In a Flash

I love summer flash storms like the one we had just now. Right before it happened, it was so muggy and hot and the cats were dragging themselves bellies to the floor (when they were moving, that is) and you felt all sweaty and like you couldn’t stand it anymore and them BOOM! All hell broke loose and suddenly there were sheets of rain covering everything and if I’m not mistaken there were even ice pellets crashing down and the cats were freaked by the thunder and noise and ducked for cover and trembled—poor things—and the skylight sounded like it would shatter from all the pounding it was taking and BEST of all was the great big breeze that was blowing everywhere which made it seem like a whole bunch of fresh new air was being created which made me want to run out and take it all in and get soaking wet. But I didn’t. Just the thought of it was good enough for me today. They’re predicting lightning showers tomorrow but I don’t know if it’ll be quite the same kind of dramatic show we got today. Aside from the obvious physical aspects of it, what I love about sudden thunderstorms too is that it always serves me as a reminder that the weather and moods can act in similar ways. Both are beyond our control—though you can decide to cover yourself with an umbrella or give the feelings time to simmer down before acting on them—both can be very disruptive too but sometimes that’s actually a good thing. Clears the air for other things.

In other news:

I got my birthday present today: Jo Malone Basil, Lime and Mandarine body lotion and Wild Fig and Cassis Cologne. Splendid. Both. Together: Divine. I’ve also gotten samples to send over to France as someone I know over there will surely go wild over these marvelous fragrances.

Mimi was an absolute doll while I gave her a bath today. She’s no pushover and she made sure to get the message across that she wanted out of there, but there was no undue struggle and I was even able to leave her unattended for short periods of time which made the whole experience almost pleasant. As for Fritz, I don’t even want to try to find out how freaked out he would be.

Finally (for now) they’ve announced that we’ll have an hour reserved for us tomorrow at the lovely outdoor swimming pool, which should be nice (showers and all), except for the fact that I’m traumatized at the idea of donning a swim suit. So very little clothing doesn’t sit well with me in my almost middle-age. I have been wearing shorts in public lately so maybe I won’t bother undressing at all and take myself and the shorts right to the springboard.The animator who will be with us is a rather very large woman who has made it clear she was no qualms about getting half naked and jumping right in there, which makes my concerns seem really absurd. But then anyone with body issues will know what I’m talking about. I’m tempted to say I’ll make a challenge out of this outing but no, not this time. I’ll just play it by ear.

Painting: Passing Storm -
Distant Clouds with Flash
Oil on Canvas
Richard Herman

In a Flash

http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/06/in-flash.html