In the end, all we have are the memories.

 It's the end of summer and I've been spending a lot of time with my soon-to-be 12 year old granddaughter before she goes back to school next week. We've been swimming in the afternoons and we've had pedicures. She's gel-coated my nails and added copper tinsel to my hair. She's repaired one of my beaded bracelets and made a new one from tiny buttons. (Buttons, btw, that were left over from when I knitted her a sweater when she was baby.)

We are creating memories. Much like the memories my late mother-in-law created for her grandchildren. I have great memories of my grandparents and, now, I have the great privilege of making memories with my grandchildren.

Sometimes making memories is exhausting. Like holidays and family reunions. The preparation. The noise. I also spend most of the school year with my granddaughter and her brother. Four out of five days, I'm involved in getting them to or from school. By the end of the year, I'm ready for a long break.

It's all a loving chaos. Family soup. Toss in all the ingredients and most of the time, you end up with something unexpectedly good that warms the soul.

Today, three of the gel nails are still hanging on, most of the tinsel has fallen out, and I have knots in my hair. But I also have the memories and I hope she cherishes them as much as I do.

I like Maxwell House coffee.

 There. I said it.

Honestly, if Facebook thought I was posting offensive or deceitful things, this probably is worse than the story about washing my car. Can you imagine? Influencing people to like Maxwell House? Go to your room!

It happened by accident, like most things do. I was traveling and that was the coffee in my hotel room. It was a coffee pod - the kind that work in Keurig-type machines.

My choices were to drink the coffee or don't. What was I to do?

I drank the coffee. Obviously.

It's a medium blend whereas I've always been a hardcore dark roast coffee drinker. Am I getting softer? Or less discriminating? 

Don't panic. I haven't switched brands. I'm not suddenly hoarding Maxwell House Original Roast (like I hoard Starbucks Christmas blend). It's not my daily drinker.

But I bought some pods, nonetheless. Could be handy the next time I'm traveling.

Or if coffee prices keep going up. Maxwell House is less expensive. But, it's still "good to the last drop."

I'm just saying it's worth giving it a try. At least, there's nothing to be afraid of.

In Color

Gettin' to it.

 For the record, I filed my tax return. Sort of. The FED return got e-filed but I just learned that the "free" state tax return that came with TurboTax actually isn't free to file. Yes, you can create the return for free but it costs $15 if you want to file it electronically.

So today's task is to print it and mail it. Can anyone spell FUN?

And since I'm writing about it, does this count as two things I didn't avoid?

Either way, it's hot.

 First thing this morning, I opened my weather app and saw the high was only going to be 99°F today. I say "only" because that's COOL for us this time of year. It would feel marvelous to be able to go outside anytime after dawn and actually enjoy being outside. We could even consider sitting a spell in the shade. With an outdoor misting system, it would be absolute heaven.

In the app, I scrolled down and saw temps would stay below 100 for the foreseeable future. I thought to myself, "What a relief!" I started shopping for new running shoes and plotting a training routine to prepare for a half marathon coming up in January. I wondered if I could also train for a 100-mile bike ride in March (because "overboard" is my default speed). I'd been going the gym or doing laps in the pool and I was ready to get outside and on land.

It's a little early in the season to start thinking about training for long distances in the summer desert but I was encouraged by the lower than average seasonal temps.

Then, in the next moment, I realized I was looking at temperatures for the city where my brother lives.

Which is not where I live.

First thing this morning, he was probably looking at the same weather information and thinking about how HOT it was going to be, converting his routine of being outside to being in the gym or in swimming in the lake near his home, quite the opposite of what I was strategizing.

Sadly, we are both stuck inside for the foreseeable future. Here, today's high will be 112°F. Additionally, we are under an Excessive Heat Warning and have been since since July 1 almost continuously. We will likely remain under an Excessive Heat Warning roughly through the end of August.

Looking at my weather app again, it looks like it's hot everywhere.

Everywhere except Copenhagen. 

Maybe I should look at taking a trip.

Caught In The Middle