On The Road — Page 130

A Serving of Seashells

August 21, 2010 at 4:16 pm by Claudia

Don suggested I use the cake stand to display some of my seashells….good idea! I carefully packed each and every one in plastic containers surrounded on all sides by cotton balls. I am proud to say they all made it home safe and sound. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, I’m home. I love looking for shells. There is a zen-like focus and relaxation involved. Seriously, I could have gone out each and every day looking for shells. Even now I wonder what little treasures are lurking in the sand, just waiting for me to swoop in and rescue them.

I love all the varied textures – some have taken quite a beating in the ocean waves – I like them all the more.

I’d like to take a vacation at the shore and just look for seashells and antiques. That sounds heavenly. Last week’s visit to Florida was all things: wonderful, fun, emotional, exhausting, draining and touching. I’m sure I’ve left some adjective out of the list. I arrived back home yesterday afternoon. I’m tired.

Today I was mowing the lawn and guess what? I encountered another yellow jacket nest. I got stung twice last year by the little buggers. This time, one of those devils stung me on my thumb – through my gardening gloves. Now I’m sitting here with a swollen, itchy thumb. I did do three things immediately: scraped a credit card across the wound to make sure the stinger was out, held a copper penny to the wound (and watched the swelling go down!) and applied a baking soda/water paste to the sting. I think one of my readers suggested the penny in a comment. Everything worked. The swelling around the sting went down, although there is still swelling at the base of the thumb. The pain has diminished. I had just taken a Benedryl right before it happened because I am allergic to grass pollen. Perfect timing.

Finally, a photo of Max and me, taken by my sister.

Read her post about Max – that boy is a sensitive soul. (My hair can look brown or gray, depending on the light. Boy, it sure looks gray here….)

Home to a Heat Wave

July 7, 2010 at 2:37 pm by Claudia

I’ve come home to a heat wave. Yesterday it was 99 degrees, but it felt like 103. Today: more of the same. Needless to say, I got to work about an hour in the garden before it became unbearable. The garden looked like a mini-jungle. So I pulled weeds and pruned. There are piles of stuff like this all over the yard:

There is much, much more to do but it’s a start. The grass is browner than I’ve ever seen it – a combination of the high temps so far this summer and the lack of rain. I’ll have photos of the garden when it looks a tad more presentable.

The last opening night went very well and I spent a little time at the party afterward. The next morning, I began my travel day and for once, both flights I was on left early. The flight from San Diego was packed but we still managed to get going and arrive an hour early. Then the connecting flight left ahead of schedule which resulted in my arrival 40 minutes ahead of time. No husband there, as he was in transit; however, we greeted each other on our anniversary. The last few days have been about reconnecting with my husband and my dogs, cleaning and trying to adapt to the time change.

My pal Sue of Vintage Sue read my post about sea glass and said she wanted to send me some. She lives right near the shore. A big, heavy box was waiting for me. If you know Sue, you know she loves to go junkin’ and that sweetie added a lot of fun extras to the box. Forgive the lighting – the room is darkened to save us from the merciless heat.

A close-up of the sea glass.

What the heck is my lens cap doing in this photo? (I’m incredibly spacey the last few days.)

Isn’t Sue wonderful? She’s funny, generous and an inveterate junker – if you haven’t visited her, you must!

My friend Adrian tells me that Ralphie keeps going to the door of my former apartment and looks for me. When he sees the new tenant, he comes back to Adrian with his ears down and his tail stops wagging. I miss my buddy. (Don’t tell Riley and Scout.) I also miss the actors in the company – what a wonderful group they are. But, I am so glad to be home. I’ll have more in the next day or two.