Friday.
Hello Friday!!
Bring on the weekend!!
I say that, but the forecast is still calling for thunderstorms. They appear to be scattered storms, so I’m hoping there will be some breaks of sunshine in between.
How is the weather in your area?
Friday Faves.
I do have some Friday Faves to share, but also just some news about life and such.
Flooding.
It had rained here most of the time that I was away in the U.K. That led to saturated grounds. The area of Roanoke in which I live was hit with a storm last Sunday that dropped 6 1/2 inches of rain in three hours, causing flash floods and mudslides.
I have some friends that shared that they had to be diverted off of the main road because sections of it were impassable. Big Mr was with a friend over near our local library and said a flooded area was as wide as the Roanoke River. They had to turn around because the water was too deep, and that was even barely into the swath.
I was at home quite oblivious to the extent to which the waters were rushing until I saw the footage. Our property slopes downward with our home sitting on a hill. We are toward the bottom of what you could call a mountain…or a larger hill, but I’m not sure there is anything that would mudslide toward us. The placement of our home also means that our basement doesn’t flood.
Driving Miss Sunshine to school and passing along the road that runs near the high school, there are piles out for the trash that you can tell came from flooded basements. My heart is heavy for all those who have damage to deal with and memories that have been lost.
Memorial Day.
Monday was Memorial Day.
I spent time with my family and the hubby and I looked for some furniture for the back deck. Right now we are down to two plastic Adirondack chairs that we bought for seating when we first moved to Virginia because our furniture hadn’t yet arrived. Of the two that are left of the initial five, one is broken and it is a matter of time before the seat fully gives way.
I didn’t find anything, but I do have some ideas for what I may get.
The Next Phase.
Big Mr. doesn’t graduate from high school until next Friday, but he is finished with school.
On Tuesday, they had a Senior Day where there is a field day for the Seniors (this was moved indoors due to the rain), and along with their graduation practice, they decorate their caps to showcase where they are going after high school.
University.
Big Mr. will be heading to Virginia Tech in the fall. They sent him this sign to stick to his cap. Some of the Seniors get very creative in decorating their caps (everything must be removable for the actual graduation ceremony).
My High School Graduation Memories.
It’s funny what your mind chooses to remember.
I needed to get the wrinkles out of his gown. I was talking with my mom about how strange it was that they come all folded in a package with deep wrinkles and asked her if she had to iron my gown for high school graduation.
The answer was yes.
And yet, I have no recollection about how I received my cap and gown, only wearing it (wrinkle free). I also recall a big discussion with my three close friends about the possibilities of rebelling against the fact that we were expected to wear dress shoes. I’m pretty sure there were more details to the type of shoe required, but we were told that they would be inspecting them in the lineup, prior to our ceremony, and we would be pulled from the lineup if not wearing dress shoes. We tried to come up with a way to switch to white Converse after inspection. We even had a teacher who encouraged our idea (he was a total nonconformist). In the end…we became like sheep and conformed because we had family in the stands and didn’t want to take the chance of not getting to walk in graduation.
What do you remember about your own high school graduation?
Yoga.
This week also finished out my May Challenge…31 days of yoga poses. It was wonderful to have Dee Dee come along with me on this journey.
I shared my pose each day on my Instagram Stories.
At this time, I have all 31 days shared on my Instagram Page under the Highlights section.
I thought I’d share a couple of my favorites from this week.
The Wheel Pose shown above wasn’t technically on the pose challenge. It was on the day of the Camel Pose. I can’t seem to touch my toes in Camel Pose without bringing my hips farther back than my knees and yet I can do the backbend required for Wheel Pose.
This shot was me proving to myself that I could still do the Wheel Pose.
Dancer Pose.
Dancer Pose is one of my favorite poses.
I feel graceful when I am in the pose, even if that is not the visual reality.
I was never a dancer, but I recall a time in my drama class where somebody’s mother came in to show us some ballet moves for the choreography of a musical we would be performing. I can’t remember exactly what she said to me, but it was a compliment in regards to the fact that my long arms and legs made the moves look nice.
I was the person in drama who took the leftover roles because I loved acting (playing the part of someone else), but did not audition (which required “me” to get up in front of my peers) for any part. This compliment from a stranger in front of my class meant a lot and stuck with me.
Crow Pose.
The final pose was the crane pose. Crane Pose requires straight arms and your knees pressed into your armpits. I was happy with crow pose. I’m of the opinion that any arm balance is a good arm balance.
Writing.
If you have already seen my June Challenge, then you know that today I will begin spending 20 minutes a day working a story or two that I began writing last year or possibly even coming up with an entirely new story.
This does mean that I will again be learning time management.
Film.
I had considered making June a month of no TV, but I do have a couple of shows that I like to watch with the hubby and rarely watch it outside of that.
Even on the long haul flight to and from the U.K., I did more reading than movie watching.
I managed to start and finish The Handmaid’s Tale and I started Red Queen. Once home, I’ve been a little sidetracked by simultaneously reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I stumbled upon it at the library and recognized it from knowing that she gave a TED talk on it (which I haven’t yet watched).
However, on the way over I did watch Lady Bird, which I watched again last night. This time with the hubby.
I also watched Black Panther and It on the return flight.
I didn’t love It as much as I expected to love it. I read and watched lots of Stephen King in my late teens.
Have you watched any great movies or shows lately?
How about any amazing books?
Outlander.
I also picked up Season 1 of Outlander. I’m always late to hop on the bandwagon, but after my time in the Highlands, I’m curious to see the show.
What about you? Have you seen Outlander?
The photo is from our day trip around the Isle of Skye. This was our tour guide Sandy and the photo was taken toward the end of the trip.
That is Eilean Donan castle in the background.
I’m still getting around to processing my photos from my time away. Graduation time is a busy time.
In case you missed it, I did share some views from the River Clyde in Glasgow in this post and some Doors of London in this post.
I will not be back next week with a round of Friday Faves because Big Mr.’s graduation is in the middle of the day and my parents will be coming up for that as well.
I’ll have some posts up during the week though and will be back for Faves the following Friday.
I hope that you have an awesome weekend and week ahead.
Let your light shine!
Amy
