Sporting for an Hour

 

Today some guys were coming to inspect our covered porch and attic as part of the roofing and siding project, so I worked from home. My neighbor finally got COVID on a trip to Alaska, so she and I walked on opposite sides of the road. We heard a train, but we were too late to see it. Another neighbor, the one I have gone to fish fries with, told me about a potential issue with a boat down at the dock; when I went to look at it, I didn't think the issue was that bad, and then a great blue heron flew right over me!

When Travalon got home, he told me a cute story: one little girl where he works asked if he was married, and he said yes, so she said, "I'm going to draw a picture of what your wife looks like." Apparently Mrs. Travalon is a stick figure with glasses and curly hair. Of course, the real Mrs. Travalon looks nothing like that, and she always wears a hat. Then Travalon and I played tennis for over twenty minutes, and he went in while I called my neighbor because she had wanted to walk again. I said, "I'm on the tennis court - just come meet me out here," and she said, "Hold on, I'll bring my pickleball stuff." Now I am aware that pickleball is all the rage these days, but I don't know the rules. Turns out, it doesn't matter - we played it the same way I play tennis, without any rules. You use a paddle to hit this round, hollow, yellow ball full of holes that looks like cartoon cheese, and I'm about as good at it as I am at tennis. We had a lot of fun, and we played for quite awhile. When I checked my FitBit, it said I had "sported" for fifty-seven minutes, with a little divot between tennis and pickleball where I was just sitting on a bench on the court. Do I recommend pickleball? Sure, it's fun! And I have no idea what it has to do with pickles - I'd call it "cheeseball," except those are already a thing. (I believe it was Cheech Marin who said, "Why do they call it a roach clip? Because potholder was already taken!")

My neighbor took this photo of me today with some beautiful clematis.

Years ago, when I worked at a garden center one spring, someone called and asked if we had chlamydia. I assume they were looking for clematis. Yes on the clematis, no on the chlamydia.

Here are some photos Travalon took this weekend. First, the Jules Iverson Memorial Park in Stevens Point.

Here are some photos of the beach that was below the patio of the supper club where we had dinner on Sunday night. This is on Lake Nokomis.

I am already missing the Northwoods. Hopefully we can get up there again before the end of the summer.

Famous Hat