Delights: June 5 to June 11

June 5, 2019: As I waited to cross E Street this morning, I captured a lovely bit of breeze flowing nonchalantly with eastbound traffic. Holding heat and humidity at bay, the air was light and fragrant. I lingered a bit, then moved on. I did, however, take off my baseball cap. The breeze riffled like fingers through my hair and tickled my roots. I felt completely free.

June 6, 2019: Flames leapt from the charcoal grill planted long ago in the tiny park near my house. A girl and boy chased bubbles. Fanta and burgers waited. A woman in a bright red sundress leaned in to share an intimate moment with the man. All of us were enjoying this lovely evening.

June 7, 2019: Imagine a good ol’ fashioned State Fair: pie, popcorn, ring toss, three-legged races and “take your photo” booths. Imagine funny clothes, butter-carving contests, and buckets of joy. This is what I stumbled upon, long after business hours, down the hall from my office. Morale booster, indeed.

June 8, 2019: Witchery, treason, madness, death. It truly was a lovely way to spend a lovely evening. The moon rose over the ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute as MacBeth, beguiled by prophecy of kingship, moved from honor to plot to blood-stained hands, as we the audience moved with each scene through and around the spooky stage-set. A picnic quilt earlier in the evening held our summer dinner, Scottish ale and an animated game of Sushi Go. Kasia won the wine raffle and all of us — Nate, Jeremiah, Kasia and our friend Andrea — won an extraordinary evening. https://www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com/season/macbeth-movable/

June 9, 2019:  raaaaawrrrrr keh heh heh… [I was about to poeticize about cherries from our tree when Jeremiah leaned over my shoulder and typed those, uh, words. That’s today’s funny-scary sound. I’m learning that delight comes in many shapes.]

June 10, 2019: After a satisfying bit of strength training tonight (I definitely wobbled as I navigated to my car), I picked up Peruvian chicken for dinner. The crust of black pepper, the moist insides, the flaming green sauce. But the yucca! We get a double helping, which fills an entire takeout shell by itself. I gaped and giggled as the man spooned piles into the container. It filled quickly, and still he spooned more. I swooned, and he piled the succulent fried wedges higher and higher. I think maybe he gave me extra because I was so excited. I resolved to cook spinach when I got home. And ate lots of yucca on the way.

June 11, 2019: Morning sights: Clusters of hostas, ferns and astilbe gathered in curves of lawn on our block. A three-legged dog chasing a duck. Our neighborhood creek, cleaning itself after the heavy rains. The sweeping curve of a jet angling high above the trees. An Instagram photo shared by our indy bookstore: “Books: helping introverts avoid conversation since 1454.”