Reading something into it

My motto may be nil desperandum (never despair) but this makes me want to

It's not even summer yet but -- here at least -- it sure feels like it.

For the last two days, I've taken my walk first thing in the morning. To beat the heat.

(I do not identify as an early riser; getting up around eight is about as close to that as I have any wish to go.)

But both yesterday morning and this morning, while the temperature was in the mid seventies, the humidity was between eighty-five and ninety percent.

I looked it up and found out that relative humidity increases as the temperature falls toward the dew point and decreases as it rises.

So that explains it.

Listen up

At any rate, on both mornings (after walking at midday on Monday and coming uncomfortably close to dying in the process), there was a nice breeze but the humidity threatened to do me in.

Undaunted, I stuck my AirPods Pro into my ears and cranked up an audio book and got it done. Half an hour. About three thousand steps and no, I do not attempt ten thousand steps per day.

My thirty-minute walk produces approximately ninety-nine percent of the virtuous health-related feelings the pirate can withstand. The other one percent I leave to the realm of diet.

The only problem (if it's a problem) is that, having ditched Audible because I resented being told that nine out of ten books I wanted to listen to were not included in my plan, I have discovered full-length audio books on YouTube.

Without ads.

These books aren't exactly War and Peace; they're the literary equivalent of fast food. But I've managed to find a few that are really good fast food, roughly on a par with Chick-fil-A and Hungry Howie's pizza.

And once my walk is done and I have finished my coffee and morning reading of a non-secular variety, and I've finished a few chores and left a few more for later -- being distinctly disinclined to overdo it -- they make for nice summer listening.

This one is not bad ... not bad at all

That's when I continue listening on my MacBook Pro, without the AirPods, while resting in my chair-and-a-half recliner with Rizzo by my side, and a second tab open to World of Solitaire where I'm playing Addiction -- one of the more aptly named games on the site.

The whole setup is appallingly conducive to laziness but who cares? I refuse guilt like I refuse Brussels sprouts, Democrats (read: liberals), football, feminism, androgyny, small talk, and a myriad of other things that, if you knew what they were, would make you mad at me and we don't want that.

Be still, black thumb

Speaking of growing things, this year we opted for rather oversized sword ferns (Kimberley Queen) in our giant cobalt-blue ceramic poolside pots.

Last year it was all pretty flowers but I found the look difficult if not impossible to keep up without pouring money into it all summer long.

The ferns are huge, lush, and seem to enjoy almost full sun. Their fronds swish back and forth in the breeze. I've been watering them every day since we've had no measurable rain for a couple of weeks.

You can see two of my three ferns in this nighttime shot taken on May fifteenth

In this nighttime picture that I took during the total lunar eclipse of May fifteenth -- which we all (except Stephanie who was too tired to jump in) watched avidly while group texting and exchanging photos, you can see the sword ferns. The eclipse -- then in its early stages, far from totality -- is the bright light behind the trees at the middle of the picture.

TG is growing tomatoes along the side of the house that no one ever sees because we never go over there.

I did pop round the corner of the garage yesterday and found that in addition to tomatoes, he is growing peppers and potatoes. Sneaky.

Potatoes in pots. He saw it on YouTube. I can't wait until the harvest.

Keep you posted.

Back to apostrophe school

You may be wondering about the photo at the top of this post, and what I'm on about.

TG and I were in East Tennessee in early May, attending a wedding. Before heading home we did a little shopping a couple of hundred yards from our hotel.

We are not overly outdoorsy but we are sufficiently inquisitive

That's when I noticed that the Sevierville Bass Pro Shop (no we are neither fishermen, hunters, nor other liars but we were looking for a souvenir for Audrey, who was looking after our pets) has in their employ at least one seriously apostrophe-challenged sign maker. Not to mention a non-existent proofreader.

I mean, seriously people? Welcome to the Smoky Mountain's Great Outdoor Store? 

What -- there is but one Smoky Mountain? And it owns an outdoor store? Who knew? Such revelations are as astonishing as they are rare.

I can't even. Let's leave it at that.

Chicago is thataway -- to the left (and how)

But we did find a coffee mug for Audrey inside the store -- with a Second Amendment theme. She loves it.

Just nearby was the stadium where the Smokies play. They are a farm team for our favorites, the Chicago Cubs. In the picture you can see the top arrow pointing to Chicago and the MLB, a mere five-hundred sixty-eight miles away.

The gift shop was open. We went in and found a t-shirt for Dagny and a key ring for TG.

