A Well Spent Afternoon

Admittedly I've been running around like the proverbial chicken with my head cut off lately. Well, you all know what it's like this time of year. The garden is falling apart (held together only by the heavy network of weeds), and there is food preserving to do nearly every day. And, oh yes, there are the everyday little challenges of Life with which to deal.

But I took part of the day off yesterday and drank. Okay, I had help with the drinking. Pleasant help at that.

My friend, Jen, is currently in the area with her two kids visiting her mom and dad who both live in the county. This is kind of a big deal because Jen and her family live in Cairo, Egypt.

Jen is a published author who writes romance and women's fiction. Her fourth book has just become available, and she kindly left me with a copy yesterday.

Her previous books are (in order of appearance) Here To Stay, One Crazy Summer, and All the Way Home. I started reading Anxiety Separation when I got in bed last night, but of course fell asleep almost immediately. Please understand this is no reflection on Jen's writing or my interest in the book. It's just something that happens every time I stop moving these days.

Back to the afternoon yesterday. I had invited Jen to stop over for some wine and conversation on the deck. Turns out our hot, humid weather has broken (at least for a few days) and with the stiff wind and the deck being in the afternoon shade, I decided to move the table and chairs down on the lawn in a sunny, semi-protected spot. (Why I didn't remember to take pictures yesterday when everyone was here can only be attributed to my failing brain cells. Or perhaps the good bottle of wine. One of the two. Take your choice.)

The kids (10 year old girl and 8 year old boy) weren't so interested in our wine and conversation, so my hubby asked them if they would like to help him mulch our fruit trees. I wish you could have seen those kids go to work. Hubby was cutting overgrown poultry pasture area, loading the collected clippings into a garden cart and a wheelbarrow. Each of the kids then pushed a heavy load into the orchard area (not a short distance!), spread the mulch very neatly under the trees, and went back for another load. (Why oh why did I not think to take pictures??!)

These two little urchins happily made trip after trip after trip, stopping only when it was time to leave. Talk about delightful helpers! The boy asked if he could stay and work some more. I told him when he turns 16, he can come and work for the whole summer. His mother asked, "How 'bout when he's 14?" Both kids went home sweaty and dirty, and I'm guessing they might have gone to bed early last night and slept very soundly.

This little troupe has to leave this coming Sunday to go back home across the ocean to their husband and dad. We've managed to get together three times during their six-week visit which everyone agrees has rocketed by much too quickly.

My husband told me last night it was good to see me sitting down in the middle of the day visiting and having a glass (or two or three or . . . ) of wine. I know I enjoyed myself.

Maybe I just need to line up a schedule of people to come in once (or twice or three times?) a week to sit and visit and drink with me. I undoubtedly wouldn't get as much accomplished, but I'd probably be a lot more relaxed.