and soon, the Summer Solstice

The weather here has been beautiful lately—overnight lows in the upper 60s and daytime highs barely nudging into the 90s. Living near the water has its perks; there's a steady breeze that makes things feel pleasant overall. We’ve even been able to open the windows some days. And I have been taking my motorcycle out more, even riding it to work some days. 

Work at Office Depot is still going well. I do wish it weren’t a full 40 hours a week, but that’s not something I can change at the moment. Thankfully, it’s mostly stress-free—apart from the usual nonsense that comes with retail. Some customers really seem to be trying to wear down my last nerve, and the entitlement levels can be unreal. But not all are bad—some are kind, and some are even grateful, which helps balance things out.

I’ve been able to carve out a little time for art on Fridays, which—for now—seems to be consistently one of my two days off. Sundays are my other day off, but those tend to be reserved for family time and catching up on chores. So Fridays have become my quiet space for creativity, even if just for a little while.

Lately, I’ve been a bit worried about my healthcare. It feels like the current powers-that-be are more interested in driving the country into the ground than in helping people stay healthy enough to keep working and paying the taxes that support the ultra-rich. That’s one of the big reasons we’ve scaled back on a lot of our usual activities—just trying to save where we can in case things take a turn for the worse. I’ve also been dealing with some vision issues, which has me a little on edge.

On the subject of health—yep, I ended up on crutches with stitches in my knee thanks to a little mishap involving the cats. Not that I think they were plotting my demise or anything (who would give them the good treats every day if I were gone?). It was one of those sudden pop-up thunderstorms we get. The cats were out on their leads, and Tori—fearless as ever—was stuck in the open with nowhere to hide. She was yowling, so I scooped her up and made a dash for the back door. Just as I was running, Severus decided to pop out of the greenhouse to see what the commotion was about, and I tripped right over him. Somehow managed to keep Tori safe and not hurt either of them—but I went down hard. That was on June 4th, and I’m due to get the stitches out on the 20th.

In brighter news, I got to see my son, grandson, and dad the second weekend of May. My dad had turned 85 the week before, but I wasn’t able to get off work for the actual weekend. Still, it was a really nice, though brief, visit. I left Mississippi around 4am Friday and got to my son’s by 2pm. We spent the afternoon together, then went to my grandson’s flag football game before grabbing dinner. The next day, my son and grandson came with me to visit my dad while my daughter-in-law did a Mother’s Day pottery class with her mom. It was a two-hour drive each way, but we made a day of it. I headed back home early Sunday morning and arrived around 2pm, just in time to rest up before heading out to dinner.

My birthday came and went—I spent it at work. Not exactly thrilling, especially since the AC in the building struggles to keep up. It works, technically, but not well enough to keep us from sweating. They keep us stocked with cold water, but since I work in Print, it’s not easy to get to the breakroom (clear other side of the store!) often enough to stay cool and hydrated. So for my birthday, she got me a plug-in cooler! It holds two gallons of water and has room for snacks and fruit too. I’ve stocked it with electrolyte water, a cooling towel, and some light bites. It’s a huge upgrade from the ice chest I was lugging around—and no more buying Dollar Tree ice every day just to keep things from spoiling. Plus, it stays cool all the time, which is a major win.

Time to sign off as I need to go call the eye doc and see about getting another appointment, sooner rather than later, this time. 

Stay sane, stay safe....