“Remoted” – Day 488 (Saturday)

At 6:00 this morning, when the dogs and I got up, it was beginning to rain. It stopped raining by 10:00 when I headed out to the local strip plaza nail salon for a mani-pedi. I hadn't been there since the summer of 2019  and was really missing the pedicure station massage chair. There were two nail technicians working and both were busy with customers when I arrived as a walk-in.

The foot tub was filled and I was seated in the pedicure chair, feet enjoying the water jet, and full command of the remote for the massage controls. I've always liked a firm massage, but the chair today was killing me. I tried every setting on the remote and they all hurt. Maybe it’s from the recent chiropractor appointments every few days. Or maybe I'm just becoming a delicate little wimp.

Lilac!

It was a full 20 to 30 minute cycle of massage before anyone was free to help me and I didn’t mind one bit. My phone remained in my purse and there was a TV playing Law & Order SVU with no sound. The only sounds were the water jet in the tub and occasional conversation in a non-English language between the two nail spa employees. It was quite pleasant. It was a couple hours before I emerged from the nail salon with lilac fingernails and dark purple nearly navy blue toenails after a change of heart concerning color after the pedicure was done. 

There were no real plans for the day, just a vague notion of perhaps mowing the lawn if it was dry enough. All the recent rain has resulted in an impressive crop of faux grass and very few windows of dryness for mowing. Friday night was dry but I foolishly neglected to pounce when the window was open.

The puddle refills itself.

Luckily, it stopped raining during the day and things dried out a bit, including the big puddle at the end of the driveway. Earlier in the day, the littlest boy from the newly moved in family next door was in his underpants playing in the big puddle spanning the end of the shared driveway. He was having a great time splashing around until his mother came out of the house and scolded him for both not having pants on and playing in the puddle, and told him to get inside. The whole time, the grandfather was sitting on the porch smoking a cigarette, looking at his phone, and not saying a word. Maybe it wasn't his jurisdiction. 

When the dogs went outside late in the afternoon, I surveyed the lush greenery in the back yard. The sun was shining full blast and it was hot, so I decided to wait until after supper when the yard was more shaded. By 6:00 pm it was raining again and the mowing window had been slammed shut again. By 7:30, the big puddle had refilled itself. By tomorrow I’ll probably need farming equipment to handle the yard.