Shall I begin with the drama? And I don't mean the sky which has been providing plenty of late.
Actually, if memory serves me right, we never got a drop of rain in spite of the ominous clouds. Other days yes, but on this day it passed us by which happens with some frequency. It might be raining like crazy at Bill and Fallon's house, just four miles away, but we seem to have a little bubble in our community. And do you want to know how I can write so confidently about this? Bill calls me most afternoons on his scheduled days to play pickleball with the guys over here!
I imagine it has happened to most readers at one time or another; you look for something around the house and just cannot find it. Surely it has to be somewhere, right? Late last week Bruce decided to change the batteries in his car key fob because, well he just thought it was time. So, if I'm changing one, why not the other one that hangs in the kitchen cabinet, or so he thought. The $500 fob was AWOL. Such began a nearly constant search over two days for said item. The cars? No. Every pocket, every bag of any kind, cupboards, drawers, desk, under beds.....in other words, EVERYWHERE!! Neither of us could find it. Bruce, while very stressed, remained pretty calm without a curse word to be heard in this household. Meanwhile I was wracking my brain, trying to imagine how it ever got out of the cupboard in the first place.
Well, now we know.
As is so often the case, lost items are found when you are not looking for them. Walking into the house I noticed my open handbag looked very messy. So, nonchalantly, I began removing the old receipts and other papers, and then it hit me...reaching down to the bottom of my handbag....well you've already guessed, haven't you? Turns out, those keys had been in my handbag for nearly three weeks ever since I drove Bruce's car after the airport run connected to Nancy's move!!!!
The well-worn adage, all's well that ends well applies here, however, it sure was miserable while it was happening!!
So much for drama, let's do fun and lots of it. First off, I noticed something the other day which amused me and while it may not amuse you, well, I'm sorry for that. Below is my drawer of tops that I wear when while playing pickleball.
So what, right? Well, I am a print girl through and through, so having all these solid tops is very, very unusual. You don't believe me? Here's an inside look at what I wear when I'm not playing.
I find personal taste so fascinating...what makes someone like me love prints so much, while say, our friend Peg who wears only solids in maybe three different colors? Are our brains wired so differently? Yes, of course they are, but is there a gene or something that determines if you are a solid or a print person? Inquiring minds want to know!
Here's something else I wore for about a week after a ball Bruce hit slammed my arm! Accidentally, of course!
Damn that old skin!!!
By now most of you are as sick of hearing about pickleball as you are about seeing bird photographs all of the time. What can I say? When I am into something, I am IN! Thus, when I saw Jessica's shirt this morning, I knew what I wanted to put down for posterity. For those who skip the links I provide, the gist of her shirt is how wonderful the sport is for mingling people of every kind who share the common love of the game. As such, I want to include some of the folks we've met along this journey whom we may never have met otherwise. A recent article in The New Yorker asked the question, "Can Pickleball Save America?", and while maybe that is asking too much, it can go a long way in bringing people together in a meaningful way. Not to mention the joy to be found on the court. Especially if you win!
That is Karen and Rich in the front court and Cindy and Mary across the net. All of whom learned to play in the last year and come most days because they can't get enough.
Somewhat like a certain couple that you have come to know quite well in this space.
Undoubtedly, you recognized the bearded man, but otherwise that is Arg playing with Bruce and Tony and Debby in the front court.
I talked about Joe in a previous post but here he is again playing with Arg, the youngest on the court with the oldest.
It just does a heart good to witness the camaraderie and the fact that Joe can still come out and have fun, something that cannot be said for everyone at that age!
Here's Dwight looking at the camera, along with Patty and Tony.
Rene is in pink as is Marianne on the other side of the net. For the life of me I can't remember the man playing with Rene but I can remember the guy playing with Marianne!
Just last week Gene, pictured raising his fist asked had we ever thought about calling it
Peckleball before? Well, duh...
That would be Mark in the orange and Caleb with his back to the camera. What this has taught me is that I need to be taking more photographs at the court so I can remember all the fun folks that we have spent time with on these hot and humid days! I've not pictured Erika, Shirley, Marta, Jim, Jan, Martha, Dutch, Paul, Kathy, Robert, Pam, Patty, Keith, Louis, Jessica, Lisa, Luis, Karen and the list goes on.
We cannot forget where it all began....
Mary, Patti, Dunrey, Kelly, JT, Peg, Denny, Carolyn, Sandy x 2, Keith x 2, Ryan, and of course we cannot leave out our pickleball parents...Greg and Leslie who continue to kill us every Saturday on the same courts where they taught us. While I have been typing this something else occurred to me. More often than not as you age your circle of friends grows smaller, whereas when you play pickleball your circle grows ever wider and that, my friends, is a good thing.
While I understand that there are those with physical limitations who, while maybe wanting to do something active, cannot, I suspect that there is one thing that we can all get behind---the travesty of BROKEN POTATO CHIPS! Right? Especially as the cost of a bag of chips has skyrocketed. Having witnessed this fellow taking down a display and proceeding to stuff them in the pictured cart, only to load them back on the shelves, I don't have to imagine how it happens any longer. I watched it happen.
It frustrates me to no end when there are about twenty whole chips in a bag and the rest are a crushed mess. So much so that I have been known to contact the company in the past. Ruffles seem to be less breakable if that helps.
My computer is telling me it is nearly time to quit as my mouse battery is very low except I've a few more things to say so let's get right to it!
We tried a new restaurant for lunch Sunday afternoon and it was very tasty indeed.
Cavo's is the name and both Bruce and I had a delicious sub on the softest hoagie I've ever had the pleasure to eat. The space, on the corner of Hyer and Washington, has been numerous restaurants over the years, most of which we have visited. Now we are all in on this concept.
As expected, my mouse died so I spent the charging time finishing a lovely novel called
The Reading List that I think most book lovers, and I mean those who LOVE reading, will enjoy. I know it has got me thinking about that list!
Anyway, it has been a good long while since we were in Thornton Park where Cavo is located. Used to be, at least I visited the area once a week, as
Roger and Trish, my first and only printers used to have the business in their home a block away from this corner.
Indeed it was pouring as we left the restaurant but true to form, when we arrived at our place, it was sunny as can be and stayed that way.
This little Carolina Wren is kind of like me....a small bird with a big voice and in my case it is singing the praises of Peckleball.
Which I suspect you are sick of me going on and on about.
Alas, if only I had more talent on the court....
your friend,
Gail
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