News from the Menagerie

  

Yes, this is how we are feeling right about now; summer has arrived in all its glory, a full 8 days early, and we are expecting another day of 100°+ weather. Now begins the official season of “Warm Weather Nagging”, during which I thoughtfully remind anyone leaving the house to take a bottle of water, put on sunscreen, & take a hat- “I don’t care how much it makes you sweat, put it on your head!” Being surrounded by blond, green/blue eyed, fair skinned people for over 20 years has given me a fair amount of experience with 2^nd degree sunburn, heatstroke, & the inner workings of area emergency rooms. The warnings come out so automatically now- case in point: the other morning, I was standing in the kitchen, talking to Sam about his plans for the day, while he slathered himself in sunscreen, which I had handed him; 15 minutes later, as he is walking out the door to play tennis, Sam says:

“I’m on my way- I’ve got my hat, key, & phone- see you tonight!”

To which I reply:

“Don’t leave until you put on sunscreen!”

In the ensuing silence, I look over at him to find him staring at me- if you have teenagers, you know that look- then speaking very slowly, he responds with:

“Have you taken your medication today?”

Well, he is his mother’s son.

  

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It seems our run of unfortunate events has run it’s course, & we are back to business as usual in the Garden. Violet has settled in reasonably well; she isn’t leave Sam’s room just yet, spending most of the day either on his bed or sitting on a pillow on the floor, but she has stopped using abusive language every time Dahlia walks by the door & I think she’s enjoying living in relative clean & order. Demeter the rabbit has a custom-made redwood stand for his cage on the patio (yes, Jeane-Margherite, he did manage to finish it, late Monday night) complete with shade cloth covered screens for protection; of course, now with the extreme heat, Mr. D is spending the daylight hours in the laundry room, keeping Wally & Drake company. The car is currently hanging out at our friend’s auto shop & he has offered to let Chris use whatever equipment he needs to work on it; we are fortunately not in need of the additional vehicle right now, but I know Chris would like to get it up & running as soon as possible.

 

 

We had a short, but pleasant visit with Dave & Kristy on Sunday; they came out to Ravenswood with Chris & Sam around 3:00, & I was able to give all of them their first tour of the cottage & grounds since I started as a volunteer. The guys brought a picnic lunch that we enjoyed out in the orchard after I changed back into street clothes, then we all helped close up the property for the day before going our separate ways. They have invited Sam to go camping at the beach with them next month- we’ll just have to see what his schedule will look like, since he’s hoping to find a part-time job soon & has a couple of interviews for tomorrow.

 

 

The past couple of days have been packed with activity; yes, I know- tell you something new. I finished up with the dentist Tuesday morning, having my new crown put in, so I’m free until the first of the year- yippee! Daisy had to go back to the vet for the day- the levels are still wonky & she developed another infection- but she won’t have to go back for almost 2 weeks (Mama says “Amen & Hallelujah!” since this is getting expensive) Tuesday evening found us at the school board meeting, where the tennis team was honored with certificates for their second consecutive League Title- Sam received one also, even though he only played one regular season varsity match. Chris didn’t get home in time, but the meetings are televised on the local public access channel, so we’ll record it for posterity (& the grandparents)

 

 

Wednesday morning, Sam came into work with me, so he could walk down to DMV to turn in his California ID application & help me with some filing. We were having our monthly birthday potluck (I made a bbq meatloaf) so he was well fed in return for his work, & all the ladies got to fuss over him & exclaim how much he has grown. Last night was the Garden Club’s annual tea, for which I was co-hostess; it is done as a potluck, so I was responsible for providing the beverages (ice tea, hot tea, & kiwi-strawberry lemonade) then I oversaw the serving & cleanup, as the hostess is recovering from knee surgery & has limited mobility right now. It was a nice gathering, despite the hot weather; we played some games for prizes (I won some gardening gloves & lotion) & toured Shelia’s garden before dinner, & after eating, scheduled another field trip for next month (I can’t go- thwpht) & had a nice gab-session. I was home & out for the count by 9:30, while the boys polished off the chicken tortellini & brownie bites that I had left over.

 

 

All this talk of food has made me hungry, so I’m going to head home for lunch- the boy is at the movies, so maybe I can sneak in a nap, too.