2022, Business, Food, Gatherings, Music, Seasons, Uncategorized, work

Summer of Love

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Today is the first day of “Summer of Love”.  Ten years ago, the owner of my company unveiled a summer employee appreciate program.  The main components are no dress code (seriously – the printed instructions say “if you can’t get arrested wearing it, it’s good”), 7 half Fridays off with pay, food trucks on Wednesdays and dogs allowed on Fridays.  There are usually three summer concerts as well on the big lawn of Building One, complete with snacks and beverages (of the alcoholic sorts).  Most years we’ve received t-shirts or hats.  It’s a lot of fun.

For opening day of Summer of Love I’m in shorts and one of my State Fair t-shirt collection.  YA actually went to the Memorial Day Mini State Fair yesterday.  Friends had gone the night before and said it was more robust than last year.  But in looking over the website, it didn’t look that much more robust to me, so I passed.  I don’t need any pretend state fairs… I can’t wait.  (I already have tickets for this year – bought them in January.)  YA has reported that the mini state fair was exactly that – mini.

And, of course, zories (flip flops).  To get ready for spring and Summer of Love, I got my zori bin out and straightened it up and re-organized it by color.  My current zori count is 45, although unbelievably enough I don’t have any red ones; the red ones bit the dust last summer.   Guess I’ll have to make a trip to Old Navy soon!

What are you looking forward to this summer?

45 thoughts on “Summer of Love”

  1. Season ticket to Moondogs. Last name’s game was delayed 2 hours by storms. Then with one out to go, the lights went out. Took 20 minutes to get them up again. Then a three pitch strike out ended it. There was such a community spirit about it all. I got soaked and it was cold after the storm so I went home and changed brought back jackets for daughter and my wonderful s-i-l. Back again tonight.

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  2. A bucket list trip to Sand Valley Golf Resort in Wisconsin. A BWCA trip. A member-guest golf tournament that my partner and I have played in for about 15 years (almost won it in 2019!). The Northwoods Arts Council’s Art and Book Festival in Hackensack. Continued good health. Visiting with my Mom on a regular basis. Enjoying our porch for dozens of dinners and afternoon cocktails. Competing in the two “major” golf tournaments here in town.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  3. Outdoor music, kayaking, bike rides, hiking, reading, relaxing on the deck, road trips, concerts and the Festival of Sail. There will probably be some potlucks, as well as my niece and nephew’s graduations coming soon. Enjoy the day in t-shirt and zories, VS! You can’t have too many pairs of zories!

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  4. I look forward to staying home and not traveling very much after next week. Best Friend in Howard Lake is having her second knee done next week Tuesday. I will spend the week with her. After that I intend to garden and just hang out at home. We will go to Fargo for a few days the end of July to meet up with our son and his family as well as our daughter. We wanted To plant the garden yesterday, but it is, again, cold, nasty, and wet. I hope we can at least get the tomatoes and peppers in on Thursday aftervwork.
    .

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      1. I’ve been surprised how well the tulips on the boulevard held up this year, although last night’s action finally did them in.

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  5. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    On August 2 my movement restrictions end and I can then bend over past 90 degrees. Can’t wait. There are more things than that, but you begin to realize how much one bends when you cannot do it.

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  6. The State Fair, of course–and we didn’t go to the mini State Fair either, because we’re only interested in the real deal (I bought our tickets this winter as well). Weather permitting, I want to go to art fairs this year, especially the one on the St Kates campus. And, as always, I’m looking forward to heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn!

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      1. After the wind we had last night, I expected my lightweight Adirondacks to be found in Iowa, but there they were this morning, right where I left them!

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        3. On an iPhone, just hold the 0 zero, for a second. On PC computer, it’s a “Alt 0176”. But it’s different if you have a numeric keypad or something. Google it.
          Mac is SHIFT, OPTION, 8?

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  8. My family kicked off summer with my niece’s wedding on Saturday. Despite the sprains to both feet, she was able to walk without crutches (had both ankles/feet encased in compression wraps). Instead of mingling during the dinner, she stayed put at the head table and people came to her (sort of like the Queen). Mother Nature cooperated beautifully for Friday to Sunday – warm temps, mostly sun, wind was moderate, and no rain! It was a beautiful celebration and very fun to be with both my sisters and their families. Now I am looking forward to golf, kayaking (if the wind ever settles down), outdoor gatherings with a small group of friends from college, long walks in places other than my neighborhood, visiting several friends at their lake cabins, helping both my sister and niece with their gardens, lots of reading, and perhaps a road trip or two. One thing I am not looking forward to is the extended allergy season. Usually I am OK by mid June but with the late start, Spring allergies will be with me through much of the summer. Rats!!