Welcome aboard the patriot train

Another recent obsession is Ancestry dot com. Many years ago, after my father-in-law died, I did a free trial and poked around a bit, but never committed to a paid membership.

When my half-brother Mike and his daughter Shelby came to see us in late April, I picked the thread back up and went for the paid subscription.

I wanted to produce a mini-McManus family tree to give everyone who came to the party.

That has led to many hours of research both interesting and mildly frustrating. IYKYK.

While going back through my father's line recently, I found that it is possible (I don't know the extent of the probability but I'd wager better than seventy percent) that I have an ancestor who was a Patriot.

If I keep mining for gold, I could hit pay dirt

That's right! I could be a Daughter of the American Revolution! This would be through my five times great grandfather (if I am in fact related to him in that way), Patriot Charles McManus (1747-1830), who fought in the Battle of Camden, South Carolina, on August 16, 1780, among other places on other dates in that glorious conflict.

I told my friend Joyce at church, who sits in front of me with her beloved husband Leon, that if I find out it's definitely true, she will have to curtsy to me. Just kidding! Don't flip out.

(Turns out the aforesaid beloved Leon is himself a bona fide Son of the American Revolution. So I guess I'll be the one curtsying.)

But the same goes for you lot. Don't call your local chapter of the DAR to complain or start practicing your curtsies yet; I have a lot of work to do before I can claim the honor with zero doubt. Such an interesting thing to think about though; don't you agree?

Ah well.

Back to solitaire and audio books; I don't have to go anywhere until tomorrow.

Cheers to the birthday girl

But tomorrow -- Friday -- we will travel again to Fort Mill, South Carolina, where we will meet up with the tar heel brood for yet another birthday celebration.

This time it's for Dagny, and the party is one of two -- the early one, on a convenient date for the relatives. Her actual eighth birthday is next Tuesday and we'll do a proper party on that day as well.

We've bought her a big-ish present for Tuesday but I'll have to come up with something small for Friday night.

And of course we'll take along a balloon, because we always do. And we hope to see our friend Essie, and I promise to take her picture this time, so that you can see her smile.

There will be pictures of the rest of us too -- especially of the birthday girl, about whom it can certainly be said that she loves life and embraces it the way we all should.

How can she be eight? If you are able to answer that, you're smarter than the pirate.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Thursday

Comments

[Lori]

So awesome to hear that you also are a Chicago Cubs fan!! I knew you have impeccable taste.
We've been to a Bass Pro Shop also but it was at Christmas time. They had one of the best Santa's I've ever seen so if you can go back at Christmas I highly recommend it.
Your pool looks so beautiful. I think the ferns are perfect.
Can't wait to hear about your next Birthday party and see all of your beautiful family. Stay cool. We live in a very humid area too and it's brutal sometimes.

[Ginny Hartzler]

Can't wait to see the birthday pictures. Your pool area is so beautiful! Ancestry research is like reading a suspense novel where you yourself may turn up at any minute!

[Jennifer]

@Lori ... Go Cubbies! We'll always have 2016! xoxo

@Ginny ... YES! That is a riveting description of ancestry research! xoxo

[Bijoux]

Lol, I did not notice the signage error until I went back and looked. Ugh! How does a business pay big money for something like that and no one notices along the way? My MIL, who was both an English and Spanish teacher would get so irritated by signs that spelled words wrong, such as Nite, Donut, etc. I’m sure Chik-Fil-A would do her in, but she’s had dementia longer than they’ve been around here.

Well, sit right down, because I AM a Daughter of the American Revolution. I think through a number of family lines. Both of my grandmother’s had ancestors here in the 1600’s. I’ve never attempted to sign up for any sort of membership, as I don’t care that much. But I do enjoy the genealogy parts and discovering where they lived and how they earned a living.

Your backyard is delightful and quite vacation-like!

[Jennifer]

@Bijoux ... well I can deal with things like Chick-fil-A because it's a trade name, but that apostrophe is as aggravating as all get-out. Just pig ignorant, as I like to say. So DUMB. Absolutely frosts me. I figured it wouldn't be many comments before someone told me they were already the descendant of a patriot, haahaa! I curtsy to you from afar. I just hope I can prove it so I'm able to commence making a nuisance of myself talking about it everywhere I go, haaahahaha! xoxo

[Jane]

We live about fifteen minutes from Bass Pro, our granddaughter likes to go over to see the fish.
They have an amazing aquarium.
Your pool area looks so peaceful and relaxing.

