Tammy 'n Me

Another al fresco lunch today.

I feel like a little girl

playing Tea Party.

Tammy and I have had this date set aside for a while now.

I find that if I don't actually schedule something during the summer,

I will float, and float, and float away,

all the precious hours of the day.

Then at the end of the summer I will inevitably lament,

I wanted to have lunch with so and so,

I wanted to go there with her,

I wanted to do this with so and so.

And so it will go.

But things are different this summer.

I have a few things scheduled now.

The floating is under control,

or so I think.

I want to get back to lunch with Tammy.

She is a writer friend of mine.

You remember her from the picture with Patti Digh?

and the huge brain fart I had?

and about who introduced Patti and her blog to whom? 

Anyway, Tammy and I had lunch today.

It has been quite a while since I saw her in person because she is such a busy little beaver.

Oops!

Yeah, well, pun intended!!!!

Tammy is a single momma to a lively young man,

she works full time, sleeps little

AND

is going back to school to get her teacher's certification.

Maybe.

I fear I might be responsible for warning her off teaching.

I hope not.

I think she will make a fine teacher.

We need more like her in the trenches.

It's just that, well, the climate for classroom teachers right now isn't the best.

The budget sucks,

and everyone has an opinion on how to do the job better.

After all, everyone has been in school.

That makes them experts.

Right?

Teachers are tired of being the whipping boy for why Johnny 

can't read,

or do math,

or think scientifically,

or remember which Roosevelt was responsible for getting the country out of the first financial mess

we got ourselves into.

Right now it seems like a tidal wave of woe

is washing over us.

I guess we should have navigated the conversation to lighter topics like,

"Gee isn't that bird beautiful?"

or

"What kind of plant is that one?"

It really wasn't an option.

No, we HAD to talk about the state of education right now.

I don't believe in putting my head in the sand,

and pretending shit ain't happening.

Because it is.

It really, really IS.

BUT,

that isn't all that is happening.

There are good things happening too.

I just can't remember too many of them right now

because I have early summer vacation breakitis.

Somewhere around August,

I will awaken from my self imposed state of amnesia,

and begin feverishly planning for my next school year.

That's when Tammy and I will do lunch again.

I am sure the excitement of the coming school year will liven up the atmosphere.

I can see myself acting just like those birds at the feeder in my backyard.

Hey, move over man, that one is mine.

As the little birdies fling seed to the ground willy nilly,

keeping the tastiest seed for themselves.

Instead of me arguing over some seed with the other birdies,

I will be having a conversation in my head with phantom students.

Yeah, you have to do this,  

Why? 

Because you need to grow your brain!

Yes, reading is good for you.

Yes, writing is good for you.

Yes, blogging is good for you too!

I'm desperate to find a way to get my students writing more.

I think blogging is the answer.

That is why I am writing everyday.

To show them how to do it.

Just do it.

Today, I sent my friend Tammy packing with

a lot to think about,

BBQ sausage and peppers in her tummy,

and a few good teacher books clutched close to her heart.

Oh, and a great big hug,

a hang in there,

and a "We'll talk real soon."

Lunch was way too short.

We didn't really get to catch up on much,

but next time

we will schedule more hours in the day

to say all the things that need to be said.

I am glad you spent your precious lunch hour with me.

See you in August.

Promise.

Lunch Al Fresco

Today, I made a special treat for my daughter, Amy.

She has been on a 'all fresh food' cleanse

for an entire week.

How she did it was beyond me.

Must be the Buddhist in her.

In any event, I woke up this morning slicing, dicing, and sauteeing.

That is, right after I had my morning cup of coffee from Starbucks.

Yesterday,

during one of the many correspondences we had either by phone, or email 

I invited her over to have lunch out on the patio.

 

It is absolutely perfect outside this time of year.

The flowers are blooming,

the birds are singing,

and the temperature is just right.

 

I realized it had been a while since we sat down together

JUST BECAUSE.

Nothing to hash over,

no problems to solve,

no schedules to mesh.

So I made her a great big pot of her favorite veggie chili.

And some real corn-in-the-batter corn muffins,

with a great big glass of pomegranate/lime spritzer

to wash it all down.

When I cook, I never use a recipe. I just take a little bit of this

and a little bit of that,

taste a bit here,

add a little bit there.

