Right Now- May recap

 Right now

I'm listening to the buzz of activity that comes in the final hours of the last full day with kids.   Opening and closing of file cabinets, laughter and happy chatter, and a generalized sense of euphoria as we celebrated making it through a very crazy year indeed! 

Last year, we were still under very restrictive "stay at home orders" so the opportunity to gather and celebrate the ending of a school year was skipped.   It's good to "hear" the sounds of normalcy buzzing through the building.

I'm loving how things are getting back to normal- to include that feeling of being slightly overwhelmed with keeping up with the household stuff because I've been so busy doing other stuff!   After over a year of staying home, in the past month I have...

Brunched with the ladies- in honor of Derby Day 2021

Made a house call to help out some friends...

Watched the sun set

enjoyed whiskey with the hubby 

and margaritas with  friends..

That found themselves stuck when their rig needed some TLC 

from the mechanic before they could continue on their journey west.

I made a quick trip "home" to check in on my dad..

Help feed the chickens

feasting on Friday Night Fish Fry (a WI tradition)

along with some other WI favorites..

and topped it off with a hug from my sister-

 as I passed through Detroit on my way back home

I'm feeling- READY....to go..to see what comes my way...and to let go of the frustrations of this past school year

Until next time

Right Now- April Recap

 I'm listening to:   the pitter pater of rain.   It seems like maybe   hopefully we've turned the corner on our spring weather from snow to just rain.   I'm also listening to an audio book- Outlander.   Yeah, that classic-it's a big book, never captured my attention on previous attempts but this time our Book Club is reading it so I figured I should give it my best effort this go around (about 1/3 in and so far-I'm not sure I understand the hype?)

I'm loving:   That 3 out of 4 Chang gang members are fully vaccinated (Team Pfizer) with the final member half vax'd (also Team Pfizer).   Many of our friends are also choosing to get vaccinated and so last weekend- I proposed a couples outing

.We headed to Paint Mines- it's a county park in a community about an hour southeast of our home

After walking around- we found a really good local eatery in the small town of Calhan, CO.

The food was served in epic proportions-here we all are- stuffed to the max!.

All in all...it was a fabulous fun day  exploring the colorful rocks with our spouses...

This adventure was my first time riding in Mariko- Hubby's 1987 Suzuki Samurai.   She was purchased at my suggestion (?insistence) based on my refusal to ride in a side car "ever again".   No, not just because one caught fire, but also over time I've found my body doesn't enjoy the ride.   Darn Rheumatoid Arthritis!  

Photo-courtesy of Hubby on his last desert adventure!

Anyways- my initial impression of Mariko were very favorable....she's bouncier than a car but way more comfortable than the tub of the side car.   Looking forward to hitting the road this summer with Mariko as our towed vehicle.  

I'm feeling- Ready to wrap up this school year and enjoy some time away.   It's been a long year, with so much focus on COVID.   While I'm not sure that we'll ever get back to what life once was, I am certainly feeling very optimistic that this summer I'll be able to resume some of the travel that is such a key part of who I am and what I like to do with my time off.

Until next time...

Where flowers bloom...so does hope!