Happy Dance

It's September!!! I was so happy to move the calendar over to the next month. I mean, we are having record heat this week so it's not like summer is actually over, but it's getting there. This year has truly gone by so fast. The sun is even setting about 8 pm. Earlier this week, I knew summer was coming to a close because I was in my sister's garden picking blackberries. Yep, it's that time of year. Plus, the peaches are on and I'm hoping to pick some up at the farmer's market on Saturday. 

So I'm enjoying this time of year. Not wishing it away (even though 100 degree temps are not my favorite thing) but looking forward to darker, cooler days and nights to come. 

Work Travel

I spent this week in North Carolina for team meetings at the corporate office. It was the first in-person meeting I’ve had since I got my new job and joined this team 2 years ago. I had a great time even though it was days full of meetings and having to do some work at night at the hotel to try and keep up. 

I was dreading the actual travel but it wasn’t so bad. The flights were direct and I didn’t have any delays. I’ve still got TSA Pre-Check so getting through security is only mildly annoying. So not as bad as it could have been, for sure. 

I think we will normally have team meetings together every quarter and that much travel is actually something I kind of enjoy. It’s not really often, but when it does come, it makes work different and mixes things up a bit. 

I work on a great team with great people and while we work well together remotely, there are definitely some advantages to being in the same room. It was really nice to be back together. I won’t be dreading the next time so much. I have to go again in September for the big company wide HR meeting and there is talk of October or maybe just early next year for the next team meeting. 

And now I happily await the end of August and end of summer. It’s been a good one but I’m ready for my favorite time of year. 

Theater

I spent half of last week down in Cedar City going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This was my 4th year in a row. I really love going to the theater there. This year I went with my mom and a niece (but a different niece than the previous 2 years). We had a good time. The shows were fantastic. We saw four: 

The Sound of Music

I must admit I only bought tickets to this one because my niece wanted to see it. I might have skipped it and I’m so glad I didn’t. I just figured I’ve been exposed to it so much, even though I knew the theater production is different than the movie. It was fantastic. The actress who played Maria brought so much joy and exuberance to the role. All of them did so well with their parts. My least favorite was Captain Von Trapp and I figured out to myself why. I was expecting a slightly deeper voice. He sang beautifully but the timbre of his voice was just higher than I liked. I saw him in another play also and it’s just his voice, there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just a personal preference. 

Clue

I was so looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. I love the movie so much and this stage version was very similar. They hit the comedy right on and the characters were also spot on. It was so good. I had so many laughs. A favorite part was when they were searching the manor for other people and two of the characters were using a Clue board game for the “map” of the house. So funny. 

Sweeney Todd

This is one of my favorite musicals. It’s one of the rare instances where I love the dark themes and not happy ending. I love the music and the cleverness in the lyrics and how the harmonies all work together. This was my mom and nieces’ least favorite and I can see why. I think you need more exposure to it to really appreciate it. Making meat pies out of people is not for everyone! But it is for me and they did a great job.

The Tempest

Our last play was finally some Shakespeare. This one was in the smaller theater that I had never been in before. They set it in the 1990’s and Prospero and Antonio were played by women. Oh my gosh, it was good. I had some good laughs and really enjoyed seeing what they did on a small stage with very few props. I would love to see it again. Plus, I had forgotten it is the play that Mary Stewart used in her book This Rough Magic and I’ve been re-reading it since I got home.

I thought four plays might be a bit much but it was not. I loved them all and really could have gone to 1 or 2 more without any problems. 

So it was a great time. Right now I’m actually not planning to go next year because I’ve already seen the only play that actually appeals to me but I may change my mind later on. You never know. 

No Service

Drove up to the Uintah mountains with my sister and her twins this past weekend. It was absolutely wonderful. The temperature was in the high 60s and it was overcast and we got a little rain. I want to go back. It was kind of a little sad when we got back to cell phone service and my phone started dinging with notifications. It's the kind of break everybody needs once in a while. 

Long, Hot Summer

It’s so hot!!!! I know I just had some nice summer days, but this is the part I really don’t enjoy. It’s hot and dry and on fire. Once it’s past 9 am I just don’t want to be outside at all and getting in and out of a car for errands is so awful. Guess I shouldn’t complain since where I live, we are set up to have this kind of weather and I have a great 1 year old air conditioner. Other places with record heat are truly feeling it. 

Still, this summer has been flying by. I can’t believe it’s almost August. I’m heading to Cedar City again this year for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. It’s going to be even hotter there! And then I have to go to Charlotte for work. Not really looking forward to it. From the news, flying sounds like not a lot of fun and dealing with airports and then humidity is not something I would choose to do right now. At least the flights are direct. Flight delays won’t result in other missed flights. I’m trying to appreciate the now and not long for Fall. I think I manage most of the time. 

So lately I’ve been indoors in my air conditioning, doing puzzles and chilling. I’m sure my power bill will be outrageous this month. 

July 4th Weekend

These last few days have really felt like summer. I had a few days off from work and spent the first one on shopping and errands and lunch with a friend. Yesterday, I met my sisters and mom and all the younger kids (i.e. the ones without summer jobs) at the river to play in the water. We probably looked crazy sitting there under the trees in our camp chairs but I don’t even care. It feels good to sit next to the water and we can eat our snacks or get in and play and cool off. 

After we got tired of the river, we went for snow cones. After the snow cones, we decided to stop at the new Asian grocery store not far from my house. The kids had eaten all of the Pocky Sticks and we needed more. Plus that store is just fun and I see tons of things from Korean web comics in there. LOL Then we decided we needed Chinese for dinner so we all went to my mom’s house. We had food from the grocery store to cook up and then ordered a small amount of takeout to supplement what we cooked. I took my giant outdoor connect four game (covid purchase) and we played outside some more and had dinner. We were trying to wait for it to get dark to get out the glow sticks but instead around 7:30 we shut the blinds in a room and got them out anyway. 

This morning we met up at the farmer’s market. I got fresh cherries and peas. Plus, we have been wanting to try the donut truck and it did not disappoint. Fresh (and still warm!) glazed sourdough donuts that were the perfect mix of doughy but completely cooked. So, so good! No wonder I’ve been seeing a line at that truck. 

Now I’m finally home relaxing with a cold drink and my air conditioning. It’s hot and dry and a bit windy outside. It’s been a great couple of days and the holiday weekend is just getting started. It’s crazy how fast the days go by when I’m not at work. Happy 4th of July. 

June

Well, summer is in full swing. I’ve been looking ahead at my calendar to plan some things and it’s really going to be over before I know it. That’s fine because it’s not my favorite season. Hot and dry. However for all that, we’ve had some really beautiful mornings lately and everything is still green. The wind coming from the canyon smells like camping and I’ve been taking pictures of wildflowers on my walks. I’m trying to enjoy this part of summer before everything dries out. 

I’ve been feeling extra tired lately so I’m trying to not drink caffeine, especially later in the day so I can sleep, along with making sure I get some exercise.  I win some days and lose some days. I’ve also cut down on my web comics reading. I’m still following all my stories, but I haven’t been getting on every day and I’m letting some of the series I read go back to regular release instead of fast passing. I was spending too much money there and it’s actually been a nice thing to consume less of. Well, maybe not less because I’m staying caught up, but I’m taking breaks. Life is just cycles and I’ve cycled to fewer days of webtoons at the moment. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump anyway and that is normal too. Anyway looking forward to the July 4th holiday in a couple weeks. I’ve got some time off and I need to plan what to do with it.