Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The sky is crying...

Don't be alarmed by the title of this post (stolen from an old blues tune).

It's just raining, that's all. But it's been raining for three days now. All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not in one of those campsites that can be found all over this area. Camping, as far as I can tell from what I've seen so far, has very little to do with "getting away from it all" especially if the "it" you're talking about is other people. Campgrounds are crowded tent cities...like cities they do have amenities like restaurants and laundry. On the other hand, if you're trying to economize and get to within cycling or walking distance to the beautiful beaches here, then the experience makes some sense, I guess. Right now though it must be a bit of a muddy mess. In any case what we're experiencing right now conforms more or less to what I expected from a place situated on the coast. After this year I should be able to declare myself one way or the other on the subject of living in a maritime climate. Beth and I have had a long standing flirtation with the San Juan islands and sometimes this feels quite familiar here.

I'm told that July was actually very hot here, and that it is not unusual to expect a very nice September.

Before I go on, I need to tell everyone who has take time to post comments on this site that I really appreciate hearing from you. It was interesting to get a comment from a reader dropping in from some unknown site in the blogosphere...I think I'll just leave it at that.

Beth and I have wasted no time in taking full advantage of a few French customs such as: eating good bread, lingering over meal time, enjoying an apperitif before dinner, enjoying a glass of wine during dinner, and having a cigarette afterwards. At the rate we're going, I don't see us dropping these habits anytime soon. There is a lot to be said for the epicurian (sp?) - not to be confused with hedonistic - sense of life and its notion of simple and pure pleasure being at least partly the result of mindfulness not just of what one desires but also of what is present and available to be enjoyed. I heard it expressed not long ago by someone on NPR thus, "There is nothing more pleasurable than clean cold water to someone who is thirsty."

So here's to being thirsty!
K

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahhhh, my thirst for knowledge of your daily lives is quenched by a click! Love it.

Seeing Colm all the way up in that tree reminded me of the time at the (Oregon) coast cabin that he scaled the stairwell railing and had his mom and I trying to get him down before something dreadful happened. It didn't. Obviously, he still likes climbing, even if it is a little scary (thrilling, perhaps?)!

3:12 PM  

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