The bridal veil spirea is in full bloom; lots of frothy blossoms down by the edge of the road. A big thank you to whatever previous owner decided to plant it years ago – I so enjoy these beautiful little flowers. A mass of white in the midst of the spring green that is everywhere.
I worked outside yesterday, knowing that for the rest of the weekend, we’d be trapped inside due to the heat that will plague us today and tomorrow. A heat index of 97 or 98 today, only slightly less tomorrow. Then the usual threat of severe thunderstorms as the front exits and we drop 20 degrees on Monday. The weather has been truly insane. I noticed that Colorado got snow yesterday!
I mowed the lilac side of the lawn, pruned some bushes, and pulled lots of weeds. After I finish this post, I’ll go outside and water everything before it gets too hot.
Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. There are a lot of introverts here, but there are also those who consider themselves extroverts. Or a mix of the two. I am very friendly when out and about, I smile, I hold doors open, I often interact with babies (they tend to like me,) I talk to people in line, I’m chatty with store clerks. I helped a woman carry a shopping trolley up two flights of subway stairs when I was living in NYC. That’s my nature. It’s also Don’s nature. I was raised to be friendly and polite and helpful, to put others at ease. Interactions are wonderful, but they don’t require much beyond that moment in time. It’s prolonged social interactions, crowds, having to hit the on button and stay there for a long time – that’s all very hard for me. When at a large gathering Don and I often joke about our need to have an exit strategy; “When do you think we can leave?”
I wouldn’t go on a tour with lots of people; it would drive me crazy. Same for a cruise. I love to travel, but I usually do it with Don or, in the case of coaching, alone, and I like to explore on my own, on my terms.
Oh, I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there.
I am going to get that book and the other book that was mentioned in the comments. It helped to hear your thoughts about them.
A bee dining on Solomon’s Seal.
So, given the temperature, we’re hanging out indoors today. For those of you facing this same heat wave, stay safe and hydrate. Better yet, stay inside!
I’ll leave you with this:
Wren, standing by my easel wondering why I’m not painting anything.
Stay safe.
Happy Saturday.
glad you have the air conditioners in … sounds like you will need to use them. stay cool and hydrated!
i am grateful for a landlord who provides me with the same air conditioner year after year, installs, removes and stores it over the winter.
i’ve been thinking a lot about the conversation yesterday about being intro/ extroverted. enjoyed and appreciated hearing what everyone shared (as i do every day) … thank you all. i love people enough that i can rise to the be-more-like-an-extrovert occasion … had to for being a social worker and giving presentations (including several times a year for seven years on cruise ships) but have always had to follow such with time by myself or with my family. and even moreso as i get older.
agree about group travel. as much as i love water, going on cruises was not my favorite form of travel. i did those talks (typically four one-hour presentations on each cruise) only so i could get to some incredible places at a very-much-reduced price and especially to take my sister with me and experience places that would otherwise have been financially out of reach. covid and especially the quake in my voice have put an end to those trips so i am very grateful to have been able to travel that way with my sister.
i am still sorting through papers stored in boxes that i couldn’t easily access for living in a very small space and especially over the past year and a half due to my broken back. ugh! not how i want to spend time, but worth it … this morning i took four more paper sacks full of papers to be shredded … total of eleven! now will spend time with members of my family and rest, relax … all much needed. i am grateful!
hope you all have a nice day. stay safe!
kathy
…kathy; for a newbie retiree, you are very industrious; thankfully you get the rest and downtime needed with your family; I thought what you said about your talks on cruise ships was very interesting!
haha … i’m not feeling so industrious, vicki. moreso it’s knowing these free paper-shredding events only happen here a couple days each may and i wanted to get rid of old bank statements, ceu certificates and notes needed for licensure/a lot of stuff from being a social worker, etc. had to meet those paper-shredding deadlines (don’t want to buy a paper-shredder … no room for it in a 500 sf apartment)!
thanks, though, vicki! :)
traveling in a big group of strangers is far from my ideal, but doing those cruise talks got my sister and me to so many beautiful places, some of them several times … mexico, central american countries like belize, almost two dozen different island nations, alaska … sailing out of la, nyc, boston, new orleans, miami, etc. and spending a couple extra days there to see those cities … worth it. all credit goes to God, though. i had to travel for my job at a tough time … one of my cats was sick and i didn’t want him to have to stay at the vet’s or me be gone for a week. came back after a tough week, but in that time had a conversation with someone who directed me to the cruise talks and, best of all, my cat was alright. :)
glory to God!
how about you? how are you three doing? hope you all are keeping safe and comfy, get some rain and have a good day!
kathy
meant to also add the introvert part (why cruise talks now came to my mind after a dozen years) … doing those talks was tough for introverted me, on a stage and being the center of attention in a room with sometimes a couple hundred people in it. also “competing” with the ocean … ha … but again worth it to travel with my sister. only regret is not getting to do that with and for my parents and brother.
