The lawn is crispy crunchy underfoot, every grass blade seared and sun-brittle. No one here wastes water on lawns so the whole neighborhood has a sere look to it. In the fields around our village, wheat and oats and grasses are tawny beige as well; harvest-time is nearly here. The only thing still blooming outside of pots around our house are the roses which are still going strong. The pots add dashes of color: pelargoniums, flowering succulents, begonias and some sad blasted pansies that weren’t quite done when I was repotting summer flowers some time ago.
Tomorrow is 7 weeks since I stopped drinking soda, if I’m still counting correctly. I’m pretty amazed at myself, though I haven’t noticed any physical difference yet. The cravings have definitely tapered off but I AM looking forward to having a coke on my birthday. I think I’ve earned it, especially since I know I won’t slide back into full-time dependency with a birthday coke. And since my birthday isn’t for a few more weeks, I’ll have passed the 2 month mark and then some by the time it slides into calendar view.
Today was cold and grey after another long series of picture-perfect super-swedish summer days. But now, in the cooling of the evening, the clouds have dispersed and the sky is high and faded blue again. All the windows are open but there’s no breeze today. I can hear some sort of bird whistling now and then but otherwise it’s quiet. The kids are in full-on summer-slug mode: sleeping in late, playing games all day, generally laying around. Anders is enjoying his last week off, but he’s not quite as sluggy as the kids…he’s started a garden project and has been working on his bike as well. I think school will come as a huge shock.
The sun is brightening outside, though it won’t be long before it’s dimming below the horizon. The slide into autumn goes quickly, and this sun-filled summer can’t last long enough for me.
Things I’m looking forward to:
- another week of vacation in only a week
- a visit from my cousin’s kid who has been studying in Spain all summer
- becoming an emperor in Puzzlecraft (giant dork alert!)
- a crayfish party on my birthday
- THAT BIRTHDAY COKE
- buying some birthday books
- a week with my mom and sister in Michigan, and visits to relatives I rarely get to see
- Labor Day weekend in the States
- a week in the Boston office
- my brother’s second child who is due in December
- a possible trip somewhere fun during fall break…maybe Spain?
- planning our big birthday trip for next year with my friends Russell and Kathey…
…which reminds me, I need to check out some more info about Ireland, Croatia, Holland and St. Petersburg.