Difficult Anniversaries, Rest, and Summer Fruit Quests

Somehow it is June.  May has some tough anniversaries.  George Floyd was murdered in my cities.  My first childhood best friend died suddenly a few years ago.  

The linden trees start blooming.  I remember this because I went on a lovely walk in 2021 with my beloved friend who once won a plant-identifying contest, and she spoke fondly of the linden trees and how they always reminded her of her children because they were blooming when she gave birth to all of her children.  Then one of her children died at his birthday party the day before his birthday, and the linden trees are still beautiful in all the ways, and they make me cry.  I start to get a bit somber as that terrible June anniversary inexorably moves closer and everything that bloomed early starts to fade.

#PileOfPinecones  #AwwwwwBabies

#ProudParentPineTreeOfSomeKind  #AlsoMakingMeCry

#NotWithThePainI'mInBasho #But  #There'sNoSmoothSegueFromTheGrief

#ButAtLeastThere'sThisFunnyOne #NationalParksDon'tAlwaysHaveTheseWhereYouNeedThem  #TheyCan'tPlanForWhenTheBisonWillBlockTheRoadForHoursRightAfterYouDrankAllTheWaterWithSaltSoYouWouldn'tPassOutOnTheHike  #HypotheticallySpeaking

#AlittleBitLikeThisSometimes

#Exactly  #ThereTheyAre  #CottonwoodsByTheHumberRiver

#TheyHaveToFightTheCottonWoodFluff,Issa

I wonder if they have visible fireflies in the GTA?  For a long time I didn't see any in the Greater Twin Cities area, but I have sometimes seen them since.  It's very bright where I am, but there is a river and a marsh.  Do fireflies like those?

#MosquitoesLoveMeTooMuchForMeToHaveThisExperienceMuchAnymore,Issa  #EspeciallyNearAMarshISuspect

Y'all, I talked about how I was going to be an adult.  How I was NOT going to sit down to read "Just One Chapter" at 9:15 and then stay up all night reading.  You will never guess what happened.

#IOnlyStayedUpUntil2AM  #ListenThisIsAnAnomaly  #I'veBeenDoingBetterAtThis  #BecauseAllMyMangaAndBooksAreAtHome  #E-BooksAreTricksy  #AlsoIJustNeededToKnowWhatHappened  #NoICouldn'tJustSkipToTheLastChapter  #ThatIsPersonalHeresy  #PlusIDidn'tThinkOfIt  #BecauseI'veBeenSleepingBadlyLatelyAndAmFoggy

I was soooooo good that day.  No recriminations or self-flagellation, just kindness.  It worked.  #WhoKnew  #ItDoesn'tAlwaysWork  #It'sNiceWhenItDoes

#It'sLikeWe'reLearningHowLegsWorkAgainEveryDay

#ThisIsWhyIHaveToVeryCarefullyScheduleTheThings  #IHaveToBuildInAndAroundRecoveryTimeOrIWillCrash

#LIVINGTHEDREAM

#amen

#DramaticSunsetWithStormClouds  #ViewFromMyBalcony

#WorkingOnIt  #EspeciallyIfThatPathTakesMeToNectarines  #It'sTimeForSummerFruitCrisps

#TheFaceOfSomeoneWhoSuccessfullyObtainedTheNectaries

Hope you enjoy all the summer fruits yourself and with others!

Still allergic to nature, questionable transit, and being stupid in front of beloved author number 3

Spring is still putting on a show here.   I have no idea what most of these are except that they are lovely. 

 

#TheseAreProbablyRoses  #SeriouslyNoClueWhatTheOthersAre

I totally dig the sentiment.  Correct, transit.  Don't rush.  Be safe.  Don't randomly slam into limping people with bright green knee braces as they try to access the elevators (3 people did this at different times during a single trip).  Funny story: this picture was taken at a different station, one that has no elevator but instructs people to be safe by using the nonexistent elevator.  #DoingMyBestTTC 

This is what the shadow looks like!  Coming back from a walk.  Wearing the jeans while it's still cool enough to do so!

#Seriously

#AlsoSeriously

#AlreadyHome  #WhyIsTrafficThisMuchWorseWhenTTCHasn'tEvenGoneOnStrikeYet

One of the things that's fun about living in a different place or visiting one for a while is that you hear different birds.  Some of them are familiar and some are not.  I can name, on sight, robins, cardinals, pigeons, and blue jays.  Then there are the sparrowrentinybirds that I can't tell apart but find adorable.  I can't actually connect sounds to birds, but some of the sounds feel familiar to me while others make me stop because they don't sound familiar.

#You'reWelcome!

I appreciate this sentiment, but have you seen me try to eat soup off either of these?

I believe you, Issa.  I would say it sounds nice, but I have an ineffective eye mask for this and my allergies lately have meant I spend a couple of hours not being asleep because this new journey thing is starting.

