Dreams of other summers

Beware: I'm in a nostalgic mood. Which is apparently not actually a bad thing!

The closer I get to departure date, and while summer starts looking dry and August-like with back-to-school sales cropping up in stores already, I can't help but wax nostalgic about summers past. And about those beautiful, memorable, irreplaceable people who populated them. Sometimes there were long, crazy, late-night summers. Some were more family-oriented. This particular summer feels loaded with work and "grown-up" responsibilities, or those around me are strapped by grown-up responsibilities, and it makes getting away difficult. I think "lament" is a strong word, but I do find myself longing for whiskey-soaked nights on the porch with a Smith Corona, channeling our inner Hemingway and Kerouac (unpretentiously as we could manage), or sitting around a backyard fire, or stopping by the bar across from work after a long evening shift. The last few summers were lovingly carefree and terrifically complex at the same time, with the sort of friendships forged and lessons learned that I wouldn't trade for the world.



I miss those times, but I'm not forgetting all the wonderful people and things I do now, and the opportunities for friendship and socializing and more genuinely wonderful experiences to be had in the future. I find that I'm starting to be able to wrap up a chapter that involves a certain group of people, and harvest my small, yet priceless and carefully cultivated bouquet of memories to hold onto forever. For the first time, over the last few days, I've started to feel a teensy bit homesick for friends I haven't left yet. I've felt this before, when I've moved far from home, but it never fails to amaze me how strong these emotions can be. It's truly the most difficult thing about going so far, knowing no one where I'll be, and that all of my friends and family are here.

This isn't really a sad post -- I hope it doesn't come off that way. I've simply been ruminating on a number of relationships, how valuable they are to me and how they have changed me and made me the person I am. And how I want to try my very best to hold onto them in spite of the distance I'll be putting between us. There's a large handful of folks I'll be very, very sorry to not see as often as I do now.



And my cat counts as a friend, just for the record. ;)

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 35

August at last

Despite any feelings to the contrary, August did in fact arrive eventually. Like, today! It's here! It's August. And the calendar may say that summer started toward the end of June, but we all know that summer consists of three months: June, July and August, and after August, it's fall. Basically. Of course, this is coming from a midwest girl where spring and fall are marked by passing blossoms and colored leaves, respectively, winter is most decidedly winter, and school is out from June to September, so that's summer. The end.

Anyway. I've been enjoying it as much as I can, and have been busy-busy-BUSY up until now. It's not quite through yet, but let me just throw out there that tomorrow will be the first day off I've had in weeks where I won't just be skipping over to a second job because I'm available from the first one. On that very exciting note, I intend to clean, clean, clean tomorrow. More out of necessity than it being something I really want to do on my day off, but I realize a girl can't work 50 or 60 hours/week and do grocery shopping and scrub the bath tub and do the laundry and the dishes and pack up her life, etc, etc. It just never ends.

There's laundry in the washer right now, for the record. I'm getting an early start.

I've also been wanting to get back to eating a bit healthier, but the last few days have been a bit of a hurrah where food is concerned. :) All in the name of good times and sunshine and pleasant company, though, right? Sampled some Scottish ale at a local (Wisconsin style) British pub.

And one can never go wrong with ice cream.

August is shaping up to be a brilliant few weeks. Appleton's first Mile of Music Festival kicks off the weekend after next, and I'm excited to catch some of Saturday's lineup. That will be followed by what promises to be a lovely fare-thee-well party from the bookstore, and probably another shindig as a farewell from the museum sometime. I've planned a day trip to Door County, another day (possibly longer?) trip down to Chicago shortly thereafter. We've got a rummage sale to get underway, and I've got some serious packing to do, not to mention family and friend farewells and plenty of other excuses to socialize and enjoy the rest of this lovely summer.

Time flies when you're having fun! ;) So they say.


Days to Edinburgh move-in: 37

Appleton Summer Concert Series

Before the rain and storms blew in overnight, we had an utterly gorgeous evening to enjoy -- and the local summer concert series! Normally the Summer Concert Series, held in Appleton WI every Thursday during the summer, is located in Houdini Plaza, an open square in downtown. But Houdini Plaza has been under construction for the last few months, and wasn't finished in time to pick up with the concerts quite yet. So, they've held them in Jones Park, merely two blocks away, and wow. Why doesn't the city hold more events there?

Jones Park is like a bowl, a natural amphitheater if set up the right way, and was such a perfect location for a concert. The musicians last night, Grand Union, were a local country band -- I admit I know little and care even less for country music in general, but it was entertaining and they weren't too bad.

My favorite part were the zeppole, or "zeppoles" as they are apparently called in Wisconsin, an Italian doughnut (singular: zeppola). My mother and I ordered a baker's dozen of them for some reason, I guess not realizing that they were about twice the size of your typical doughnut hole. But they were fried fresh while we waited, and it's not the first time time my mother and I have seriously overdone it on the doughnuts--within the last two weeks! (The last was National Doughnut Day, when we sort of bought a dozen Dunkin Donuts.. for ourselves). Anyway. I digress.

Turnout was amazing. I don't know where they would ever find the room for as many people downtown, even in the newly refurbished Houdini Plaza, and even then, there isn't a playground and a lot of grass for kids to run around. And there were a lot of kids. So, parents can be adults and drink a beer or two while their kids dance along to Kenny Chesney covers (I don't know if there was one of those, just guessing).

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

If you're in the area, the schedule of musicians for the Summer Concert Series can be found here.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 78