Saturday, May 19, 2012

Roasting and Reflecting.....

Yesterday was one of those days that just feels like SUMMER!  Brilliant blue and sunny skies; temp hovering around 90; barely a breeze stirring......

Eddie Dale didn't have to be at work until 2:00 in the afternoon, so he decided to do a little yard work out back about mid-morning.  Since said work involved not one, but two, chainsaws.....yours truly decided to hang around out back while he was working......you know, just in case......'cause he really makes me nervous sometimes......just sayin'......(Sorry, sweetie!)

About 11:00, I decided I was through with sitting under the covered patio and drinking coffee.  I wanted to be out in that sunshine!  I wanted to feel it on my skin......to have a little bit of that "sun-kissed glow"! 

So, I dragged out a plastic fold-up lounger, a couple of old bath towels (so my sweaty self wouldn't stick to the plastic), a squirt bottle of water, some long-forgotten Hawaiian Tropic oil from a basket at the back of the bathroom closet (wonder how many years old that stuff was?!?!?), and my IPhone and earbuds.  I even braved putting on a swimsuit!

Y'all, I set up my own "pretend beach", sans water and palm trees, in the middle of the backyard and sunbathed for a full hour!!!   (Carefully timing it, of course - 15 minutes front, 15 minutes back, 15 minutes each side - and that takes some real maneuvering on the sides, folks, because you want to be "even"!)

Now, before everybody starts going all nuts about me "sunbathing", let me just say.....I don't do it often.  I am well aware of the risks of spending too much time in the sun without sunscreen.  But, golly!!gosh!!darn!!, as I lay there all slathered up with that coconut scented oil (and sweating like a pig!), it was if I was transported back in time......

To a time when I was just barely a teenager, laying out on those old webbed lawn chairs in the backyard,  wishing we had a pool.  Flashback to the early 70's......putting good ol' "monkey blood" into a bottle of Johnson's baby oil when we didn't have tanning oil (well, it did make our skin look sort of pink) and checking those tan lines every 15 minutes.  C'mon....didn't you do it, too?  Didn't we all do it????  

To add to the nostalgia, my music shuffle landed on The Carpenters' "Goodbye to Love".....then "Close to You".....and, oh, the most wonderful feelings and memories just swept over me, nearly overwhelming in their clarity.  I went browsing through the music index, searching for every Carpenters' song I could find!  Isn't it funny how a song can take you back that way?  I fondly recalled spending hours on end in my bedroom, spinning 45's, and The Carpenters were always one of my favorites.

My mind just wandered, pretty randomly.......I remembered my favorite "baby doll" swimsuit from about 1973 - pink & white gingham with eyelet trim and the fact that I felt compelled to "fill out" the top with tissue once when we went to the swimming pool.  You see, I had an awful crush on one of the more mature lifeguards and wanted to appear more mature myself.  (Not a good idea....when toilet paper gets wet, it breaks down and floats out.  Oh, I can laugh about it.......now......)

My 10th birthday party, a simple affair hosted for a few friends at our home one afternoon.  That stands out in my mind because I actually had a party AND a cake that was made by someone other than my mother.  A lady who did creative (for that time) cakes out of her own kitchen made a sheet cake and decorated it to match the napkins we had found.....a field of little purple and maroon heart-shaped flowers.  Afterwards, running down the sidewalk to meet my dad when he got home from work to show him my new Carpenters' album (which he, of course, knew about since it was from him and Mom) because I was just busting at the seams with excitement.

My thoughts just jumped all over like that while I lay there, soaking up the sun.  One memory would come to mind....then another.....and more than anything, I was filled with a deep sense of gratitude for having had so many good times to look back upon.

Okay, so's you don't worry, I didn't blister out there even though I didn't wear sunscreen.  And even though I just about felt like I was going to suffer heat stroke before I finally broke down and came into the house, I thoroughly enjoyed that time out there, just remembering.......grabbing hold of a memory from here and there, pulling it out and reliving it in my mind.......

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, I recently added Playlist to my blog, just beneath the current post.  Since I'm so re-loving The Carpenters, I have prepared a special playlist to share for the next few days.  My hope is that I will be able to update the music from time to time, to fit the posts or the seasons.....so, bear with me and explore the different tracks on the player.  Each song is selected purposefully......and one I really want to share with you.  Stay and enjoy for a little while!

6 comments:

  1. Glad you got to relax and reflect in the sun for a bit. I remember so many years ago when girls would coat their bodies with baby oil to get a tan. My but times have changed haven't they.

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    1. Paula, my mom has told me that when they were kids, she and friends used Crisco shortening when they were laying out in the sun. Now, that's really frying!!! LOL

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  2. hey, I got it done! and still have all extremities!!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you did! And you do!!! Thank the good Lord! LOL

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  3. One of my favorite lotions was the Estee Lauder tanning oil ... oh my goodness! The ultimate best! I actually still have a bottle of it that I can't bear to throw away, it probably has lost a lot of its horsepower over the last 40 years, but I still have it! Messy stuff but did it ever work!
    My watering and flower bed work give me my daily dose of sunshine, sometimes more than once a day. I have even told my neighbors, 'the reason you see me wearing the same style shirts in my yard every day when I am out is so my tan lines will always be the same!'

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  4. Ah yes, I remember those days well. Thanks for bringing back The Carpenters. And for yesterdays Secret Garden. I still enjoy their c.d. , which you gave me for my birthday (I think)

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