Welp! Posse, Labor Day has come and gone and with it most of the vestiges of Summer. Mornings are darker. And cooler. Nights are, well, nightier. And cooler. Even the hotter days (and we’ve had a few) have a very temporary feel to them, as if they’re just waiting for the last hummingbird to get her butt out of here before they, too, beat feet to the south. Sigh.
But before that happens I had One Great Fling down in KY. HOT days, spent poolside (or pool-adjacent; my late brother in law built a roof over the patio that is the perfect place to be when it’s 90F and a blazing sun and you’re just waiting for the water to warm up a bit more so you can take a dip. I spent the first 2 days of my visit cleaning my sister’s house (don’t ask) and the other 3 days lazing on that patio… or on a floatie in the pool.
OPP: Other People’s Pools. Perfection.
Here’s what I’ve figured out about pools, based on my friends who have them. Most don’t spend much time in them. They do spend a great deal of time cleaning them. Or paying someone else to clean them. Then there is the Opening and Closing of The Pool (this is not SoCal – these people live in a clime where an open pool in February means you have died in the house and nobody has noticed). And I think that’s okay (not the dying – the pool maintenance; I’m not a fiend) – I mean, I really enjoyed my time spent in the pool but let’s face it, there’s only so much time you can spend in a pool, unless you’re Michael Phelps. What I do love is sitting on the covered patio Looking at the pool – that glassy blue water is so serene. I could do that allllll damb day. And I mostly did (after the 11 loads of laundry and mopping the floors etc etc – my sister, never the best of housekeepers, is still struggling with the crushing grief of her recent loss. Sometimes… I think just getting out of bed is a chore for her. So I ain’t mad. I just clean.) . That patio, that pool… my reward.
Anyhoo – sitting on that patio was good practice for my upcoming Back Porch (yes, IN CAPS, DAMMIT! It’s my PORCH!). My Cranky Contractor probably won’t be here until December (when he says Autumn he really takes it to Eleven. Last project went right to the edge of the Equinox – he made Autumn by two days! ) So. OPP2: Other People’s Patios. Boutique shopping? Nah. KY Horse Park? Fuggedaboutit. I just wanted to sit on that patio, with the fan giving a nice breeze, reading and filtering ice water through my bladder (a good friend just had 2 kidney stones removed – I ain’t about that, so Ice Water it izzz). Dropped my BP by a good 10 points, I’m sure.
However, Monsieur Jacques is NOT about the pool. He’s blindish, so the pool was something to be avoided (thank Floyd). He’d skirt it, never taking his limited eyesight off the perimeter – but omgosh, those floates heard ALL about it. .
Get Off My Lawn!
What I Read on the Patio: ‘Killers of a Certain Age’ by Deanna Raybourn. Omgosh! What a hoot! 4 elite female assassins are retiring, looking forward to the good life… until they discover they’ve been marked for death. The whole book is great but it could’ve sucked and I wouldn’t have cared – the Stateroom Scene made my day! Ms Raybourn is now of A Certain Age so pretty much everything she writes about these characters is spot-on. I was (for some reason) hesitant to crack this one open but once I did I was hooked. It’s really good – and perfect patio reading. If you’re 20, though… maybe not. Not yet, anyway. Wait 40 years. Tom – this is your fault (the whole Summer Reading) – you would love this novel, I think, even though you’re nowhere near A Certain Age. Yet. You’re welcome.
What I Wore on the Patio. So. While sorting the guest room (a friend went down with me) I came across my sister’s 37yr old bottle of Lauren.
OMG. She’s had it in a box, in a drawer, for most of that time – and it’s in pristine condition. I spritzed a bit and was immediately transported back to 1978, when it was The Thing . I loved it but was a bit (ahem) more mature than the highschool girls who wafted it through their school hallways. It’s green, floral loveliness is still breathtakingly beautiful, though. It was my sister’s signature scent and though she’s moved on to Ralph Lauren Blue she still keeps this bottle as a scent memory.
And… don’t faint but… I REMEMBERED THE DRAW! WOOOOT!
rosarita! C’mon down! gmail your evilauntieanita with your deets and I’ll get some goodies out to you!
You’re a good sister to have!
I remember the original Lauren – I was working in a now-defunct department store when it came out, and a friend at the perfume counter was generous with small sample bottles. I thought it smelled like what a rich person would wear, which made it perfect for work. The updated version smells nothing like what I remember though. ?
I have also noticed the feeling of summer ending. Usually that makes me a bit melancholy, but not this year. I will enjoy some lovely fall days and nights.
Pools don’t interest me. You go in on a hot day, splash around and then you’re done – at least I am. lol. There is a nice pool where I live and I have never gone in.
I nominate you for some kind of lesser sainthood for all the good work you did for your sis, Anita. Major blessings and good karma should be heading your way! The pool and patio sitch sounds dreamy. So restful after all that work. I was one of those gals who loved Lauren. It was so pretty.
Thanks Posse!
I love to be in water and prefer a pool to a lake, but atm no one I know has a pool. The lot my little house sits on is long enough but way too narrow for a pool; some good friends have the perfect place and I have begged them to put one in but they don’t want the work. Can’t blame them. I could swim at the high school here, if I want to hang out in a bathing suit at 5:30 am with strangers, um no thanks!
So glad you got to go, and I’m sure all your hard work is appreciated! That patio scene sounds great.
On a holiday before covid I stayed in one of those overwater ‘huts’ which had a small pool on the deck. Sublime. Very hot weather. Get up, make tea, drink on covered deck, put on swimsuit, puddle around pool. Repeat throughout day when not in ocean. I hope things smooth out for your sister. Grief is a hard one.
I’ve lived ten years now in a place with a pool and have never been in it. Not quite sure why. But I do read by the pool, in the shade. Good for you on the shady patio and even the choice of drinks. I just finished reading “Ghost Story” because I had it in the house and just saw the movie again on Prime. It’s funny how age changes perspective: the 5 old men in the book made more sense to me at “29” than they did at 19. Still very misogynistic book (the women are all either selfish or eeeeeevil) and way too long. The movie is kind of a mess: they have to jettison about 2/3 of the book which fundamentally twists who the bad guys are. And it looks like they cut about 1/2 hour of the run time: Patricia Neal plays a key figure in the book but is in only about three scenes. But young Alice Krige is mesmerizing, and what can you say about a movie with John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Fred Astaire?
I got your recommendation on kindle. More pool reading!
Hey Musette,
The one thing I miss about the house is a pool 5 steps from the back door. Fall in, do a few laps, wallow for a while and out. Did that a few times a day in summer and most days September through April.
Some summer nights after work I’d get naked and walk in up to my neck, then get dried and take the make up off.
LOVE being submerged in bath, pool or jacuzzi.
I’m reading so sporadically it doesn’t count.
Portia xx
I am SO glad you got to go there and hang out (and help out!) Growing up, my mom’s best friend four houses away had 6 boys (yikes!) and a backyard pool, nothing glam, just the rectangle in the ground. We spent much of our summer free time down there in that pool, I have very fond memories of it. Remember waiting 30 mins after eating so we wouldn’t die of stomach cramps?!?!? LOL