Random Dots of Saturday

• StrongOpinions and the BF arrived last night - the bus was four hours late, but at least they got here. BF is tall, dark and handsome in an indy-rocker kind of way. Many tattoos, Tom Selleck mustache, the inevitable knit cap, and a quirky sense of humor. I can see what she sees in him, and I can see that she is different around him, in a good way. (Hear ye now the sigh of a mom who is dealing or attempting to deal with it all. May they care for each other and be kind to each other, and if they are meant to be, let me be cool about it, and if they are not meant to be, let it not be a source of agita to all involved, especially to Mamma.)

• It is in the 90s already. PH is out on his bike, doing 40 or so miles of penance for the chocolate chip cookies and ice cream from last night. I worked out early at the gym and hit the Farmer's Market for the first local corn and tomatoes of the season. Don't know what the rest of the day will bring.

• To go to the fireworks tomorrow night or not? It will mean the inevitable crush of people searching for a parking spot, the late-night difficulty of getting back home in the traffic, the usual mix of wonderful folks and folks who got their party on a little too early...and yet, it's the 4th, and it's fireworks. I'll let you know what we do. Last year, we sat on the median of a local boulevard called Boulevard (nothing like the obvious) and watched the fireworks at the Diamond (our AA-league ballpark - again, nothing like the obvious). Just a mile from our house, much more relaxed, but the Squirrels aren't having fireworks on Sunday night, and the kids are leaving on Monday afternoon.

• Killer workout in the gym with a different trainer the other day. My shoulders are still complaining. So this morning I went and worked out with the old trainer. Now all the different stuff is aching. Best line of the day on the frustration of working out hard and not losing weight: "Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells are forever." Amen that.

• We hosted the wardens' dinner on Thursday night. In our tradition, our senior lay leaders are called wardens (a source of many bad jokes in Episco circles). We have a dinner once a month with Senior and Junior Wardens and their spouses, plus another member of our vestry and spouse or partner. We plan the upcoming vestry meeting and talk through the ups and downs of our parish life together. I love these folks! Dinner started with an Alsatian Gruyere-onion-bacon tart, then a Salade Nicoise with grilled tuna steaks and French bread, then a lemon meringue pie. I like to entertain periodically because I get to exercise my cooking chops, and because it forces me to clean the house, or at least make it tolerable. Enlightened self-interest, one might surmise.

• Summer seminarian is delightful. Very bright, a better preacher than most seminarians, observant. I remember my own state of anxiety about all the formational stuff when I was in her shoes, so I understand it when she gets a little wound up about things that will be meaningless in two years. It is, of course, not meaningless when you're the one going through them. Trying to help her let go of the weight of it, at least a bit...the good news is she's seeing lots of different elements of ministry this summer. This is a good thing, rather than going to a big place where staff are siloed. Hope she is enjoying it - I think so.

• Spooky the chemo kitty is doing pretty well. Still has some enlargement of the lymph nodes, but we've stretched out her depo shots to every eight weeks. Hoping we have her for another year but who knows? I'm just glad she appears happy and lively and has gained back some of the weight she lost.

As for me, I think it's time to stretch out on the wicker loveseat and read a book! What are you doing on this lovely weekend?