there's no place like gnome.

I ran a couple errands today and – as always – NPR was on my car radio. It usually is. (I’m not much of a music person these days.  People are often horrified when I say that but I have learned I’m not alone. Gretchen Rubin confesses a similar thing in her book about habits, Better than Before. I digress.)

So NPR was on. And I wasn’t really listening to it. There was an interview on about the postponement of fashion week; not something super high on my radar. But then, I was sitting at a four-way stop when the gal being interviewed, in her British accent, called something absolutely, splendidly brilliant. 

And I thought to myself, my. What a positively awesome way to describe something.

And then I wondered – what would I describe as absolutely, splendidly brilliant?

What would you describe as absolutely, splendidly brilliant?

The first thing that came to my mind was my garden. This year I’d call it absolutely, splendidly brilliant. I started my plants from seed and – miraculously – all but one poor zucchini plant have survived the transfer to straw bales and outdoor living. I’ve had a bit more time at home this planting season and so been able to focus on making the garden less of an eyesore from the street. It brings me a lot of joy to check on it every day. It’s absolutely, splendidly brilliant to me at this particular moment in time.

So what’s absolutely splendidly brilliant to you? Many things, I hope.

We skipped town a couple weeks ago and drove to North Carolina to visit Dave’s brother and family. We left in the wee hours of the morning and drove the 12.5 hours straight through. The goal was to get out of the house (where we’ve been since mid-March) and relax a bit before Dave (inevitably) gets called back to the office. Dave was able to work from a different home while we were there (His brother was working from home too.) and we could all relax at night and on the weekends together.

One of the pulls to visit was seeing family but … they also have a pool. We could feel a bit like we were on vacation at a fancy resort while floating in the salt water. Some days there were even poolside margaritas. Another day there was a movie outside while we lounged by the side of the pool. We grilled a bunch and ordered take out a couple times.

We didn’t go much of anywhere; no day trip adventures like we normally do when we visit them. We stuck to the house and learned that Emmett is a water dog. He’s never been one to willingly get into water until this trip. He figured out there are steps so he can go easily in and out; after that, he was in and out and in and out and loved it. We would throw his frisbee into the water and he’d swim to retrieve it. Other times he just chilled on the raft. It was great because it kept him cool in the heat. (Though one day the pool water registered a balmy 88 degrees.)

Just over a week after we arrived we drove straight home. While our little step away was nice, it was great to come home too.  It always is, isn’t it? (I immediately walked to the garden to check the state of things; my veggies survived, in case you were wondering. Phew. More of a garden update to come.)