Dear Reader:

Didn’t I tell you that the garden bench would appear when it was supposed to appear? Yesterday was the day. I rose early to get my blood work done for my primary doctor since I have my yearly physical next week.

By the time I left the office and got back home… I was hungry…so I fixed some toast with grilled cheese and then went to ACE Hardware to get some more bird seed. Just as I was getting ready to walk in…there it was…like the ‘memorable’ scene in Chevy Chase’s (Christmas Vacation) discovery of the Griswold Christmas tree…as if a light from above was shining straight down on it.

It had not been there any time before…apparently they had found it in a back warehouse where they were cleaning up summer flowers and there it was in a back corner. And yesterday was senior 10% off day…the price was right….a young boy put it in my car and I was happily heading home in about ten minutes!

I was so excited placing the bench on the rock rectangle gravel… then adding some flowers….happiness is! The sun’s rays were still floating down upon it…you can see them if you look carefully!

Then K.C. and I went to the early afternoon movies to see Late Night…a typically witty fast-paced dialogue show…as seen in most British films…it really was adorable and touching too. A fun summer flick!

Vickie had just come over to see my bench…and was leaving when Gin-g pulled in the driveway… out for one of her first outings since her surgery …she got to try out the new bench also.

We were quickly trying to catch up on news when suddenly the wind picked up, the skies grew dark, and the thunder storm (we had been warned about all afternoon) finally arrived. It was a doozy! But at least we got rain…beautiful, lovely rain!

I had just gathered the lantern solar lights to bring inside when my house lights went off and the solar lights all came on inside…good timing!

The trees were swaying as the gusts of rain pounded down…but at least we didn’t have any hail like other areas. And speaking of other areas…Anne lucked out with thunderstorms and Philly again. *You might remember several years ago when we went to Ireland…we were supposed to fly to Philly and then board the international flight that same evening for Ireland.

Wrong…our flight to Philly was cancelled due to thunderstorms so we had to fly to Charlotte, stay in a roach motel, fly to Philly the next day and then fly out the next night to Ireland…we lost one whole day of vacation to summer storms.

Anne texted me while our storm was raging…and said she got to Philly okay but then the flight out of Philly to Maine was cancelled, rescheduled, then cancelled again…she has no luggage and her only flight option (she was told) was to fly to Bangor on SATURDAY!

She booked a motel and now is taking a flight to Portland, Oregon tomorrow where she will rent a car and drive to a friend’s house where she was supposed to be staying last night. Her last words: “I will NEVER book a summer afternoon flight ANYWHERE again.” Bummer!

Let’s keep Anne in our thoughts and prayers that she gets where she needs to be tomorrow!!! I told her to go grovel at the motel desk for toiletries…and pray her luggage will be waiting on her.

*I hope once she gets to camp….everything will settle down and she can concentrate on fiddling music and not fiddling around with airlines and flight schedules.

After the dark, ferocious thunder storm yesterday afternoon…suddenly the sun broke through around 8:30 p.m….(after all today is the longest day of the year…the summer solstice.) The sun lit up the trees and the later sunset took one’s breath away.

1. What does “Solstice” mean anyway?

Solstice means “sun-stopping” in Latin describing the way the sun looks on this day. Historically, the solstice was an important date that helped farmers know when to plant, grow and harvest crops.

2. What happens during a Solstice?

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and occurs when the northern hemisphere is tilted more toward the sun. The heat of summer comes from the tilt of Earth’s axis, not from how far away it is from the sun.

3. How long has this been celebrated?

Historically, many people have gathered to celebrate the summer solstice. This day has long been recognized by different ancient cultures. In fact, the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built according to the summer solstice as the sun stays directly in between the two pyramids when looking from the Sphinx. Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has also been associated with the solstices for more than 5,000 years!

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My freshman year in high school (after we moved to Laurens) I tried out for JV Girls Basketball…you can only imagine…tiny, short and deplorably bad. But I did learn a lot watching other team members play while I warmed the bench that year….in fact since I was the ‘new kid on the block’ I met many of my closest friends cheering others on to victory.

So until tomorrow…This time around…I get to ‘warm the bench’ again…but on my own volition. I am thrilled to be able to sit and watch nature (birds and flowers) at her best…and hopefully have friends join me for some moon flower unfurling this late summer and fall. Nothing to prove any more except gratitude for the opportunity to live long enough to enjoy my bench! Come join me.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh