Summer, Sand, Time

I hit a big milestone birthday in May which coincided with a beach vacation. My sister, niece and I went for an amazing week to the Emerald Coast in Florida. That trip was so many things for me! My sister had just bought a new SUV and since it’s about an eight-hour drive, we did a road trip rather than deal with the expense and hassle of flying.

We had so much fun on the drive to Florida, we laughed and caught up with each other, talked about our respective jobs and enjoyed the scenery. Just after getting back on the road from lunch, we suddenly got caught in a huge traffic snarl from an accident just a bit ahead of us and sat on the freeway for an hour before a LifeFlight helicopter landed a quarter mile in front of us to transport injured people to the hospital. After the accident cleared and we got going again we talked about how, if we had left the restaurant just a few minutes earlier, we might have been involved in that accident, instead of just being delayed by it. One of those what-if moments, sliding door metaphors.

Getting closer to our Destin destination (see what I did there?), the bodies of water we saw became ever clearer in beautiful shades of blue and green. We have spent most of our lives on the Texas Gulf Coast, where the closest beach was Galveston. I don’t want to offend anyone who loves Galveston, but gorgeous beaches are not the prime attraction, so the three of us went all FanGirl over that blue Florida water and white sand. VERY different than what we are used to in a beach! I even had the thought, “oh, this is why people love a beach. I think I get it now. This is flat-out gorgeous”.

Checked into our gorgeous beachfront condo, unloaded the car and got onto the beach just in time to catch our first sunset. The next morning, and every morning that week, my sister and I got up early to go for a walk on the beach. The property staff put out beach chairs and umbrellas every morning for the day (fancy!), so when we came back from our walk we could just plop down into a chair and have a sit. A Beach Sit.

There is really nothing like sitting on a beach to relax. Sometimes, however, for the overly introspective brain like mine, that relaxation can segue into thinking deeply about your life. For me, that can be a good thing if I can focus on being quiet and trying to gain some clarity when I have decisions to make. Life is full of next steps and chapters, big and little choices that can change your direction. Lots of those metaphorical sliding doors. However, that introspection flow can also devolve into regret over past actions and decisions that now feel like mistakes.

We’re told that even the mistakes are a necessary part of our journey to becoming who we are, but geez, sometimes those mistakes are painful and - for me at least - the regret can go beyond “learning opportunities”. It’s hard not to go down the rabbit hole of each one and obsess over what I would do differently. I’m getting slightly better at catching myself when this happens, hauling myself up out of the rabbit hole and just letting go of regret. But only slightly.

I took a lot of pretty pictures on this trip, but one of my favorites is this one:

I’m not very good at identifying birds or waterfowl - I think maybe these were sandpipers, but they were tiny. At any rate, I loved watching them traipse and scavenge each morning, imprinting the fresh white sand with their tiny footprints, just moving ahead and doing their thing. Those little creatures don’t sit around thinking and getting too deep in their own thoughts over past decisions and what direction to take next. They just move and look for something to eat, just survive. For them, time is meaningless. We, on the other hand, can’t help ourselves. We think about life and the passage of time, regret over some decisions, and hope for the future. As I get older, I’m truly alarmed at how fast time is going by. You all know the feeling: when we were kids, it felt like it took forever for our favorite holidays to roll around and now it feels like time is a speeding freight train. It will be August in a week, but it feels like Christmas was just a few weeks ago! The sands of time are pouring faster through the hourglass, however much I want it to slow down.

Knowing that we were going to visit several beach communities along the coast, my sister had the foresight to order little glass vials and labels to bring on our trip so we could collect a little sand from each beach as a memento. All of the beaches were pretty, and I love seeing the slight shade variances in each. I keep mine on my nightstand or my desk to remind myself of that fun trip with two of my favorite people, and as a reminder that time is fleeting. I’m trying harder to enjoy each day, even the icky, stressful or boring parts. Good memories and hopeful feelings about the future - I’m here for it.

Here’s hoping that your summer is going swimmingly and that you are finding that elusive balance of busy and lazy!

Love, Bonnie

Dog(gie) Days of Summer

August 11, 2024

Oof. It is hot here, y’all. I live in Texas, close to the Gulf Coast, and in August we get that 107° 75-pound/psi air. AKA humidity. It’s heavy and wet and gross. It feels like trying to breathe underwater. It’s…well, you get the picture. Anyway, August in Texas calls for a few lifestyle tweaks, like switching from an outdoor walk to some quality time with the treadmill in an air-conditioned gym, cold suppers or using the grill outdoors instead of turning on the oven. It’s time for chilled pinot grigios and cool cocktails, and perfectly ripe pears with lemon sorbet for dessert.

Favorite Summer Salad

• choice of salad greens (romaine, spinach, red leaf, butter lettuce)

• fresh leafy herbs like mint and basil

• toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or pine nuts

• sliced avocado

• fresh berries

• grilled chicken

• choice of dressing (I like Ranch dressing or a sweet-ish vinaigrette)

• drink with something cool like a pinot grigio or lemonade

As per the post title, mid-August here means we are in the Dog Days of Summer, defined by The Farmers’ Almanac as “…a period of particularly hot and humid weather occurring during the summer months of July and August in the Northern Hemisphere. This period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—which is where Sirius gets its canine nickname, as well as its official name, Alpha Canis Majoris. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, not including our own Sun”.

The beautiful boy in this week’s cover photo is Dio, who graciously allows us to share a home with him. I’m pretty sure that in this photo, he’s pondering why dumb humans are in charge. Or maybe he’s just thinking about dog stuff. Food and sleep and LOOK THERE’S A SQUIRREL and does he need to pee and more food and more sleep.

While Dio is thinking his dog thoughts in the cool air-conditioning, the humans are busy. I’m deep in Create Mode on some nice squishy pillows for Fall and Planning Mode for holiday products.

Just playing with Fall and Winter fabrics brings my temp down a few degrees. Heck, I’ve even been playing around with some flannels!

But wait - how is the year almost three-quarters over? Didn’t we just put the Christmas decorations away like, last week?! Ack! Alright…settle down, Bonnie. Do not panic. Everything’s okay. Ohhkaay, and we’re breathing.

Phew. Well, whether you’re being lazy today (and if so, yay you!!) or keeping busy, please consider these Ways to Survive Summer:

• Hydrate. Please.

• Keep some damp washcloths or fresh-scented facial wipes in the fridge. When you come in from the merciless heat, apply to face and neck to cool down.

• Be nice. Everyone’s kinda hot and irritable, not just you.

• Carry on. These days of triple-digit temperatures and dripping humidity will end. Eventually.

• Take a nap with your own bright doggie star, one of our Scottie Dog Pillows, made of cool cotton and imminently squishable!

Until next week, carry on!

❤️ Bonnie