What I Did On My Summer Vacation...

There's a touch of fall in the air, FINALLY! The last few days have been downright gorgeous--cool breezes, warm sun, but with that distinctive thin light that says summer is ending. "Slug Summer" is over for Pam, time to get back to a less restrictive, more enjoyable set of activities. Blogging returns!

Yesterday, Bill and I went up on the Clinch River, near Kyles Ford, for some outdoor recreation!



Where did the summer go?

I spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about the unrelenting heat, taking cold showers, managing hot flashes on top of the 56 continuous days of 90+ temps. I threw the frisbee for Ozzy on my brief scuttles outside, breathlessly staggering back to the cooler indoors after five minutes.

I learned how to make ice cream, made biscotti, fabulous meals, and cookies for my sweet-toothed husband.

I watched rabbits eat ALL of my bean patch, my potted porch garden turn crispy in the sun, and marveled as my still-thinking-he's-starving-dog ate cukes, peppers and tomatoes, right off the plants before I could get them myself. I finally ate one of my pears, a sole-survivor that the deer somehow missed. It was delicious.

I slogged through my library days, panting and whining. I developed a nice little case of roseacea on my face from the heat and humidity (I'm thinking of sending the bills to the mayor, who still sits in HIS air-conditioned office and doesn't think about the sweltering minions down at the public library).

I got the car fixed from Bill's encounter with a dive-bombing turkey. I had lunch with friends. I let the housework slide and only did laundry when I ran out of underwear. Bill and I went to Illinois and visited his father, whose time is increasingly limited. I tried out some new knitting techniques. I leveled up in Farmville.

I did not exercise. I did not worry about anything. I lived in the now, and usually that meant assessing my best options for what to do and deciding on a nap.

Now the calendar is filled to the brim for the next few months. Today, concrete is being delivered to repair the broken driveway at the bottom of the hill and make ramp from the top of the driveway to the basement. I am working three days this week, four next week, and then Bill goes to Norfolk for a three-day "meet & greet" with the home office.

Then, on the 26th, Bill will go to Florida for a two-week welding class. I will visit him in Ft. Lauderdale on the weekend between.

Then Alex flies into Tri-Cities for a visit and the three of us will drive up to New York for the Hoffman wedding. Juli and Kerne are planning on flying in to meet us for the wedding as well, and then Alex and Kerne will fly back to Seattle and Juli will drive back to TN with us for a short visit.

At the end of October, Bill will go back to Florida for another three-day class in something.

And then it will be November, time for a short stab at filling the freezer with some venison, and then back to the briny deep for Bill. I'll be driving to the west coast with Ozzy, for a visit with my mom and brother's family in Los Angeles.

And that, my friends, is that. The whole year, gone in a snap.

On the mental front, life is good. I have pretty much forgotten that I am a cancer refugee. My body is finally my own, comfortable, familiar and taken for granted, except for the 3 times yearly I have to check in with the oncologist or other medicos. Those are the only days I fret and worry that the monster may have returned. But so far, the news is good. I am still a success story. And damned grateful for it too. No regrets, no boo-boo face. I don't have to wear a bra for the first time in my life. Yes, I look like a Barbie doll with middle-age spread, but I'm here. And that qualifies as a hugely welcome miracle.