So, another week has circled the cosmos. I feel more at ease working in the
shop..enjoying the customers..their stories...where they are from. Working
barefooted is delightful..lunch hour is also great fun as I just come upstairs
to make lunch or check email or hang out laundry. This week I start my garden
with herbs and flowers...having a garden will make it seem more like home with
tending and gathering. I am, however, curious to see if my gardening skills
can adapt to hot, sandy soil.

It was a week of company with Ellen and friends from Indiana (also
California, Louisville) and a friend of Philip's from the Shenendoah area. We shared
dinners...clambake, shrimp boil (well, actually more of a steam) hamburgers on
the grill..we also shared midnight rendezvous at the beach watching glittering
stars in the heavens as well as in the sand. It is nice to still be playful
as an adult to run and splash into the midnight hours and then ride home over
the sand in the back of a pick up truck.

Except for traveling to the beach, it is nice to only travel by bike...we
keep them right outside the back door...carry home groceries and supplies in the
baskets..it is freeing to be barefooted all the time, except for flip flops
occasionally.

Last night we had an electrical storm that was stunning...we sat out on the
porch of Philip's grandparents (the pizer) drinking gin and tonic..knowing we
should be inside but not able to pull away from the beauty. The rain was a
welcome relief from the heat and the dry spell which has gripped this area...it
is great fun to wave at those traveling by or invite folks to stop for a a
drink. As the house is under reconstruction, there are boards and debris and a
stepladder for porch steps..we laugh about borrowing a big dog to sleep
underneath the house...but it is charming and warm and for Philip, full of childhood
memories which seem to surface especially during thunderstorms.

Today is Father's Day. Mom and Dad spent the day with Leslie and her
family...it is nice to have family to share the day. We spent the morning with
Philip's daughter, Amy and her husband, David. They are expecting their first
child in just a few weeks. I think back to Father's Day when we were all kids. I
remember buying a big mug with blue flowers on it for Dad, I think they were
forget me nots..or maybe it was an old fashioned shaving mug...it is nice to
remember. So, Happy Father's Day to my Dad and all the Dads reading this
passage...a special early Happy Father's Day to Aaron who will soon be a father
himself.

Tomorrow is the Solstice..the longest day before we begin our journey back to
winter. On this day is Scotland the story is told that the seals come out of
the water, shed their skins, take on human form and dance in caves until
daybreak, and that if you gather up a skin, you can keep the seal as long as your
put the skin away for safe keeping. But if found,
the seal will return to the sea.

Family news: Happy belated birthday to Brandy and Happy Birthday to Zachary
for tomorrow...best wishes also to Brandy and her family as they moved into
their new house...

So, from a small, lovely island in the Atlantic Ocean to your home...Happy
Father's Day....Solstice Greetings..I wish you playfulness and love and thoughts
of riding in the back of a truck through a star studded night.

Lou Ann

Return to Sunday Passages