Small Town Rainy Night

A warm rain pelted shimmering silver drops visible under the streetlights. The grass on the back down to the brook turned into one big speed slide. We weren’t the first or the only ones whoopin’ and hollerin’ as we ran barefoot on the grass, flopped down and slid into the creek.

Being up to mischief is more fun in a group. Nobody had time for the musty stuff. Adrenalin brought out the rush of exhilaration; we were having too much fun for either fight or flight.

When the rain stopped, we headed home. Hair plastered to our heads, shirts and extra skin layer, arms wrapped around each other. Spontaneity just felt good. Next time you have an opportunity, act on a whim. Nothing is more important that living and loving.

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Starry Night. Does it matter If we get the constellations right?

A cool night, a sleeping bag spread on the grass and the two of us cuddled together looking at the stars. We’ve always heard the maxim once you know the rules you may break them. A pure scientist would strongly suggest using a map of the constellations.

“There’s the north star. I’d always use it to guide me to you.” Aww, I’m a sucker for my honey’s mushiness.

A romantic knows to take advantage of the aphrodisiac power of being able to reshape the symbols and make up a constellation for her lover. I managed to connect enough bright starts to create a heart, borrowed from Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Orion.

“There is mine for you, enamorat.” From that moment on we will search the sky for our constellation. “You’ll always know I love you and it’s written in the stars. Along with the memory of one cool night, a sleeping bag and the two of us.”


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Work, Talk and Share

My honey and I had a discussion about 'values'. We share a commitment to making choices with positive impact on the environment and came to a few conclusions.

We will make plans in advance - nothing like a degree of preparedness

We are willing to be inconvenienced for our values - we are willing to pay more up-front money and wait a few days if our Energy Star refrigerator fails for our new refrigerator choice.

We will continue our daily reading instead of mindlessly watching television - confession we haven't replaced our last one yet, but it's only been three months and we are enjoying the quiet.

We will make a priority of spending time together when we aren't working - at least one hour of quality time every day. (Hey, reading aloud to each other in bed counts). Yes we realize everyone has different lifestyles and responsibilities and for those working parents check out a few ideas here the ideas are great for singles too.

We commit to working to share our lifestyle with others. For the next 6 weeks we will be participating in Harvest like migrant farm workers, we'll let you know what we discover. And we hope your work is satisfying and life-affirming to you as well. Americans - "Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!"

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Narrated Walking Tours

Discover history and natural science of an area on narrated walking tours. My honey and I borrowed an MP3 player from the library pre loaded with narrative tracks. Some cities have downloadable files to transfer to a personal MP3 player.

While I love guided tours, some guides are more entertaining and knowledgeable than others. I prefer the MP3 tours for being comprehensive, entertaining and the best part flexible (just try fast-forwarding a guide). My honey loves architecture and we enjoyed the tour of homes, businesses and public art. We lingered in some places and hustled through generic offerings.

The familiar often hides secret spots; a native sees pubic art and artifacts every day making the experience mundane. New construction may obscure what once was prominent. Landmarks and unfamiliar locations are best enjoyed on foot at a walking pace. The simple act of walking slows us down enough to read markers and signs, observe people and window-shop.

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Swing My Way

“I’m dressed, my hair is done and I have on lipstick.” I let my honey know I was ready for our date.

My honey’s turn to come up with an idea usually results in spontaneous decisions. “I have a silly idea for something to do this afternoon.” I didn’t bother to ask ‘what?’ and my honey continued. “We could go to the park and swing.”

Ahh! An activity reminiscent of simpler pleasures. “Let’s go.”

The swings seemed to be hanging around hoping for someone to come along. The empty park indicated kids, teens and adults prefer motors and virtual games. To prove my supposition, six ATVs roared into the park from a path and the riders milled around for a few moments to stretch and have a drink.

My honey and I sat on the swings. We flirted. Then we determined who could swing the highest. I won. We synchronized our swinging. We tried everything we learned as kids, including the twist. My honey spun me around and wound the chains tight then let me go. I spun fast and then faster while the swing tried to return to the proper position. And when I was a touch lightheaded, we shared a tender almost first-crush kiss. No wonder young people think they know so much about dating; as we grow older we forget simple pleasures.

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Hey, where’s my Rubber Ducky?

Be on the lookout for small-town festivals. Instead of being just a mile short of Mayberry as might be expected, these festivals are worth the time if for nothing more than community camaraderie. I picked up a flyer at the library for a festival a few towns away and my honey thought the idea sounded enjoyable. Of course we recycled the flyer and worked errands into the jaunt to maximize fuel.

The live band in the park was wonderful, maybe not arena ready still really great. The jokes among friends and the off-the-cuff performance by calling people up on stage for special performances of monologues, humor and folksy songs made the experience special in a way not possible with extensive planning. We felt like we were invited into someone’s living room for a jam session.

With slices of pie and waffles with toppings people ate their fill. Main Street closed down for the two days and the residents took advantage of the no-car zone to play games, have impromptu concerts and used the opportunity to get their party on.

Eco-friendly is nothing without the feeling of communing and the nice thing everyone’s welcome. For one afternoon, night or weekend you could adopt a small town and make it yours. You never know, you might be like us and find a place where they race bathtub toys down the river and catch them in a net to determine the winner.

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Curtain Call

Innovative craftspeople use scraps of fabric for quilts and other projects. My honey suggested window dressing for the naked kitchen windows. My quilting aunt decided to take a summer off from projects. When a friend of a friend of hers cleared out a home for a nursing home move and gave her the bags of fabric, my aunt thought the purple fabrics looked like me and passed them on again.

The date portion of the enterprise happened in two settings. One Sunday afternoon, my hone and I examined, read and judged our favorites designs from books checked out of the library. Creating the pattern from a picture fell to me (playing to my strength). Supervision and assistance went to my honey.

The decision making spilled over from afternoon into late evening. We debated environmental control, trapping heat and opening the curtains wide for solar heating and lighting before we decided on the design. The fabric scraps provided an additional challenge, instead of solid panels I had to piece them together in such a way that it appeared intentional.

Then we spend a morning snipping, sewing and adding blows. With only time and skill with no purchase of new fabric or supplies and keeping waste to a very minimum, we hung designer pieces of window art. Good news. Even though I have design experience, anyone can make curtains with a pattern. Go ahead and look at the books at the library, there are even pattern books in the sewing section.

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