Hi, friends! I know Friday is my usual “things that make me happy” or at least “daily dose of beauty” day, but after the week I’ve had I just want to sit down in front of the computer with some ginger ale in a wine glass and a lovely vase of yellow freesias nearby and catch up with you. I’m worn out and in serious need of all the rest and relaxation that this three-day weekend promises to provide.
I think International Pickle Day (May 16) was my last day chalking messages on the sidewalk outside my house. I’m pretty sure my source for holidays was wrong about Pickle Day (the internet wrong? no!) because I’ve since seen that November 14 is actually the correct date for Pickle Day. For some reason it makes me smile that I got it wrong, because the whole project was pure whimsy anyway. I don’t want it to become a chore, so I will put away my chalk for now, reserving the right to go back out there if the spirit moves me.
I’m done with my portion of the statement generation at work! The first four hundred or so were so easy, but the last hundred were brutal. Soul destroying. You get the picture. Yesterday I had a Teams meeting (like Zoom but a Microsoft product) with my boss and she helped me knock out the last painful dozen or so. I can’t tell you the relief I feel to have that behind me. I worked several hours off the clock on this project, something that goes against my belief in work-life balance, so I’m going to have to figure out how to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Did I tell you the baby robins left the nest? We didn’t witness the event, but after a day or so of not seeing any little heads popping up from the nest, we carefully looked inside. Empty! I would post the photo here, but an empty, used robin’s nest is not very aesthetically pleasing. Now we look at every robin youngster (they are easy to spot – they’re slimmer than the older robins) and wonder if it is one of “ours.”
Most trees around here have fully leafed out, and jackets are usually not necessary for early morning walks now. Sam and I went to the park at the end of the street last night to see if we could go on the trail without risking exposure to, you know, people. We were greeted by the sign you see above, indicating that the trail is now one way. Of course it’s going in the opposite direction of the way I usually go! That’s ok, it will be good for me to change my perspective.
Something that did make me very happy this week was a Zoom call a college friend organized for another friend’s birthday. It was so much fun! There were nine of us on the call and we talked about everything and nothing, as we are wont to do whenever we get together. I hadn’t seen some of the friends since our last college reunion in 2015 (this year’s reunion, which was supposed to be in a week or so, has of course been cancelled). Such beautiful and beloved faces. I’m hoping we can do another call in June for our friend Jean’s birthday.
The final picture above is a sneak peak of a little project I am starting this weekend. I will post more later. I hope now that work is settling down you will see more of me here.
Have a safe, restful Memorial Day weekend if you are reading this in the US. I will see you soon!
Love,
Michelle xoxo