Photo 365 Summer 2016

The part of Shades State Park that is "off limits." haha!

Larry brings me roses from his rose garden every Friday!

Barbecue and dance party at neighbor Kenny's!

My hydrangeas came out pink.

Stargazer lillies

Sombrero flowers

4th of July at Silver Beach pizza

Taking my dad's boat out of the marina

Beautiful Grand Mere

My dad: "Cappy"

Porch party at Michele's

Grand Mere all to myself!

Handsome Lare on St. Joe River, driving our boat back to the marina from a party on Mark's yacht.

Michele's house is the party house

Summer evenings at Eagle Creek

Labor Day at Grand Mere

Hiking at Mounds on my birthday. 

I make delicious, healthy food then think it must want its photo taken.

Another walk on the beach

Party on Mark's boat

Baby eggplant!

Gerba daisies!

We spent a Saturday in a sunflower maze

Sunset Eagle Creek, again

My lovely lillies

Dad's marina

I had my house painted and new windows put in.

I think my house looks great!

I am proud of it!

I managed to burn boiled eggs. An entire pot of boiled eggs.

Studying up on common Italian phrases. 

"You're breaking my balls."

Ben Watts concert at Luna Records

Larry booking a trip to the Med!

My herb garden

Sunset on St. Joseph River

One of my fave places: my mom and dad's back terrace

Celebrated Earl's 50th!

Spruced up my house and my yard!

Hummingbird haven!

This is Larry. He lives around the way. He waits for me outside my door to go on walks with me. I love two Larrys!

My sunflowers captivated me

Celebrated a milestone with Larry. Went to Milwaukee to catch a baseball game, commemorating his final ball park! Thirty years and 43 parks!

We had a ball! Milwaukee is a fun town!!!

I liked the description of the beer. Wish I could be described that way.

Museum of Art, Milwaukee

Looks like a sailboat

The building is art!

"foggy morning creeping in slowly on cat's paws"

Foggy Lake Michigan

Miller Coors plant

yes, I spent a lot of evenings at Eagle Creek

Big friggen wasp nest. Almost walked right into it.

Gwen Stefani concert with Jodee. Free tickets. Why else?

Larry made me a nice dinner. Tuna on basmati rice and a big salad.

I picked this stuff.

Then I cooked

I saw Ricki Lee Jones with Brian and Deb!

A pianist at a show at IndyFringe

This is Kountry Kitchen Soul Food restaurant

Chicken and waffles, holy moly

Mystery Ho-Ho gram on my front stoop

My kitty is a happy kitty

Wherever I go, there she goes, too.

I made a cake, and Larry and I made a nice dinner for my mom and dad's anniversary!

Running on the beach and climbing dunes!

Sunset on Lake Michigan

Overlook Point Park

Walking the pier at twilight.

Sunset with cresecent moon

moody blue waters

Larry at a Fever game. He is handsome.

Boys from around the way: Jordan and Corey.

Hiking in Shades. Cool ravines on a hot day.

Keep Smiling July

Had a nice hike in Eagle Creek with friend, Amanda

Went to an in-store concert of Ben Watt (Everything But the Girl) at LUNA with Andre. I felt some emotions get sirred around that haven't stirred in oh-so-long.

(Question for myself--did you put music in the same corner of the attic that you put theater?)

Went to Michigan for the 4th with Larry.

Started out at Grand Mere. Water level so high that half the beach has been washed away. Same thing as last year. Larry had trouble traversing the jagged rocks and jetty and then got soaked. (We were both in clothes instead of bathing suits because the weather was a bit nippy.) On the way back, I decided to try to scale the rocks so he wouldn't have to cross the jetty, when all a sudden he saw an opening in the tide and went dashing through. I jumped off the rocks onto the sand and chased after him. It felt like a scene from a movie as we raced against the rushing tide. Both laughing. Hearts pounding. So playful. One of those moments I can add to my life film montage. The beach was so pretty and desolate and storm-tossed.

Later, we helped my dad get his boat back to the dock, which required some manuevering and sneaking around to avoid some fees from both the marina and the DNR, and the police. Leave it to my dad to make a simple job feel like high crime. After successfully getting the boat launched then safely back to port, I have to say that my dad's appreciation and approval of Larry rose a few marks.

Next day we decided to walk the pier and hang out on Silver Beach, where there is still some beach. We wound up eating at Silver Beach Pizza with no wait because we got there just as it was opening. It's our favorite pizza joint! We had a fun time walking around the beach. The town is turning into a tourist T-shirt trap.

Later, we took the boat out. We wanted to take it out to Lake Michigan to watch the sunset, but we drove past Larry's buddy's marina on the way their and tethered in. Had a lot of laughs, and I love tos see Larry so happy. Saw a pretty sunset on the river instead. That night I got sick. Could one beer at noon and one glass of wine at 8 really make me puke? Am I really becoming this intolerant of alcohol? I suppose this is a good thing, but it didn't seem right. I had a few half glasses when we had dinner for Ralf & Jim, and I didn't get sick. But I'd been having bad headaches for weeks, and the week before, I woke up dizzy.

Next day we went to Grand Mere again, chairs, running shoes, and books in tow. Beautiful day. I took pics to prove it. Later we met my mom and dad and my nieces and nephews at the marina and took the kids tubing and skiing. 

That evening, we had an early 50th Bday party for Earl. It was Larry's first time seeing my mother's bizarre sense of humor as it pertains to "gifts." It was fun watching Earl surrounded by family. We skipped the fireworks. We didn't want to deal with crowds, and my head was killing me. I was starting to worry that I had been having too many severe headaches. 

