... and Thoughts About Staying Home

When I lived in Alaska we joked about about having 2 seasons - Winter and the 4th of July. Here in the Seattle area we seem to also have only 2 seasons, but here they are definitely 'Winter' and 'Road Construction.'

There doesn't seem to be any way to get around our community these days without running into flaggers and delays. Every road is peppered with orange cones. Detours are everywhere. The road I usually take to work is closed entirely - for over a month. The alternative route had, at one point, no fewer than 4 other road construction sites along the way, this in about 12 miles of distance. Last weekend the main thoroughfare out to the 'Eastside' was closed. I-405 was closed a few weekends ago. Simply closed. The on or off ramps of Rt 520, I-405 and I-5 have all been affected at one point or another. You can't drive more than 2 miles in any direction without seeing a notice for the next closure. It's VERY frustrating.

Maybe it's a good time to stay home.

(Except for the other Seattle-area oddity - the fact that most of us don't have air conditioning. That's likely an offshoot of the fact that our seasons are Winter and Road Construction instead of having Summer. We are in denial, obviously.)

So, evening walks around the neighborhood are in order. So is garden puttering (I have beautiful bouquets of roses and sweet peas on my kitchen counters) and reading on the patio and futzing with projects. We are watching DVDs of FarScape from season one; eating berries and ice cream (it's too hot to bake!)

And with all of that, realizing that July is almost over already. Road construction just HAS to be winding down.

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Huge congratulations to Beth and Andy on the birth of their first child today!