Then stir, and stir, and stir.

Finally, I let it rest.

It was a few bites into our lunch,

when the heat kicked in.

Not from the sun.

As you can see the light was beautifully dappled.

No, the heat was coming from the five alarm chili.

Guess I got a little carried away with those red pepper flakes.

Sorry Sis.

After wiping our brows multiple times,

and slugging back another spritzer,

we each ate an extra corn muffin to calm down the screaming coming from our taste buds.

We had many

"Whoa this is cleaning out my sinuses," laughs, and

"Mother, back away from the red chili flakes, PLEASE!" giggles.

Finally, we were sated.

I packed up the rest of the chili for her to take home.

I gave her a few hints on how to knock down the flames a bit,

"Just throw another can of tomatoes in it, and maybe a can or two more of beans.

That ought to do the trick." 

She jumped into her car,

and headed back to work amongst some protestations.

"I want to hang out on the patio. I don't want to go back to work."

But like the good girl she is,

back to work she did go. 

As I saw my daughter drive off, I thought

I guess my grandson Brenden was right when he said to me the other day,

whilst shaking his head,

"Guess this is what you get when you have a Crazy Grandma."

Or in my daughter's case,

a Crazy Mother.

I don't always get everything just right, but I do give it a try.

I love you daughter.

Thanks for sharing some time with me.

A Painted Lady

Today was a whirlwind of activity.

By 9 a.m. this morning I had:

watered the flowers, and tomatoes

cleaned up doggie land mines from the backyard

answered several emails

harassed my daughter

took a furniture redo order

had my morning cup of chai

cleaned up the kitchen

made my bed

consulted with the patio door glass replacement guy

brushed my teeth

put my clothes on

did minimal summertime hair and make up

then tapped my toes for 10 minutes waiting for 9 a.m. to come.

My daughter was cracking up because she knows the drill.

I always start out my summers this way.

I have every intention of being lazy and just kicking back.

"Do you think I need medication for my ADD???"

"No, Mom. You are endlessly entertaining."

Well, 9 a.m. finally came and I was out the door like a cannon ball shot out of a cannon.

My first stop was a local thrift store, Savers.

I love cruising the thrift stores. Inevitably I find the coolest things.

Today was a one stop shopping experience.

I found wine glasses that don't have the stems

a I don't even know what this thing is called, 

but I had to have it.

It is some kind of fruit holder I suspect.

Creme ceramic, with gold borders, on a pedestal.

It is on my dining room table

holding a small ficus plant.

It is kewl.

But the KEWELST thing though was meeting Charleen.

I stopped my insanity long enough to eat lunch at a Chinese buffet.

I sat down, grabbed a plate, okay maybe two

cruised the line,

grabbed the grub

then sat down to shovel it all into my mouth.

When I came to my senses after about the first platefull,

I noticed the most lovely tattoos on a young woman sitting in front of me.

I tried not to be too conspicuous when I was staring at the lovely green swirls on her back.

You can see why I might be distracted.

I started thinking I should take a picture of it.

Then I got scared because I don't quite know how to approach her.

Do I just take the pic and hope the guy she is lunching with doesn't catch me?

My phone camera makes a shutter sound when I take a pic.

That won't work.

What if I get caught?

Are there laws governing such public picture taking?

I have no clue.

So I just decide to ask her if I could please take a picture of her back.

"Ummm, excuse me. My name is Sharon. 

I write a daily blog.

I noticed your tattoos.

Would you mind if I take a picture of your back?"

"Are you going to write anything mean?"

"Absolutely NOT. I promise. They are lovely."

The young man at the table declined to be in the pic.

No problem.

I take a picture of her back.

Then show it to her.

All is well, except I am suddenly sad because the front tattoos are just as beautiful.

"Could I possibly have a picture of them too? 

Smile that cute little pixie smile you have."

"Okay, you can take a picture, but not of my face," the young man at the table says.

"Here let's hold hands."

They were so cute. Two young people having lunch,

sharing their day,

gossiping,

like dear friends do.

I promised them both I would send a link to my post,

so they could make sure I didn't say anything mean.

Who could say anything mean about two such lovelies?

Not me.

Thanks for brightening my day,

and reminding me how fun it is to be young,

and free enough

to paint yourself

in any color you choose.