random thoughts – Day 1,572 – (Sunday) – blue sky and salad

Sky-blue summer sky.

The weather this summer has been quite satisfactory. Well, except for the couple days of “enhanced threat of tornadoes.” Those days were not quite as lovely, but overall, I could live in a place with year-round sunny weather and temperatures in the 80s. That would be so awesome. Bonus points for affordability. 

Today’s unscheduled schedule featured minimal activity. It turns out I'm really, really good at a low-key activity schedule. For several years, the activity level has been partly dictated by classes and meetings that don't take place in the summer. Usually at 9:00 on a Sunday morning (September through May), I would be driving to dance class, but today I went to the gym, which was busy but not crowded. 

There was an afternoon visit to the Market Basket on my side of the river for salad ingredients. Halfway home, I realized I hadn’t gotten lettuce. I saw the heads of iceberg and noted the price, visited the bagged greens, decided to get the iceberg after all, then remembered I wanted feta cheese and trotted across the massive store to the deli and cheese area and never gave the salad greens another thought until later. Typical.

Summer salad.

An improvisational salad replaced the original idea of a traditional garden toss salad for supper. Broccoli, cucumber, green grapes, blueberries, raisins, craisins, grape tomatoes, strawberries, almond slivers, and carrots were tossed in a may and apple cider vinegar slaw dressing and topped with feta chunks. It was a nice play of textures and crunch and two bowls good. The blueberries and green grapes this week are great, and the strawberries the past couple weeks have been remarkable. It's the summer of great fruit and weather. 

Today’s Market Basket location had stuffed grape leaves and kalamata olives, and flavors of Luigi’s Italian ice that I hadn’t seen before. Blue raspberry and Watermelon? Sure. The watermelon didn’t really taste like watermelon fruit to me, but maybe like how I remember a watermelon Jolly Rancher to taste.

When the sun was lower in the bright sky-blue sky, there was visit to the deck to defrost from the air conditioning and read. Before I went to the deck I noticed a large bunny and one of the baby bunnies in the back yard, supping on select greens in the sunshine. So cute. I wish there were more rabbit and groundhog choice selection foods in the back yard so I wouldn’t need to mow. And out front, the yard is filled with scraggly weeds and the chrysanthemums and echinacea have been decimated.

Kiki!

The Kiki-allowed belly rubs of Saturday haven’t been repeated since, but she is still receptive to head rubs. In recent days, she has also begun to tentatively approach when I’m in the living room and the kitchen. If I freeze in place, it’s okay, but if I move towards her at all, she turns and leaves. 

Baby steps. It’s still only been 4.5 months since I got her from the Humane Society. We’ll get there.