Today’s my Friday! I’m taking tomorrow off work and with many things going on, I woke up early this morning ready to jump-start the day. With that .. here we go:
1. Took a road trip yesterday to points south. What did I see a lot of? Road construction, tourists and county sheriffs. I counted not one, not two but at least 6 vehicles pulled over in a 7 mile span. Naive me, I didn’t recall seeing anyone speeding … Hubbs filled me in that the route I was on is known for drug smugglers and undocumented workers coming to MI to pick summer crops. Sometimes I really still am just a farm girl out in the world! 🙂
2. At yesterday’s meeting, there were a lot of good ideas shared and alliances formed. But the highlight was meeting a most important task force member ~ Layla, the office dog. Silky soft fur and eyes that could melt butter greeted me after the meeting and as I petted her, I told her young owner that we had to put our old dog down. “Aww I’m so sorry,” he said. I smiled and told him that “as hard as that is, and it’s been nearly a year, any day I get to pet someone else’s beloved dog is a really good day, thank you.” And with that, a bond was formed that couldn’t have happened at a conference table.
3. Found this picture recently and it seems not that long ago that youngest boy, who now towers past me by a foot +, would wrap his legs around me as I held him. He’s still got those grasshopper legs!

Summer 1996; crossing Lake Diefenbaker, SK Canada on the Riverhurst Ferry. An Emjayandthem (C) photo
4. Sometimes I just can’t take watching TV news — it’s depressing. Yes I stay up on current affairs, but lately, I’ve found myself retreating into reruns of shows from a gentler time. Just the other night I watched “The Brady Girls get married.” My cousin and I talked about this shift happening in both of us and she confided to a recent binge of “The Waltons.” I admitted to watching them, too and we both agreed that, for all her haughtiness, Corbeth Godsey was a minx. Ike Godsey had it made in the shade!
5. Lastly, a friend reminded me that yesterday marked 6 months till Christmas. In response, I sent her this photo, taken on the lake we lived at every summer:
What TV shows remind you of your childhood? What image to you says “Summer is here!”