Here's what I've done this summer: The first day of my summer vacation, I woke up. ... Just kidding! Well, I did wake up ... Oh, never mind. (Anyone remember who did that bit?)
Anyhow, I left home at the end of June for a much needed vacation and haven't recovered yet!
Here's what I've really been up to this summer:
Marc and I went camping at Buck Creek park again at the end of June and had another wonderful time. He's so easy to be with and does EVERYthing when camping - setting up the tent, building and maintaining the fire, cooking, cleaning. He likes doing it and I like watching him do it so everyone's happy!
We rode to Cedar Bog and Urbana the first day. Cedar Bog, which is really a fen, was pretty and full of colorful lizards! Lunch in Urbana was Italian meatloaf from a nice little restaurant on the town square. The clouds rolled in as we were leaving and we were forced to shelter under a train bridge. We raced back to camp as quickly as we could, followed by a black cloud-claw and almost made it. Just as we reached the entrance of the park, the skies opened up and we rode three miles in blinding rain. (If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be!) The rain stopped just as we reached our campsite and we were treated to a gorgeous rainbow. The weather gods can be as generous as they are capricious! Total for the day: 44 miles
We rode to Yellow Springs the next day and I bought a bird identification book from the second-hand bookstore! We also had lunch at the old inn there. I think this was a grudge trip for Marc, since it's the one we got so lost on last fall. Hee! Total for the day: 40 miles
The last day we drove to Yellow Springs and then rode to Clifton Mill. As eagerly as I was anticipating visiting the mill, it was a huge disappointment. The mill itself had obviously not been functional in quite some time and all of the charming old buildings were covered with tacky, faded holiday decorations. (Note to the owners of Clifton Mill: faded ribbon and dull tinsel is neither old-timey nor charming.) But lunch there was wonderful! And this was probably the most fun ride of the week. Marc saw a genuine giraffe (It was real! He saw it move!) that turned out to be lawn "decoration" and we had our own personal airplane show - F-16s doing roll-overs right over our heads! He was in boy heaven! A trip to Yellow Springs isn't complete without a stop at Young's Dairy for some ice cream. The calf on the bicycle was parked over the door at Young's. Funny, no? Total for the day: about 10 miles
My girls and I look forward to the end of June each year because we love ComFest (which coincides with gay pride week). Marc and I went to the pride parade and ComFest - and, of course, we got rained on! Total for the day: about 20 miles (We did LOTS of riding that week!)
We took all the kids (his two boys, my two girls) to ComFest on Sunday and had a great time. Anything goes at ComFest and lots of women go topless and some paint their chests. Marc's older son kept count, "by the each". Ha ha!
It has become tradition for me and my girls to attend the annual Doo Dah parade on July 4th. It's pretty much the same each year: the Marching Fidels, whose chant this year was "not dead yet"; lots of political stuff, and some local things. I think my two favorite groups this year were the "No Bush" people, who paraded with wads of ratty fun fur hanging between their legs and led by a woman wielding hedge clippers, and CLAW (Concerned Ladies Against Women), men in dresses who parodied "upstanding" citizens who are against women's issues (abortion, etc). Perhaps not totally in good taste but they made me laugh.
More recently: I received notification that my story was accepted by Tangent Magazine and it's in the next issue! *squeals* I'm a published author! And I'm supposed to post this link: http://www.lulu.com/content/2577849 (Steph, the magazine includes photography, so maybe check it out?)
Heather, I haven't forgotten about you and that book I promised. It's sitting on my desk with a post-it note that has your address on it. I'll mail it out one of these days ...
Work has been mad-busy lately. My group merged with another group, which has created stress but will end up being a good thing for us. I've been working on a new project that I'm enjoying, with some people who are really fun. They love me and tell anyone who will listen just how fabulous I am, so I'm hoping for a good review and a corresponding good raise this year. Hope springs eternal, right? In addition to the merge confusion, we're in the process of moving labs and office space, so we're madly divesting of all sorts of accumulated crap. Again, the move will be good because we'll get rid of stuff we never use but getting there is going to be a challenge.
Last weekend I attended Marc's niece's wedding. I was a bit nervous about going because I hadn't met all of his family. He was shielding me from his younger sister, who can be bossy, opinionated and somewhat rude. Even though she's not someone I would ever be friends with, she was very nice to me, which made everyone happy. Here's a pic of us, all dolled up. Isn't Marc dreamy? I, on the other hand, look constipated.
The following day, I worked at the Dublin Irish Festival with my mom and friend, Chris. We've volunteered there for about the past 8 years or so. It's fun and I get to ogle all the guys in kilts. *swoons*
I got a new hairdo yesterday! I went to a new guy who, I'm guessing, maybe smoked one too many in his youth. He spent about 30 minutes blow-drying my hair - he made it smoke! And then he parked 4 round brushes in my hair. As you can see in the photo, my hair is fairly short, so I'm not really sure what he was trying to accomplish. Anyhow, when he was all done my head was encased in a perfectly round sphere of auburn loveliness! Ha ha! (I went home and amended it somewhat.) Here's my new 'do:
And finally, tonight we're going to see Seven Nations in concert. I know I've blogged about them before - I saw them last year at the Irish Festival and fell in love. I'm stoked about seeing them tonight, though, because the concert is in a much smaller venue. I hope it's not horribly crowded. I want a good view! Whee!
Yay! Men in skirts!
After all this, Susan is going to rest!
Were you constipated? LOL, J/K, please don't answer me! Hehehe ... anyway ...
Jodi ~ Danu's VixenLove the new do! Everything sounds like such a blast! Congrats on being a published author!!!!!!
06:31 PM CST