Summer Solstice - Fathers' Day

 I don't even know how to explain today.  Today is the apex of light and life as it's summer solstice.  I wish I could be at Stonehenge basking in the pre-Christianity knowledge of the universe.  Better yet, I wish I could be in the Lake District in England with our beloved friends J and P.  Instead, I'm in Sonoma County, California sitting under a grove of redwoods celebrating the longest day of the year.  

Such a magical night.   

 It's Fathers' Day.  Please reach out to your dad and talk to him.  I don't care if he was an a**h*** or whatever.  You only get one father.  You should be so lucky that your dad is still alive to talk to - no matter what wrongs he has done in your life.  Let's face it.  We are all in therapy because of our dad. 

One of my best friends was molested by her dad.  She found it in her heart to forgive him and move on.  It was not easy for her.  It was not a pretty journey, and it's not completely over yet.  

You will NEVER regret reaching out to your dad - no matter how much he has p***** you off. 

 

Stick 'em Up: Pay for Party

 My daughter is embarking on the challenges of adulthood and all the tacky and greedy people out there.  There is one rule of entertaining that must NEVER be broken:  Never charge your invited guests to attend your party.  

Here's the background.  My daughter's friend, let's refer to her as B, is moving from California to Florida.  B's mother, let's refer to her as K, invited my daughter to attend a going away party for B at a not-so-cheap rooftop restaurant.  Mind you, we already had a little private party here at the house for B to say our good-byes about a week ago.  This was an additional party that K coordinated. 

I know K well enough that she's the type of person who shirks all personal responsibility, including motherhood, to anybody within radius she can con and scam.  I was immediately suspect of K's intentions as I warned my daughter that K would try to stick everybody with the bill for the party she coordinated.  I encouraged my daughter to eat before the party and to bring her own water bottle. 

Lo and behold, when my daughter returned from the party she told me she was instructed by K to contribute $25 for the bill although she did not eat nor drink anything.  

I was livid.  There's a reason K and I are not "friends."  If you can't afford to throw a party at the not-so-cheap rooftop restaurant, don't have a party there.  At the very minimum, the invited guests should have been informed in advance that the bill was going to be divvied up whether or not you consumed anything.  That would leave opportunity for those who don't have $25 to gracefully decline the event.  To pull a tactic of inviting people and then surprising them by sticking them with the bill is a move of the lowest class of people.  

Bottom Line:  Never surprise your invited guests by presenting a bill at the conclusion of the event.  Never charge "admission" for your party.  You're better off selling tickets to the thinly disguised charity event that it really is.  Always entertain in a fashion that you can afford.  Having a picnic party at the local park eating on a blanket on the ground is classier than inviting people to an expensive restaurant where you have to pick-pocket your guests to cover the expense.  

Bucking Broncos and the Game Show Host

 Have not you heard?  California has been lifted of so many of the mask and social distancing restrictions as of Tuesday.  I think of all the 50 states, California took the virus and all the recommended precautions the most seriously.  We were the first to lock down and one of the last to open up.  We did not throw a hissy fit about wearing a mask; well, at least most of us did not throw a hissy fit.  We got our vaccinations as soon as we could; well, at least most of us did when it was our turn to get vaccinated.  

Now, after being penned up for 15 months we are like the bucking bronco being let out of the gate and Gavin Newsom is the cowboy trying to hang on.  

 Yes, about that Gavin Newsom.  He's facing a recall and pretty boy is sweating it as this is tarnishing his political career.  He's acting like a game show host offering prizes for those who get their vaccines.  He's giving away millions to people who don't deserve it.  Seriously.  He's giving away millions for those who have resisted getting the vaccine to entice them - California lottery style.  It's a veil attempt to buy votes.  Wait.  Dare I say bribe?   One guy wrote an editorial in the paper that the lottery money should go to front line workers.  I could not agree more.   

I can't make this stuff up, people. 

 

Cupid Shuffle: The Laundry - The Dishes

 OK, so I'm about 15 years late but do you all remember the song Cupid Shuffle?  If not, here it is to refresh your memory.  I'll tell my story after you hear this song and smile to yourself....yeah, I remember that. 

I have a mom version that I'm creating that is a spoof on this song.  In the beginning of the original video you hear the whipers, "The cupid, the shuffle, the cupid, the shuffle."  

My version will be the whispers, "The laundry, the dishes, the laundry, the dishes" incorporated into a video of mundane house chores with some humor added. 

The Trip

 My father is terminally ill.  I'm scheduled to go back to Minnesota on June 23.  Who knows....it may be sooner.  My sister, God bless her, has been at the helm of taking care of my parents.  She sold her large home with property last year as she is a widow and it was too much for her to take care of.  She moved one door down from my childhood home, where my parents still live,  to the Lundgren House in NE Minneapolis so she could be near my parents.  

She knew.

My father is such a TOUGH guy.  He is proud.  His mind is as sharp as a tack, but his body is failing him. My dad has the ego of a peacock and it's killing him - literally.   I'm going to go to the CBD store tomorrow and get him some gummies and send them back to him hoping it can ease his pain as it's not quite yet legal in Minnesota.

I may need you all to bail me out of jail for trying to ease my dad's pain with stuff that's legal in some states, but not others.  If that's the worst thing I'm accused of, bring it on.  I'll gladly serve time in jail for making my 81 year old father feel more comfortable.  

OK... now I'm going to go all Pagan on you.  I have a friend who does rune stone readings.  I had her do a reading for me a few months ago.  From all the stones, I selected 'winter' (look it up for a picture).  So far it's been right on.  My cat, my dad, my dog, my mother, and my sister-in-law's failing health.  Yup.  I'm the middle of the winter season.

PLUS....mercury is retrograde...and it's a FAT retrograde.  

It's going to be a cruel summer, and I don't need the horrible BananaRama song to remind me.