. 

Yet this weekend, I didn't miss a beat. It felt completely natural to watch and root for the Mets. Even though I didn't recognize half the players.

I guess being a Mets fan is more ingrained than I realized.