Mask:  Satyr, 10"t x 5.5"w, original, hand made, ceramic wall sculpture by Tammy Vitale $110

It’s really really humid outside because it rained, finally, yesterday evening.  Across the river they got an hour’s downpour and wind that took the rain sideways.  Here we got drops, heard lots of thunder, then an hour later got a good 1/2 hour rain but no wind.  This morning the air is soup.  We have had very dry air and very dry weather this summer.  I hate this soup but the land needs the moisture so badly that I can’t begrudge it.  I can be annoyed that Gracie has decided to insert stubborn into her character and has not yet pottyed this morning, despite a good 45 minutes of hanging out in the soupy air amidst swarms of mosquitoes (long pants, long shirt, hands in pockets and I still got a bite on my belly). 

I am trying not to be annoyed because it is counter productive.  So I just stood outside and listened to the quiet – there’s not much moving around this overcast, gray soupy day.  Usually I can hear a lot of traffic from Route 4, about a mile away through the woods, but not this morning.  Just the drone of an airplane.  And the drips of rain drops on the tin roof of the carport at the back shed.  And Gracie’s tags tinkling as she moved around snuffling in the grass but not doing the potty dance.  So I listened for a long time, came in and took a shower and have Gracie tethered to me via leash until I can get her to do something outside.  This is just part of being a pet lover.  Silly me to think otherwise.  Why get annoyed over what it?

Had a great weekend visiting with longest friend Linda, her Husband, her brother and sister-in-law and their friends whose house we stayed at.  Some people just know how to be hospitable, and these folks did.  The party Saturday night was much fun.  The band, not the configuration I thought, was made up of brother, husband from house where we stayed and about 8 other guys who have all been part of bands together over the years playing together for the first time with little joint practices (the sax player practiced to tapes, which is actually very common in these days where you can put a recording together over the net).  All 60s music all the time and everyone, including me, danced a whole lot – just like in the 60s:  partner optional.  I haven’t done that in a very long time and it was most enjoyable and so I will focus on that instead of on having yet again to wander Gracie outside in the soup to think about her business (so she can get a goodie.  She is crestfallen that she didn’t get her goodie when she came in, but the original goodies were to convince her that coming back inside the house is a very good thing.  Onward to the next lesson).

Son check in yesterday evening.  He had talked with Daughter (dogsitting) earlier.  He still sounds great and his laugh is enough to cure all the ills of the world (including soupy air).  I told Daughter if she needed to leave before I got home that was fine since I was going to be home early afternoon and dogs had been fed (and Gracie did not potty, until later, on the living room floor.  Sigh).  But Grandson said that "Nana will miss me if we leave" so they stayed and didn’t leave until late.

I had enough socializing this weekend to last me for a month!  And it was good.  And I am very glad I have the house all to myself today.  Husband may or may not be home from the Virgin Fest this evening – his exact ending schedule was somewhat up in the air.  So today can be anything I want it to be including peaceful and serene.  And so that’s what I think I’ll choose.

thought for the day:  Complaining as well as faultfinding and reactivity strengthen the ego’s sense of boundary and separateness on which its survival depends.  But they also strengthen the ego in another way by giving it a feeling of superiority on which it thrives.  It may not be immediately apparent how complaining, say, about a traffic jam, about politicians, about the "greedy wealthy" or the "lazy unemployed," or your colleagues or ex-spouse, men or women, can give you a sense of superiority.  Her is why.  When you complain, by implication you are right and the person or situation you complain about or react against is wrong.

There is nothing that strengthens the ego more than being right.  Being right is identification with a mental position – a perspective, an opinion, a judgment, a story.  For you to be right, of course, you need someone else to be wrong, and so the ego loves to make wrong in order to be right.    Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth:  Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose