Happy Labors! Musette’s Musings

Ah, Labor Day.  Such a bittersweet holiday, celebrating the labors of the average working person as well as the end of Summer.  If you’re sitting down, drinking a beverage and looking at this goofball post on your device, stop for a minute and say thanks for the folks who came before, who made a halfway reasonable work day (and a better childhood for a larger number of children) possible.  And give Summer a gentle kiss goodbye.

I celebrated this day by – you guessed it – working!  Not a lot of actual paying work – more actual labor (cutting the grass, doing laundry, etc).   I’ve spent quite a bit of the last few weeks faffing about, lollygagging, fooferating… so now I am paying the Work Piper.  The house is not quite as much of a disaster as it was a week ago and the garden looks a bit less like Mordor – but just.  I am hosting a Digging Party in the coming weeks, complete with beverages and finger sandwiches because I have a lot of work to do out there and a lot of stuff needs to go, to allow me to do the colorblock borders I’ve been wanting to do for awhile.  The Circle Border is going to be white and cream, with a touch of red because (and I know I’ve already said this, sorry) I wouldn’t move the crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ for Idris Elba!  Okay.  Maybe for Idris.  But ONLY for Idris, because that plant is. not. my. friend.  But it is gorgeous – and the hummingbirds adore it.

So.  More Musings!  Girlfriends!!!  Even when I have been yoked to some yokel I’ve always valued my girlfriends.  Moving to this teeny town, where everyone has known everyone else (except me) since the cradle meant it was extremely difficult to make friends – nothing personal, just pretty much everyone here has their world already set (been set since the cradle) and I’m not on that radar.  Just as I was beginning to despair of ever finding pals to just have a coffee with, lo! and behold – I met two stunningly fabulous sisters who took me under their wing and we’ve been having a blast!  One of the sisters is an endorphin junkie like me (hers is running, mine is matwork) so we spend a lot of time at races and gyms and omg!  I’d forgotten how much work it is to upgrade to that next level!  But it’s lovely. My abs haven’t been this tight in a decade!  Next month we’re immersing ourselves in Bodypump!  Squee! The other sister and I have a quieter friendship – she’s thoughtful, caring, kind… and she knows pretty much errrrybody in Central Illinois!!  Kewanee (the large town just north of here) has their annual Hog Days festival and every year the sisters decorate a float – and this year, my first Hog Days EVAH!  I was on the float!  Omg.  What a hoot!  The next day I was dragooned into helping them at the giant (trailer-sized) grills – where my line cook experience came in helpful.  5 hours on my dawgs, though, meant I was beat AF – but in that wonderful way when you’ve spent an afternoon in a cool breeze, raking coals and chatting with friends.  Great cardio, btw, raking coals.  So it was a WIN all around!

Bonus:  whilst raking coals and flipping pork chops, my chat with another grill volunteer yielded some intriguing intel – he works in tree removal and gave me valuable tutorials on how to dissolve body parts (his examples were culled hogs but… y’know…) – anyhoo, mid-tutorial he gave me A Look and said ‘y’know… you are paying WAY too close attention to this’……

oops.

Come nightfall, I got dragged onto the Ferris wheel!  Have I mentioned that I am an OSHA team leader?  Do you know how unnerving it is being around carnival rides?  No, I did NOT ask to see their safety certs – it was a brand-new wheel and the connections looked sound enough – but my overall focus and glancing once-over (coupled with P asking if I was doing an OSHA inspection) had the carnies a bit nervous.  P reminded me that if we were going to fall we would probably die quickly so stop eyeballing the cables!!!  LOL!  We probably wouldn’t die quickly and it was gonna hurt like hell – but I didn’t want to harsh her mellow.  So I just decided to settle down and fake-enjoy being whipped around on a giant wheel at a decent rate of speed, with the gondola swaying.

When did I forget how to have fun?  Hanging with these women is reminding me how to do that.  In their late 60s, they have a decided delight in life that I am lacking.  Of course, they were also liquored-up on Crown Royal shots, so that might’ve had something to do with it.  As long as they weren’t running the Ferris wheel…

I nearly mentioned William Peden’s short story ‘Night in Funland’ (which I read when I was 10 and have never forgotten).  Because FUN!  I was supposed to be having FUN!  So I didn’t.  Lordt, I am such a buzzkill.

No fun fair food, though.  I looked at a funnel cake… and it looked me right in the eye and said ‘are you sure you can handle a piece of me?’ – and I blinked.   Sigh.  Funnel cake at 9p is not a fun thing.

Today, the actual Labor Day holiday, though?  I’m working.  Whattaboutyouseguys?  How did you spend the holiday?