#SummerWinterIsHere

I wasn't sure if they had cottonwoods here because all my MN friends were posting their snowdrift pictures in May, and I had seen nary a fluff.  I think there are fewer of them here than I am used to, but there is some fluff near the river!

#TrainPoetry

#MaplePoetry

I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but I love it so much.

Molten chocolate poured on gelato.  Tiny spoon.  Flower.  Very nice.

There are a number of bus stops in the Greater Toronto Area that confuse me.  How do people line up for a bus stop without standing?  Are they supposed to sit on the sidewalk?  Roll around?  Is there something I fundamentally do not understand about bus stops?  #IHaveQuestions

This one kept saying it was coming and had come, but it lied.  After 40 minutes of me standing in the No Standing zone, a bus actually came, but it was incredibly packed, so I had to stand for the 20 minutes to the station.  #Ow  #NotInThePlan

Also not in the plan.  At the last minute, I still had some time before the planned thing, so I decided to go to the bookstore in Toronto where a favorite author works.  What were the chances that she would actually be there on that day?  Apparently 100%.  Did I shamelessly eavesdrop as I looked at all the books?  Yes.  Did I act just as stupid in front of this author as the previous 2 I have interacted with?  1000%.  Did I buy books and have to haul them around the rest of the day?  Yes.  Did she sign the book graciously like she is used to dealing with starstruck random people?  Also yes.  (Michelle West / Michelle Sagara / Michelle Sagara West at Bakka Phoenix Books)

Then it was time for the scheduled thing!  Volleyball anime movie!  No spoilers!  ADRENALINE!

Often when I go to movies, my activity tracker thinks I am unconscious.  That did not happen this time.  : D

And finally, here is the utterly random chair that lives at the construction site by my building.  I keep meaning to take a picture and forgetting.  It's in a new location every time I walk past.  #IHaveQuestions  #ThereIsClearlyAStoryHere

Hope your spring is full of weird things and wonder and pollen!

Wide-Legged Jeans, Naps, Dreams, Beautiful Allergens

 As I think I mentioned last time, I am trying out some wide-legged trousers, including a pair of jeans!  Some are more successful than others, and some remind me why buying clothes is kind of awful.  (Same brand, same size [allegedly], totally different fit.)  Apparently, I can either have very too large or slightly too tight, and there is nothing in between.

I am, honestly, very fine with pants are baggy.  Let's spend some time there.

#TheseHideMyBraceWithoutGettingYankedAboutByTheVelcroStraps  #AndViceVersa  #TheyAreNotFlattering  #ButNeitherAreTheLeggings  #WhichIHateMore  #ButDon'tHaveToWashBraceLinersFor  #ThereIsNoRealWinnerHere

I have to say that this made me laugh very hear.  Maybe my activity tracker is getting the picture?

Interestingly, here in the GTA, spring is a bit longer than in MN, so, not quite, Buson, which is why I will actually get to wear the jeans a few times!

There have been new additions to the wall of stuff in the building where I live in MN, but I did not get to focus on all of them because there is some hilarious sense my downstairs neighbors have so that any time I am looking at or taking pictures of these canvases, they MUST come out into the hallway, even at, for example, 2 AM.  It is now a running joke in my life.

#ItIsExactlyLikeThis

#I'dLikeToSpeakToTheManager  #SometimesTalkingIsNotAGoodExorcism  #ButAtLeastPeopleKnowWhyISometimesActLikeABasketCase

Yay, books!  But I can't read all the time, and I need to really try to start figuring out what's next.

#ThisWouldRequireKnowingWhatMyDreamsAre  #We'veTalkedAboutWhyThat'sAProblem  #NoProgressYetOnThat  #ButIHaveAnAppointmentScheduled  #We'llSeeIfThatHelps

Trying to get better at this.  My brain sure does remember and hold onto when things were different and capacities were larger, and that is physically detrimental. (And apparently also mentally detrimental, who knew?)

#Dagnabbit  #AtLeastIt'sAScenicPath

I can't capture this in a picture, but these trees appear blurry to me for some reason, like they're always moving out of the corner of my eye.  They are very lovely!

#TeenyPurpleFlowers

#OrangeFlowers  #TwoKinds

#Lilacs  #Probably  #SmellLovely

#TeenyWhiteFlowers

#KoreanRestaurantJapaneseHamburgSteak  #SecondThingIHadAtThisRestaurantThatTastedGood

Look, I'm used to the beige maple keys from the Midwest.  I don't remember ever seeing pink ones.  Does anyone know what they are?

I can't tell you about that, but I CAN tell you about the music of squirrels in the wall until Dad comes in and slams his fist sideways into the wall where the music is coming from, and then you hear the panic music of a squirrel falling down the wall, and then you later smell the terrible music of a squirrel that died next to the HVAC vent.  So, that's probably NOT what Basho is talking about.

 

#ILoveTheseFireworkFlowers  #WhateverTheyAre

#NotSummerYetButOtherwiseTrue