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Sunday, July 15, 2018

THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER....IT IS NOW!

Rain stopped play on Sunday afternoon.  I was sitting chatting to a couple of neighbours by the pool, and there was a hint of moisture in the air.  "Did you feel rain?" I said, as I could not decide whether it was my skin reacting to the heat.  "Yes, here it comes!" said my neighbour.  We had been sitting for a while and the sun had been going in and out of the clouds.  I had come prepared, and brought an umbrella, just in case.  As the sun shone down, in between being covered by the cumulus, I offered the cover to my neighbour, who was concerned for her skin.  Out came the Union Jack!  My neighbor's family hails from England, and she has fond memories of her childhood, visiting her grandmother, who lived in the English countryside.  "Take a picture", she called to her husband.  She wanted to send it to her daughter.  Not only would she 'get a kick' out of the umbrella, but she would also not believe that her mother was sitting by the pool.  The umbrella had been put away as the shade became more prominent.  

"Here it comes!" repeated my neighbour, as the droplets turned into pellets.  Of course, no one considered using the umbrella!  I quickly gathered up my things, and started to run.  As we reached their house, the clouds that had been shielding us from the sun, burst, and I sloshed my way to my house, which although only a few yards from their's, saw enough time for me to be dripping wet.  I hold less water as I emerge from the pool after a swim!

I finished off last week's post by adding a few pictures, and editing the spelling, (grammar leaves a bit to be desired,) and I attempted to 'publish'.  However, the typeset, and background had changed, and I spent a considerable time trying to work it out.  I am still not sure that I succeeded!

Rain stopped play on Monday.  I did not attempt to go swimming as the thunder and lightening deafened and blinded.  There were no rumbles, just ear-piercing cracks; no flashes, but sharp edged forks.  There was a brief period when the rain stopped, and we looked to the sky for confirmation, and seeing that there was a little bit of blue, (not enough to make a sailor a pair of trousers, but perhaps a sock,) we decided to take the dog and walk to the supermarket.  The material for the sock was soon disintegrated, and the noise emitting from the sky once again became overpowering.  The dog came with us for the walk, but was carried for most of the way there, and all the way back. 

By Tuesday, all was calm.  The temperature had dropped, although not by much.  The storms were now emotional.  The build up to England's semi-final game was in full swing, if only from the two English girls in the office.  Samantha had bought some 'window paint' and we had flags on the back and side windows of our cars.  
Image may contain: 2 people, including Tracie McMichael, people smiling, hat and indoor
My attire on Tuesday was appropriate for the day.  It was, once again, "Cow appreciation day" and Chick-fil-A were showing their appreciation to their customers, by giving away food to those loyal, and otherwise, so long as you were dressed accordingly.  Samantha's old Halloween costume came out of the proverbial moth balls, and I wore my black and white dress, under a black and white jacket.  It has been my costume for several years.  Once again, I had to think of a witty slogan to be eligible!  Due to the abundance of rain over the weekend and previous day, there were many places that had suffered an (albeit small) amount of flooding.  I decided to take advantage of the circumstances, and made myself a sign, which I pinned to my 'cowbell' necklace.  "Left out in the rain Bovine', by Moochael Angelo!" it read!  I thought it was quite clever.  Dana agreed!  However, the subtlety was slightly too much for the first establishment.  Samantha received a hero's welcome, as she walked into the store, wearing her costume.  They charged me for my burger.  "But I thought it was 'Cow Appreciation Day'," said I.  Four (very youthful) members of staff starred at my sign.  Perhaps it was the word 'bovine'.  Perhaps it was the washed out look.  Perhaps it was merely the subtlety.  It is hardly surprising (and up she gets onto her soapbox) that a generation that relies on pictures of the items, rather than words or amounts on the keys of a till, would not understand that I was trying to be clever, by being diverse.  They continued to stare.  Eventually, one nudged another, who nudged the third, who nudged the fourth, and the quartet looked up.  "It is", said one on the end.  I had forgotten the question I had posed, as we had been standing around so long, I thought I was going to be late for 'kick off', for the game that was being held on the following day!  All four looked again.  "Only if you are dressed as a cow", said the only female in the group.  I think it was 'the look' that made her zero out the balance.  It was not harsh, it was not mean, it was merely, "you are kidding, right!"  Eyebrows raised, eyes slightly squinted, nose scrunched.  slight smile.  I offered to pay for my chicken burger, as I did not want them to feel I was claiming under false pretenses, but they shook their heads, perhaps wanting me to leave so as they could 'google' Moochael Angelo!

