Monday, July 27, 2009

A Summer Evening

Today was Monday - at work - all day. They announced furloughs for all of us of five days - to be taken anyway we choose or can arrange with our manager. We knew it was coming. Two more people were offered "packages" so they will be leaving. Three left last week.

So what did I do tonight? I had a coupon for a book I wanted to buy, "The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society," at Barnes and Noble. I drove to the area where the store is - it is called Market Common - a really pretty "Truman Show" type place - with fountains and rocking chairs and places for kids to play and really good stores like William Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic and more. I walked around at Barnes and then went and got a personal pizza and a soda and went back to to Barnes and sat at one of the tables they have in front of the store and ate and listened to the sounds of a summer evening - feeling the wonderful balmy breezes - and just really enjoying myself. I thought I would read while I ate but instead I just ended up "people watching." The sky was beginning to turn into a sunset and the clouds were beautiful in the distance and I was happy.

I love this quote by Henry James, "Summer afternoon - summer afternoon...the two most beautiful words in the English language." I could add "a summer evening- a summer evening" to the quote.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

What Have I Been Doing?

This has been a kind of crazy summer so far - thought I would try and list it:

1. Family came to visit - not enough time because I had to leave and go to DC
2. Went to DC for Centurion weekend - great time of learning and getting to know other participants
3. Went back to DC daughter's home for a week of being with 3 yr. old grandson and 3 month old twin grandsons and youngest daughter (who also lives in DC) - loved being with them and cried like a baby when I had to drive away
4. Drove home by myself - took 4 hrs to go from DC to Richmond - bumper to bumper traffic and then when that cleared there was a tractor trailer/passenger/van/plus two cars accident
5. Started back to work on Monday - 3 more people are no longer working at the newspaper.
6. Major project due on Friday has been postponed until next Friday - God is in control!!!