Monday night I began to feel sick, and Tuesday morning I was flat out--the damn vertigo had returned. I used to get it frequently early 2000s, then it went away for over a decade. Now I've had it three times in the past two years. This was the worst one yet. I was puny for a week after. Larry stayed with me all week and took care of me.

Next weekend we went to my friend Heather's bday party. Had dinner at Michele's and Eric's place prior then a campfire after. I was still not 100%.

I had dinner with Jodee one night last week.

This weekend I went to Larry's and Abby and I stayed four nights. He dotes on us.  He cooks and looks after us. We went running, biking, swimming, out to dinner, and discussed our upcoming trip.

That's the big surprise--

Last Sunday of June, Larry surprised me by booking passage on a small luxry ocean vessel, sailing 10 days from Venice to Athens, stopping in between at Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro. We added a week prior to embarking--flying into Rome, then added on four days after--staying on a romantic Greek Island!

Summer is going fast. The storms keep killing my gorgeous flowers. I have lots of hummingbirds this year. 

This morning I took a walk and saw two rainbows.

Behind on Inventory

I have felt down the past two weeks, ever since the Orlando shootings. 

I need to get back into the practice of grateful living. I have been feeling stuck lately, and I don't know why.

-Spent Father's Day in Michigan, and it made my dad truly happy. Went tubing in the St. Joseph River, just like 1983. Took Monday off and took a long walk on the beach (five miles) and later took my mom shopping.
-Went to a block party on my street. Barbecued west Indian chicken, pleasant chatter, volleyball, water balloons, trampoline, and salsa dance lessons on the lawn. Every walk of life present--white, black, Indian, Hispanic, truck drivers, college professors, music producers, dentists, engineers, house wives, preachers.
-Haven't killed my garden yet.
-Still running. Keeping it steady with 3-1/4 miles, no injuries.
-Went to a Cuban restaurant with Larry.
-I still love cooking.
-Went to a company picnic at Victory field and enjoyed some beer, hotdogs, cookies, baseball, fireworks, and the downtown Indy skyline.
-Enjoying a new book on my Kindle: "Where'd you You Go, Bernadette?"
-Enjoying my commute with books on CD--currently "Stealing Buddha's Dinner" by Bich Nguyen.

Beginning with her family’s harrowing migration out of Saigon in 1975, Stealing Buddha’s Dinner follows Bich Nguyen as she comes of age in the pre-PC-era Midwest. Filled with a rapacious hunger for American identity, Nguyen’s desire to belong transmutes into a passion for American food – Pringles, Kit Kats, and Toll House cookies. More exotic-seeming than her Buddhist grandmother’s traditional specialties, the campy, preservative-filled “delicacies” of mainstream America become an ingenious metaphor for her struggle to become a “real” American. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner is also a portrayal of a diverse family: Nguyen’s hardworking, hard-partying father; pretty sister; wise and nurturing grandmother; and Rosa, her Latina stepmother. And there is the mystery of Nguyen’s birth mother, unveiled movingly over the course of the book. Nostalgic and candid, Stealing Buddha’s Dinner is a unique vision of the immigrant experience and a lyrical ode to how identity is often shaped by the things we long for.

Wondering about my life lately. Do I need to be in Indy? Where would I rather be? Perhaps another era has passed--nieces and nephews have somewhat outgrown me. I am glad to have had them the past five years! 

Ashes

After the Orlando mass shooting on June 13, I felt myself spiral into heaviness, helplessness, and hopelessness. I see their smiling faces, read their stories, and feel the loss of the dreams that they never got to live. They were just ordinary people who wanted all the things that everyone wants--to celebrate life by dancing with friends, to possibly meet someone to love who will love them back, a place to be themselves.

Weekly Inventory 6/5/2016

Monday 5/30: Memorial Day. Went to Forest Park with Larry.
Tuesday 5/31: Back to work. Back home. Cherry trees died. :(  Learning to get over loss a little better now. Indy 500 guests left house in great shape. 
Wed 6/1: New roommate: Jeffrey. He's quiet and keeps to himself. I like it. Great run and work out!
Thur 6/2: Met up with a friend I haven't spent time with in three years. Got over some past stuff.
Fri 6/3: Great run and work out! Another weekend begins! Larry comes over. I make grilled cheese. We watch another segment of CNN's "The Sixties" on Netflix.
Sat 6/4: I start a new book I really like: "Girl on a Train." Go to a really fun party at Michele's house--porch party--all my favorite people. Lots of laughs and great talks as the party goers thinned out. I love these people! Michele, Eric, Brian, Deb, Patrick, Larry!
Sun 6/5: Sunlight and breeze coming through the windows of breakfast nook. I enjoy coffee, buttery toast. sweet strawberries, and tangy grapes, and my book, and relish the freedom once again--my own house, my own food, my own schedule! Later get out my caulking gun to fix "everything in the world." Arm Chair Bob Villa aka Larry is skeptical that I shouldn't use caulk on the things I am caulking, and I show him the tube: "ALL PURPOSE." Go for a long-ish bike ride. I still don't like riding much anymore. :(

Are You for Real?

I somehow get thousands of hits on this blog, even though I've only shared it with a small handful of friends, as in maybe five people.

I get hits from every country imaginable.

If you are reading this, will you comment, so I can follow your blog too?

Or are you just spam bots, collecting demo info on me?

Good luck trying to spam with advertisements--what I write about, money can't buy!

Really, if you are real, who are you?

Thanks!