You deserve a rest, Kathy! Enjoy your time with your family.
Stay safe.
I didn’t check in yesterday and must look up on one of my favorite topics, being an introvert at heart. From what you say here, I think we are much the same — we can pull out all the extrovert needed (it’s our theatre training) but where do we “sit” in our hearts. It sounds very much the same!
The spirea is a stunner and thanks for the ID on Solomon’s Seal. I think I have that but I didn’t know what it was. Must go out now and take another look! I’ll catch up here soon!
I love Solomon’s Seal. So beautiful and it spreads nicely.
Love ‘where do we sit in our hearts.’ Perfect.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
I went on one of those 4-day cruises from L.A. to Ensenada in Mexico, can’t recall the cruise line from 20 years ago but it was probably Carnival or Princess (I had no desire to do this, but it was a family thing/trip [lots of the relatives from near and far], and I actually was pinch-hitting for my dad, who wasn’t up to going, so that there was someone to look after Mom, who just INSISTED that she be allowed to do this mini-vacay with her peeps), and I didn’t like the feel of being herded about, like lining up en masse for dinner seating in a big crowd of humans. I’d find myself all-too-often fleeing for the ship’s library, or the bow sections where there were fewer people if any (on certain less-‘visited’ levels of the ship). The whole bar thing with the neon and the gambling, just get me outta there; felt like I was in a negative netherland.
I’ve done some group travel in my 20s and it didn’t bother me so much (bus tour); I wouldn’t do it now. But even IN those younger years, at parties, like at people’s homes, I’d often give in to escape by finding the bathroom or some obscure part of the party-giver’s outdoor space, just to find a quieter spot. I could never go out clubbing unless I was with people I knew; that whole scene, other than the dancing I’d enjoy, was not essential to me. These things can be uncomfortable for some of us introverts.
What you’ve said about being an introvert really rings clear with me, Claudia; and, guess what, we’re all okay. Extrovert, introvert, a ‘blend’ of both as you said; we are, who we are; we all have our challenges and quirks and individual personalities/traits, which is what makes each of us unique.
As is darling Wren with her hat!
Wow, just like that, Claudia; you’re in summer. Seems like you got the hot temps ‘overnight’. As you’d said, not much transition time between Spring and Summer. For us in Southern Calif, we’ve got the May Gray which is the ‘overcast’ AKA June Gloom; but it’s a blessing because we’re cooler when, even in April, we had a lot of hot weather already.
Stay cool; stay safe! Our Covid numbers in my neck ‘o the woods aren’t looking good; I guess we’re in a surge. Sigh.
I love what Jeanie just said of us introverts, how we can pull it together when needing to be more extroverted, but where do we “sit” in our hearts? So true. I wonder too if maybe, as we age, we pay more attention to following our hearts …
I think we do.
xo
Our Covid numbers are very high. NYC is recommending wearing masks indoors. We’ve been dealing with a surge for a while. Sigh.
Yes, I did a few group things when I was younger. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with them, but I managed. I couldn’t handle it now!
Stay safe, Vicki.
Hi Claudia, as you know, I’m an introvert, too. An INFJ – which I believe you are, also. You described me to a “t” in your post. I am quite social and friendly when I’m out. I talk to everyone and offer to help when appropriate. The other day at the grocery store, there was a young woman in the parking lot pushing a baby in a stroller and pulling a cart filled to the brim with groceries behind her. She looked like she was struggling. I offered to help her with her groceries, but she declined. She did thank me though.
Brian always teases me that I must have “talk to me” written on my forehead because people in public talk to me out of the blue. I’ve had him ask, “Do you know that person?” and I’ll say, “I do now!” Brian and I went to a retirement party Friday night for one of his coworkers. One of his fellow coworkers whom I’d never met before, chatted me up and I ended up practically learning his entire life story, lol. Thus said – after being out and about like that and socializing, I then need a lot of downtime. This weekend has been very busy and social and I am drained. Brian goes back to work tomorrow and even though I love spending time with him, I am looking forward to being by myself and not having any social obligations except for picking up Clementine’s IV fluids at the vet.
As a side note, Brian is not only an introvert, but he is extremely shy. So he doesn’t talk to people out in public like I do. He is so shy that he won’t even say “excuse me” if someone is blocking his way in an aisle or something. He would stand there forever until they moved rather than risk talking to them!
I’ve read Susan Cain’s book, “Quiet”. I think you would like it.
I’m the same. People come up and talk to me all the time. Suddenly I’m hearing their life stories! And also, I am always the one asked to give directions, even on a street filled with people Even in a city that is new to me. It never fails.
I used to think of myself as shy, but I’m really not. I just hadn’t classified myself as an introvert yet.
Thanks so much, Melanie.
Stay safe.