We decided to drive to the 'other' establishment, the one we have perhaps frequented more.  "Oh that is so funny.  Very clever", said the middle aged lady, who greeted us at the front door.  Their restaurant was very busy, and they had a cow walking around posing for pictures.  Samantha's costume is good, but this was very authentic! (Apart from the fact it was on two legs, and spoke English!)  We posed with the animal!  I thought that perhaps next year I could use the slogan "Some cows are more equal than others", but feared that the quartet from the previous eatery would cower.  Perhaps I could use the word 'cower', or even 'cow-ier', but now I am inciting a tantrum!  The young man at the desk, thought my daughter's costume was 'awesome', and looked at my slogan.  He laughed, heartily enough for me to realise that he understood it not, but was at least intelligent enough to know that it should be funny!  (Of from the soapbox she steps.)

Lunch was enjoyed by several!  

Although the flag on top of my car has faded, the window paint was quite bright.  I drove across town on Wednesday, singing 'Three lions on a shirt', to myself.  No one hooted. No one shouted.  I stopped to fill up with petrol and no one said a word.  I was unsure a to whether anyone would recognise the flag of St. George.  They probably assumed I was a member of a charitable organisation bearing the same insignia!  My drive back to the office was definitely that of an Englishwoman.  I drove my car as I would have driven a taxi, in London, as I weaved through the traffic to get back to the office.   Despite the fact that schools have finished for the summer, the traffic was quite heavy, but no one appeared to be in a hurry to get to where they were going.  Austin had become a little sleepy;  a little more like when we first arrived. 

I worked through the morning, and had my first swim of the week at lunchtime.  Raul was painting the railings around the swimming pool, and we stopped to chat.  "See you tomorrow", I said as I made my way back to my house, "hopefully with a smile on my face!", I added.  He laughed.  A detour was made on our way back to the office, as 'freebie' week continued, and the 7-11 stores were celebrating the eleventh day of the seventh month (in England it would be November!).  I donated my 'slushee' to my husband and the afternoon began!

I drove home after work slightly subdued.  I went swimming and came back up to clean up my kitchen and wash the embellishments off my car.  I was no longer a charity worker!  The euphoria was over, and work would now be accomplished without interruption!  All was quiet on the Western front, to coin a phrase!

Rain did not stop play for the rest of the week.  The torrential storms that we had endured during the beginning of the week had failed to cool the air.  There were no more 'giveaways' in which I had to take part.  

"So, I guess we are going to have to go back to talking about the weather!" I said to Raul, at lunchtime on Friday.  He laughed.  He told me how his son was very upset that Mexico had been eliminated from the competition, much earlier than he had expected.  Apparently, at twelve years old, his world had seemingly come to an end.  At twelve years old, four years does seem a long time to wait for another opportunity.  After a lengthy discussion about how things are 'not the same' as they used to be, I wished him a good weekend, and returned home.

Saturday morning was different.  With the dog still displaying signs of not wanting to eat, Samantha had taken him to the vet, again.  They embarked on a new regime of syringe feeding, (I am choosing to be PC and not using the word 'force',) and he did not resist.  He managed to keep it down for about thirty minutes, but then discarded probably most.  Although we did not have him with us, we made a detour to the vet, and picked up some pills.  

The afternoon was pleasant. I read.  Clouds appeared and even became quite dark at times, but they did not emit any rain.  I fell asleep a couple of times.  On my way back to the condo, I saw my new next door neighbor talking to another elderly neighbor.  "She will know", said the octogenarian.  "What will I know?" I said as I approached.  "The code for the pool".  I did know, and I told my next door neighbor, who corroborated that the octogenarian was indeed right!  I explained that it does not get very busy, and actually it is like having my own pool.  "It is my pool", I told him, "but you are welcome to use it!"  I stood for a couple of seconds, wondering if he hailed from the generation of the quartet at the restaurant on Tuesday, but after taking a second to digest, he responded with, "Well I may just take you up on that offer", and thankfully, laughed in recognition of my joke!  

I was quite surprised at my own level of disappointment in the result of the England match, but once again, it was not for myself as much as the manager of England, Gareth Southgate, as he had proved to be such a gentleman.  I still think the team 'did us proud'.  The 'world' can now go back to national and continental competitions.  Wimbledon is done.  Football has a new champion, and I am ready for a quiet summer.  I am sure there are many more sporting events that I have failed to watch, or to take notice of, but for now, I have exhausted my fanship!  

I am sure I will find plenty to fill my day next week, besides work. The temperatures look like they are getting ready to soar above the century.  So with the hope of this post being readable, I shall leave you with the option of reading ............. another story!





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