A Crazy Saturday
I honestly enjoy writing, and obviously my life is easiest for me to reflect on because I happen to be living it. It is, however, important to have reasons and realizations when writing for an audience. This is a post-script, but it just happens to be at the beginning because of the magic of word processing that lets me put text wherever I want. I digress. Life has become overwhelmed with technology, and this Saturday post is a realization of a number of things.
First, friendship is key. Second, especially with a friend, it doesn't have to be expensive to be fun. I had a blast today and only paid for lunch (absolutely, 100% worth the expense, by the way). Third, we are incredibly blessed to have beautiful green spaces, clean air and awesome outdoor opportunities, and we would be fools not to take advantage of it. The internet will always be there, but there's only one dog day a year and fire might destroy everything green for miles. Looking up puppies on the internet is not nearly as heartwarmingly satisfying as petting even the ugliest dog. Get out, get your friends, and have a crazy Saturday.
In the midst of all of the job applications, my friend and I decided that today would be a day for fun, and fun it was. It is surprising the number of free things going on around town all the time. We took advantage of just a few...
First stop, dog heaven. The Shops at Briargate held its annual dog day, setting up tents in the parking lot and playing host to adoption agencies and other pet-related businesses. Of course, all of the dogs in the city were invited. Our australian shepherd recently died, and cats do not make up for the lack of a dog. It was pure bliss being surrounded by masses of furry creatures all excitedly whipping around their owners and slobbering all over everything. The adoption agencies had mostly chihuahuas and terriers to adopt, but the owners ran the gammut. A tiny chihuahua in sunglasses, boots and a baseball cap greeted every newcomer at the entrance. Once near the tents, we saw the usual variety of smallish dogs, a hilarious english bulldog, two cute australian shepherd puppies, three excited huskies and a gorgeous red-gold australian shepherd/border collie mix. On the opposite end of the scale, one family had three enormous rottweilers. We also ran into at least three great danes, two mastiffs, a collie, two standard poodles showing off their excellent training, two fuzzy newfoundlands and an old english sheepdog with electric blue eyes. Given lots of space and time, a big dog or two would be my ideal companion. After two passes through the dogs and infinite pats of fuzzy heads, we directed ourselves towards destination number two.
Second stop, America the Beautiful Park. We didn't actually attend an event, though a race and picnic and games to help foster kids were taking place in the park. Instead, we wandered to the giant fountain to dip our toes in the water and laugh at the kids doing their best to get absolutely soaked. A passing glance at the failed Girl Scouts garden that has reverted back to gravel and long grass, and we were on our way again.
Today is World Juggling Day, so stop three was the juggling event downtown in Acacia Park. Even juggling can't quell a hungry stomach, so we stopped in at Poor Richard's for lunch. It was absolutely scrumptious - salad complete with green beans and feta and chickpeas and balsamic vinaigrette and all manner of wonderful vegetable, an enormous slice of artichoke heart, feta and pesto pizza, and house-made iced tea. My friend was delighted with the real blackberries crushed to make her blackberry italian cream soda, and she ordered some swiss cheese nachos. She's not one for spicy, so I got all the jalapeños as well. Contentedly stuffed, we wandered back to watch the jugglers, who had moved on to teaching the crowd some techniques.
Stop four, home. A little down time meant an episode of White Collar to let our food digest before heading off again. We delighted in Neal's escapades and witty dialogue, then forced ourselves back into action.
Stop five, the pool. Exercise is always good to include in on a crazy Saturday. With few summer pool days left and an excess of free guest passes, I invited my friend to our pool down the road. We hopped on our bikes and booked it downhill past Garden of the Gods, fifteen minutes away to the pool. It was a delight to dunk ourselves in the cool water after the heat of the ride. I spent a good few minutes laughing myself silly at my friend's excitement at wearing a cap and goggles, and the adventure of getting them both on. Suffice it to say that she plays at tennis, not swimming. We swam some, worked on a little technique, and floated a lot. It gives me great pleasure to be allowed in the pool for adult swim while all the kids sit on the side staring longingly at the water. Oh, the perks of being a big kid now. Adult swim ended, signaling our cue for a hot shower, a change of clothes, and a lift back home.
In the midst of all of the job applications, my friend and I decided that today would be a day for fun, and fun it was. It is surprising the number of free things going on around town all the time. We took advantage of just a few...
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| Photo Credit K. Brown |
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| Photo Credit K. Brown |
Second stop, America the Beautiful Park. We didn't actually attend an event, though a race and picnic and games to help foster kids were taking place in the park. Instead, we wandered to the giant fountain to dip our toes in the water and laugh at the kids doing their best to get absolutely soaked. A passing glance at the failed Girl Scouts garden that has reverted back to gravel and long grass, and we were on our way again.
Today is World Juggling Day, so stop three was the juggling event downtown in Acacia Park. Even juggling can't quell a hungry stomach, so we stopped in at Poor Richard's for lunch. It was absolutely scrumptious - salad complete with green beans and feta and chickpeas and balsamic vinaigrette and all manner of wonderful vegetable, an enormous slice of artichoke heart, feta and pesto pizza, and house-made iced tea. My friend was delighted with the real blackberries crushed to make her blackberry italian cream soda, and she ordered some swiss cheese nachos. She's not one for spicy, so I got all the jalapeños as well. Contentedly stuffed, we wandered back to watch the jugglers, who had moved on to teaching the crowd some techniques.
Stop four, home. A little down time meant an episode of White Collar to let our food digest before heading off again. We delighted in Neal's escapades and witty dialogue, then forced ourselves back into action.
Stop five, the pool. Exercise is always good to include in on a crazy Saturday. With few summer pool days left and an excess of free guest passes, I invited my friend to our pool down the road. We hopped on our bikes and booked it downhill past Garden of the Gods, fifteen minutes away to the pool. It was a delight to dunk ourselves in the cool water after the heat of the ride. I spent a good few minutes laughing myself silly at my friend's excitement at wearing a cap and goggles, and the adventure of getting them both on. Suffice it to say that she plays at tennis, not swimming. We swam some, worked on a little technique, and floated a lot. It gives me great pleasure to be allowed in the pool for adult swim while all the kids sit on the side staring longingly at the water. Oh, the perks of being a big kid now. Adult swim ended, signaling our cue for a hot shower, a change of clothes, and a lift back home.
We parted ways with contented smiles and promises to meet again tomorrow for another adventure and Spiderman at the Picture Show.
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