Archives - Weekly Update

The roses in the yard looked stunning two weeks ago --- bright pinks, yellows and whites. I noticed many fewer petals this week, and I realized my summer archenemies, the Japanese beetles, have returned. Here we go again! I am sighing when I am not seething.

I have not settled into summer relaxing yet. Things are hopping at the office, and I have not gotten into my nighttime pool groove yet, which I will regret not doing more come September. Getting started on a new routine is the hardest thing for me. On Monday night, I did sit outside reading by the light of my outdoor patio lamp for hours, celebrating the summer solstice. I am reading --- and enjoying --- four books at once, and I still am listening to HAMILTON in my car. I think this peripatetic reading reflects my mood.

There was a string of cool nights this week, which were perfect for sleeping with the windows open. Just fabulous until about 4:45am when the birds awoke and starting singing. From then on, their chirping became a choir. Birds rapping is the last thing I need that time of day. Most mornings I cave and get up…and read. Birds as alarm clocks! One of my favorite days is coming on Monday. The summer solstice arrives at 6:34pm ET. It’s the day of the year with the most daylight (not the day with the most hours; I have been corrected on this in the past, and yes, I am clear that we only have 24 hours every day, though my husband tells me I cram 36 hours into them!). The countdown to summer is ON!

Last Friday evening, a copy of Emma Straub’s MODERN LOVERS arrived at the house. As Tom and the boys all had plans for Saturday, I spent the day in a perfect way: I grabbed MODERN LOVERS as soon as I woke up and started reading. I migrated from my bed to the couch to the patio to my pool chair, reading the entire time. I love the opportunity to read a book from start to finish, uninterrupted, as I did with this one. I felt like I spent the day with the characters. I read Emma’s last book, THE VACATIONERS, the same way and remember the joy of the experience of reading it as much as the book itself.

We had a great holiday weekend, though sadly the town parade that to me is the cornerstone of our “weekend of remembering” was canceled --- for the first time in over 20 years --- as they anticipated rain. Of course, the rain passed by the morning! Tom and I hit two nurseries and planted the herbs and flowers we bought with great speed. Well, we hit our stride once I figured out that having the plants, dirt and pots in the same place made a lot more sense than walking up and down the patio steps for each part of this process; it was so much more efficient. Thus I had time to float in the pool and read; the weather was so beastly hot that I just bucked up to the chilly water.