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  9. The cancer on my scalp has been successfully removed. It looks like I’ll need a yarmulke for a while. I’m pooped, and waiting for husband to come pick me up. I’m due for a long nap, will catch up with you all later.

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    5. so glad it went well

      i always think of that expression
      i was so concerned about what people would think of me until i realized people really don’t think of me very much at all

      like it or not .. it’s true

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  10. I am scheduled to get a knee replaced mid June. I’ve been looking forward to that. And hopefully my current issues will have resolved enough it will still happen.

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    1. Having been through that procedure, I can’t say I would look forward to it. But do anticipate the results—your knee will be stronger and reliable, and that will make the surgery worth it.

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        1. My knee replacement surgery was 17 years ago, and I can tell you that I was amazed at the amount of relief I got almost instantaneously. I regretted that I had put the surgery off for years, and in the process screwed up the opposite hip because I was limping. I can only imagine how much the procedure has improved in the interim, Ben, I’m sure you’ll be just fine in no time at all.

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  11. We don’t have many specific plans yet, but since neither of us is tied down to a job, we are able to be spontaneous. We have a week booked near Grand Marais in late summer and maybe this will be the year we finally get the kayaks to a body of water. We’ll pick our annual supply of blueberries when they are in season and perhaps this year we’ll visit the art fair in Stockholm, Wisconsin.

    Our quixotic road trips usually have several objectives. Last month on our drive back from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, where there was an exhibition of Japanese quilts, we diverted through Mineral Point, an artsy town settled in part by Cornish miners who built themselves stone houses like the ones back in Cornwall. There is actually lots to see in Mineral Point but this time we were only passing through. The reason we diverted to Mineral Point is that there is a shop there that deals specifically with sewing-related antiques that I wanted Robin to see but on our way to Mineral Point, we passed through Hollandale and on the outskirts of Hollandale is Grandview, the mosaic-bedecked home of outsider artist Nick Engelbert. We had been there before but stopped again. After Mineral Point, we made our way to Viroqua, the home of one of Robin’s favorite yarn stores and also one of my favorite used bookstores before heading home.

    It was getting late in the day and so I decided to postpone my visit to the bookstore until I could give it the time it deserved. We had wanted to come back to Viroqua for the Amish farmer’s market some Saturday anyway. This morning I was thinking about that return trip to Viroqua and it occurred to me that we could probably also travel east from there to Valton, Wisconsin to see the Painted Forest, another outsider artist location administered (originally) by the Kohler Foundation.
    https://finearts.edgewood.edu/painted-forest
    While looking at the location and surroundings of Valton, Wisconsin, I discovered that it’s also near Wonewoc Spiritualist Camp, which I had never heard of before but has apparently been around since 1874. That might be worth a visit as well, even if it’s just to wander the grounds.
    https://www.campwonewoc.org/about.html
    I’ll let you know.

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    1. We spent a few days in Mineral Point some years ago, and I agree, there’s lots to see in the town itself, and in the area. It’s a truly beautiful area. We stayed in two different B&Bs, and enjoyed both. The Wonewoc Spiritualist Camp sounds like it might be fun to explore. Thanks for the tip, I’ll do a little checking around.

      Our summer schedule needs to be pretty spontaneous as we have to schedule around a bunch of dental and doctor’s appointments. So far we have nothing specific on the agenda except for a couple of graduation parties and retirement party for one of the Eddies’.

      I’m looking forward to shopping at the two local Farmer’s Markets, grilling, and eating outside. As of today, I’ve also added an additional “wordle” type puzzle to my daily routine, this one in Danish. Not surprisingly, I found today’s puzzle a whole lot harder than the one in English. Today’s solution was a word I’d never heard of, and one that is clearly borrowed from English. Much has changed since I left in 1965.

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    2. i had a fertilizer factory in viroqua and visited quite a few times
      somewhere i read researchers somehow tied viroqua to the garden of eden

      look that one up bill
      i did way back when and it was an interesting read

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  12. i am looking forward to getting my motorcycle out again after mothballing it last year
    getting up to leech and ely maybe over to montana and if i get crazy up to banff
    music on my porch with monday guitar nights
    getting the first of my upcoming entrepreneurial projects rolling (July 1 milestone)
    hanging with my grandsons and getting ready for the new one

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  13. Yikes, where has the day gone?? Will have to read everything later.

    My sis is visiting here at the end of June for a few days, and it’s even better because her granddaughter will be with her, AND they’re staying at a nearby air.bnb. : )

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