Flowers in California

Flowers in California

Monday, June 9, 2014

On Trying to Make the Most of the Beautiful Summer Season or, as some would say, Shopping for a Chair

My family members and I spent some time this past weekend looking for an object that would meet my unique outdoor seating needs (or, as they would probably say, shopping for a chair). It was a somewhat disheartening experience. I have a new chair but I don't know about my needs being met. Perhaps they really are unique in the outdoor furniture world. I don't know.

To me, outdoor furniture often requires a rigidity in sitting that I do not enjoy.  On couches and chairs inside the house, I can curl up or stretch out in a variety of configurations. I am not entirely comfortable in any chair that requires me to sit, facing forward, with both feet on the floor. Many a summer has gone by with me spending very little time outside. Before I know it. it's fall and I'm saying "Oh dear, another summer has gone by and I've stayed inside for so much of it because of the disparity in comfort between the indoor and outdoor furniture." It's sad to say that every year and hard to remember some of the words so I would like, this year, to finally acquire something comfortable.

During our quest to find the object, we saw anti-gravity chairs at the front of one store. I had been wondering about them but, as I said to my family, I've never been against gravity. It's such a reliable force and, unless I'm falling, I don't have a problem with it. I certainly don't see a need to defy it as I sit outside writing or reading a book.

As we looked in that same store, I considered other options in chairs and chaise lounges. None of them allowed for a lot of flexibility in sitting position. There are outdoor couches too but they come as part of whole sets and the funds are not really there to buy a complete garden furniture set. I'm not sure that they would be really comfortable anyways.

On our way out of the store we saw more anti-gravity chairs. I suppose I hadn't expressed my pro-gravity thoughts very well and the other members of my family, never fully understanding my viewpoints perhaps, seemed eager for me to just buy something. I gave in and we purchased an attractive red gravity-defying chair.

I looked forward to trying out the new chair out but when I did, I wasn't thrilled with the experience. The chair does recline and there's not a requirement to sit in a strictly conventional position but there's also not a lot of room to curl up and there's much about the shape this chair assumes that brings to mind a trip to the dentist. Those aren't always a lot of fun.

I hope I spend more time outside this summer, in this chair or not. They do go by quickly and it's a shame when we let ourselves miss out on any of life's pleasures. There may be a need for more comfortable outdoor seating in the world but there is a beautiful world out there to enjoy regardless. I really don't want to have to repeat that rueful and overly wordy sentence again this year and I hope no one else does either. Enjoy! That's far fewer words and a much better sentiment. I hope you do lots of enjoying this summer.

JAHD


Sunday, June 8, 2014

Losing Your Shoe

Don't you hate it when you're looking for your shoes and you can only find one and you find that really weird because you'd come home within the past hour and you really think you would have been wearing two shoes and if you weren't wearing two shoes when you were out, wouldn't you have have noticed or wouldn't somebody have said something or at least stared and is that why you had foot discomfort when you were out, because one foot was dragging along the concrete while the other one was happily protected by a shoe even if it was only a flip flop and man, why do these things keep happening to you, and how are you ever going to tell your husband and son that you lost your shoe when you were out because they seem to think you're kind of weird already based on a lot of things you do and this is not going to help your case any and exactly how does one lose a shoe when they go out to dinner and will you have to phone the restaurant you were in and ask if there's a grown-up size flip flop in the lost and found and you just know that if it's there they'll be aware of it because single grown-up size shoes probably don't end up in the lost and found often and if they have it, the question arises of who's going into the restaurant to get it because you certainly don't want to and maybe you could send your husband and he wouldn't have to disclose his relationship to you but rather just say he was there to pick up the shoe and he might be okay with that although he might not because he's probably going to be of the opinion that you were the one who lost the shoe and you should be the one who goes in to retrieve it and you acknowledge that this is a good point but you'd still be embarrassed to go into the restaurant and you like the restaurant and want to be able to go back to it but then, thank goodness, you find your other shoe?

Me too.

JAHD

Friday, June 6, 2014

On Razor Blades and Driving

I noticed a razor blade on the pavement the other day. It was within a pedestrian crosswalk, as was I. In trying to figure out why it ended up there, I came up with only a few reasonable possibilities:

1.  Someone (possibly a man, could be a woman) was driving along and shaving when they had to brake suddenly. The blade flew out of their razor and they were so preoccupied with the traffic situation (as they should have been all along) that they left the blade behind and did not finish shaving whatever body part they'd been working on.

2. Someone needed to change blades while they were driving and shaving. Probably an especially tricky procedure to undertake while driving, they couldn't handle the intricacies of it and the blade fell out the window.

3. Someone was slicing fruit, perhaps into a decorative shape, while they were driving and they lost their grip on the blade. You might be thinking "Wait, you fool, people don't use razors to slice decorative fruit." My response to that would be, how can we explain the choices someone who works on fruit art while driving makes? These people are different - we can't necessarily know their motivations. I assume you're sorry you called me a fool now.

4. Someone was driving along after just purchasing razor blades. Suddenly they decided that yes, they were going to grow a beard (again, possibly a man, maybe a woman) and they no longer needed razor blades. Dumping their purchase on the road is impulsive, and littering is not good, but we all make impulsive decisions at times which we may regret later (like writing this entry).

5. A pedestrian was engaged in any of the above activities (except the driving) and dropped the blade on the road. Perhaps they'd encountered a threatening traffic situation (likely caused by an inattentive driver who's shaving) or engaged in some personal clumsiness. Let's not forget that pedestrians can be too inattentive too and are just as likely as drivers to be carving fruit or engaging in personal grooming at an inopportune time.

Maybe others can come up with additional explanations for the presence of that razor blade. I don't know. Be careful, my friends, and please don't shave or carve fruit while driving or walking. I think we've all learned that now.

JAHD