[Jennifer]

@Jane ... you live that close to there? Fascinating! YES the aquarium is fantastic! We stood in front of it for a long time, examining the fish. That is a BIG store! With a big dumb sign, haaahahaha! Yes it's peaceful out by the pool. In summer you have to pick your times, due to hot sun and mosquitoes, but if the right precautions are taken (like shade and Cutter Dry, haaha), it is most enjoyable! Especially on a beautiful night, as that night was. xoxo

[Mari]

Your ferns are so pretty! Here in the great North, we are having a cool summer. It's been struggling to reach 70, but I hear next week may be in the 80's.
8am sounds like a perfectly reasonable time to rise. Why get up earlier than that.
A 2nd amendment mug sounds just right.
I do believe Dagny is 8 because she's between my 2 girls, but I sure don't like it. Time goes by too quickly.
You might be a DAR? That would be so cool! I can only wish. My people all came from the Netherlands in the late 1800's. I'll gladly curtsy.

[Jennifer]

@Mari ... I know, right? Eight o'clock is, like, the ideal time to get up IMO. I can't imagine having temps like yours in June but actually I would rather like it! Our "summer" lasts from May until November (inclusive) most years, and we often have spring-like Decembers! TG's people all came from Switzerland and the Alsace region of France in the mid- to late 1800s so you have that in common with him. My people came from Ireland in the early 1700s but I still have some research to do, to link directly to Patriot Charles McManus. I don't want to get it wrong! But I would really really really like for it to be true! xoxo

[Jeanette]

My morning walk started at 7:00 this morning! I know! It was 52 degrees which is nice for walking but too cool for our summer that seems to not be happening right now! I'm not complaining.....actually I AM complaining! We get too short of summers as it is and I want heat!! I only listen to true crime podcasts when I walk which is good and bad. They are interesting but listening to how they found a body of a woman in a wooded area of a park while walking in a wooded area of a park is not something I recommend! I am second generation Italian/Sicilian so all of my ancestors were in Italy at the time of the Americal Revolution, I'm sure they were rooting for us though!! LOL! All kidding aside, being a DOR is a proud thing! Your pool picture looks very inviting. I am looking forward to seeing sweet Dagney's birthday party pictures! XO

[Mari-Nanci]

Do not forget a picture of Essie!!!!!! -smile- That sweet lady has a Fan Club here, due to your postings, and we want to seeeeee her!!!!!! -smile-

Gorgeous view of your pool. Love the outdoor lighting and now have to know, do you have to light them or or they solar of what...? Please, that is.

Early Happy Birthday to the coming-on-8-year-old. Our youngest "Grand" is 12 and it does notttttt seem possible. He's always been "The Baby"!!!! -moannnnnn-

Have never tried listening to books, other than while sitting, and they put us to sleep. LOL Now if I was moving, that would be another story, at least I hope so!!!!

Gentle hugs,
Mari-Nanci
'Beside a babbling brook' blog
💛😊💛😊💛😊💛😊💛

[Jennifer]

@Jeanette ... ouch! That's a tad early but I confess that as the summer wears on, I'll probably have to do that too. I hope your climate heats up soon but if not, come on down here because we are looking at the high (very high) nineties in the coming week! OK so when I had my Audible subscription which I have canceled, I had chosen true crime as a genre and in fact listened to all of A Killer in the Family about the Bradford Bishop murders, but then it seemed like all I could listen to was that genre and everything else was outside my plan. I love true crime but you're right: it can get a little dark as you're walking, haahaha! xoxo

@Mari-Nanci ... stay tuned because I DID get a few pictures of charming Essie last night! She is such a treasure and we bonded even more over Dagny's birthday celebrations. Our outdoor lighting is almost exclusively solar! We do use electricity for the fairy lights on our railings, both front and back, but that's all. I'll bet your 12-y-o grand is just as darling as can be and I do understand about audio books putting you to sleep. I've been known to nod off too if I'm sitting while listening, haaahaha xoxo

[betty]

Sorry it took so long to get here, lol. I've been under the weather for the past couple of days (probably Covid, lol, but I refuse to be tested :) I'm better now but hubby is sick (of course).

I remember Dagny's last year birthday! How could the year go by that fast? Wow, it is great to be eight! I hope the gathering last night for her was a splendid one!

And if you are related to a Patriot, how wonderful!! Something to be mighty proud of, I do believe! I hope you keep us posted on the info as you discover more in our research.

The humidity would do me in more than the heat, lol, so it is a good thing you get your walks in early before it gets too drenching hot! Listening to audible books always puts me to sleep, lol. I get so relaxed listening to someone's voice talking/narrating/etc.

