What are the chances? I mean, really, what are the chances that the one beaded bracelet that broke of all the ones I was handling was the one that had the small teal blue and clear beads and that I was standing in the sewing room which has teal carpet??

Seriously??

Oh yes, greetings to one and all. I hope this day has your beaded bracelets whole and intact.

After swiping my hand over the carpet many times since I had to resort to the tactile sense because the ocular sense was not going to do the trick, I let off some steam while folding clothes by snapping those pillowcases. Do you ever do that? Snap those pillowcases to get that satisfactory “SNAP!”  before folding them. I do. It helped me a lot today.

And this brings up a question I have for you: do you iron your sheets? I am just wondering. I think Ranger’s housekeeper irons his sheets in the Stephanie Plum books. Of course I know that’s fiction, and that fiction is made up. But it seems to me that my mom ironed the sheets when she had that mangle. I know she did the linen damask tablecloths by mangle.

I had a quilting teacher who ironed her thread before she hand quilted.  When she informed the class of this practice, I remember thinking, ” Yeaaaaahhhh, that’s not going to happen with my hand quilting.”She was a wonderful teacher and I learned so much from her and I adopted many of her practices. Just not that one.

Speaking of learning a lot from someone (and, yes, that is an actual transition), I met Muez the other day. We chatted through rush hour traffic as he Ubered me home. Originally from Ethiopia, he is here for two years taking a criminal justice course. When it is finished, he will return to his home to help change things. Ethiopia is a predominantly Orthodox Christian country with a constitution similar to ours. But there’s where the democracies differ. Corruption is rampant in the government. I believe he wants to help change that.

In spite of the seriousness of that last topic, most of our conversation involved laughing. He told me how his friends took him ice fishing last winter and how surprised he was at walking, driving, and snowmobiling over frozen water. The whole afternoon was taken up with trying to catch fish and drinking. At the end of the time, they had one little fish to show for their efforts. And all were too drunk to drive, so one called his dad to come with the snowmobile to rescue them. And the dad said, “You know, Muez, just because they invite you to go ice fishing doesn’t mean that you have to go with them!”

And as Muez is telling this story he is laughing and laughing. And I am laughing and laughing.

The car ride, sometimes creeping along, didn’t seem so long.  Or maybe it was long, but I didn’t mind.

We are so much more similar than we are different.

Later on in the week, I had another, completely different experience.  The hubster and I were driving home after picking up our traditional chili lunch at Wendy’s. We usually eat it in the park, but this time he had a conference call shortly so we were going home to eat it on the porch.  On our way we encountered a teenager pushing a wheelchair one step at a time while dragging a chair with his foot. There was another chair sitting on the lap of the elderly woman in the wheelchair. Progress was slow at best.

I had the hubster stop the car so I could get out and help. I figured that they lived somewhere close by so I could carry the chair and help them out.   He told me that his grandma had found these two chairs while on their walk and wanted to take them home.  It is common practice to put out on the boulevard unwanted items that someone else could use. We just recently got rid of a swing this way. Someone came to pick it up just as we finished putting it out there!

So I picked up the chair and began to walk with them. I told him that I spoke some Spanish.  We walked some more. After a bit, I asked him where he lived. He didn’t give an address, only holding up his phone and saying that his battery was dead. We walked a bit more. I offered the use of my phone. He didn’t take me up on the offer.

It became apparent that he didn’t know his address. Nor did he know how to get there.

Oh boy. I couldn’t keep carrying the chair because of my arm.

I asked him again where he lived and he got a light in his eyes as he said “Cub! Where is Cub?”

“That way,” I said, pointing six blocks  and 180 degrees from the way he was walking.

“Cub!” he said with excitement.

I told him that I couldn’t continue to carry the chair, but that I only lived around the corner and would get my car and come back to help.

“No, really, no thank you,” he replied.

“It’s not a problem,” I said.

“No, no thank you!” he continued.

Well, you know that I put the chair by some bushes and went and got my car.

And when I returned, the chair was still by the bushes, but the boy and his grandma had disappeared. He couldn’t possibly have pushed her all the way to Cub in that time.

I checked the side streets. They weren’t there, either.

Now, maybe someone he knew happened by and gave them a ride. But, why wouldn’t they have taken the other chair as well?

And why did he seem sad and fearful at my offer to get my car to help? I don’t know.

*****++++++++********* nope. no transition here*****

So, got a little serious there. Sorry. Back to fluff.

******+++++++***********++++++

I will end on this note: I had the chance to meet up recently with someone I’ve been friends with my whole life, my cousin Gene Ann. We have an annual lunch when she returns to MN and it is as if we have never been apart. The conversation is funny, rich, informative and deep. We keep track of one another through phone calls throughout the year, but the chance to sit across from each other and share a meal is priceless. And so are those hugs.

My wish for you is that you have the chance to break bread with someone special this summer.

Enjoy this last day of June. Be careful with those fireworks on the Fourth. And hug those special people around you!

Love,

Janet