I think it is cool that you guys are growing some veggies! I think we all need to be doing that these days with the price of food! Nothing tastes better than a homegrown tomato!

betty

[Donna]

It was 106* here yesterday...miserable. Your pool looks so inviting!lolol
My MIL was a member of DAR...hardcore. My daughter says, no thanks when she found out she could join... (she and her grandmother didn't get along. Granny was, quite frankly, a B.... . Babysat Crystal for about two hours, Once...in her whole little life.
Hope you're keeping cool up there!
hugs
Donna

[Jennifer]

@Betty ... Ugh I am so sorry you're sick! I hope that by the time you read this, you feel much better and that your beloved does too. I would never get tested either, hahaha! Yes the year melted away like they all do, and our Dagny will be eight tomorrow. It is hard to get my head around how fast it all goes, now. When I was young, the years seemed to stretch out together in the other direction: forward. Now most of them seem to be hurtling away in the rear-view mirror. Best make hay while the sun shines! Speaking of the sun shining, this morning on my walk (I left the house at 8:30) it was already eighty degrees and climbing, with humidity around eighty-five percent. I must be getting used to it because it wasn't as brutal as I expected it to be. In further research of my Patriot ancestor, I veered over to trace TG's line (through his mother; his father's people came over from Western Europe in the 1800s) and found that it's almost 100% sure that HE is a SAR through his many-times great grandfather Elihu Johnson. I am so excited about that. Still attempting to nail down the details but I'll keep y'all posted. The tomatoes TG grows are so good, it's unbelievable! Highly addictive. Love to Winslow! xoxo

@Donna ... hahaahaha you had a bad egg for a m-i-l! Sorry she spoiled Crystal for wanting to own up to her DAR status. The one thing that keeps me from contacting a local DAR chapter for help is the fear that they will be rich snobs, and that's so far from me that I wouldn't be able to bear it (I have known one DAR in my life and she was a nice lady but definitely rich and a trifle snobby around the edges). But either way, it's a great honor to be able to trace your ancestry to a Patriot. Tell Crystal that I shall curtsy facing southwest and it's for her, haaahaha! We've got triple-digit temps coming at us this week too. I will stay indoors as much as possible unless it's early morning or I am splashing in the pool! xoxo

[Carla TePaske]

Hello,
I just listened to Mike Rowe interview a man who does the research regarding Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. It was fascinating.
If you have time listen to it, it is worth the time, 1 hour and about 30 minutes. ;-)
Happy Birthday to your sweet 8 year old.
xx oo
Carla

[Jennifer]

@Carla ... I will definitely try to find that interview and listen to it! Thank you my friend. xoxo

[Gayla]

Yes... then you also have the dreaded plural created with an apostrophe! The only thing worse is to see that error and ..know... I was their teacher, their English teacher... ah.... the utter shame of it all... I swear if I had it all to do over, I'd entertain the notion of telling them NEVER to use apostrophes... lol

[Jennifer]

@Gayla ... nooooooo! That's what they do now when they are not using it incorrectly ... they leave it out altogether and you get hes cute and shes turning 40 and going to my brothers house and my dogs sore paw ... AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHH! NO, just no. I cannot stand it! Haaaahahaaa xoxo

[Barb]

I could not exercise in that much humidity. It remains cool here in the mornings - 40's. I need a jacket when I go out. It sometimes warms into the 70's which actually feels quite warm in full sun. Your pool area looks so inviting. It is still heavily treed as a backdrop even though the big tree was cut. I can't wait to hear about the garden harvest! You'll be making potato salad and garden veggie salads galore. I'm all caught up on your posts now. This time I went from newest to oldest, but like the oldest to newest approach better. I'm still on the computer so little that I get behind on your posts. Happy summer, Jenny.

[Jennifer]

@Barb ... I just love it that you take the time, when you do get on the computer, to read and comment on all of my back posts. I know the window may be closed now but I hope you'll be able to read the one I'll be posting later today. Yes we still have lots of trees in back looking in that direction, although at least a dozen were cut down over to the right of that. I try not to think about it and after a while you get used to the bareness. You know what I mean! You can see the mountains better now after the logging cut, and I can see our sunsets better, if I remember to look! It is hot and humid when I walk but I'm somewhat used to it, and I don't go as far as you. Thirty minutes is my limit and I'm back home and in the shower and stay in the A/C for the rest of the day. The veggies aren't pouring in yet but it will be exciting when they do! xoxo