Random 5 for August 6, 2023 – Starbucks, upgrades that aren’t, summer, beach days, living in the moment

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Our beach vacation with our siblings from 2013 when everyone was healthier.

Memories – Many years ago we used to rent a house at the beach and invite our siblings. Everyone was coming and going, no one stayed the whole week but the beloved husband and me. It gave us an opportunity to spend quality time with everyone. This is the time of the year that I would start the planning. Some might say I’m obnoxious about my planning, but I find that it works for me. Keeps me on keel and out of the kitchen late at night. The beloved husband’s brother has since passed, and the rest don’t drive distances anymore. Those were wonderful memories that can’t be duplicated. I will always treasure them. We may have a fish fry to celebrate.

Identifiers – There is a guy who lives near me and goes to Starbucks most mornings around the same time. I use a back road so the first few times I noticed that he followed me all the way. Most cars turn off at some point. His license plate says HDG ROW. I don’t know what that means (other than hedge row) but it must mean something to him. It’s nice to know that there are other retired folks who enjoy the same traditions.

Words that make me cringe – This week I saw an ad for a product I use. It said “we gave our product a workover.” Yikes! I hate that. Most “workovers or upgrades” are done for economic reasons and not necessarily to make the product better. Not always but often enough to make me balk.

Dog days – We are in the dog days of summer. Mostly we’ve been lucky. Our weather hasn’t been too crazy compared to elsewhere in the world. The weather is warm but not always muggy. It’s a wonderful time to be alive!

Speaking of memories – I was (maybe still am) one of those people who are always looking forward to something. That distracts from “living in the moment.” I work on it all the time. Today is a wonderful (weather-wise) day here. I am vowing to “live in the moment” all day! Maybe enjoy spontaneous ice cream! (Is it spontaneous when you say you may do it?)

So how was your week?

 

57 thoughts on “Random 5 for August 6, 2023 – Starbucks, upgrades that aren’t, summer, beach days, living in the moment”

  3. I’ve been very nostalgic lately remembering our summer “beach weeks.” For more than two decades we spent one or two weeks at a beach rental and had our family come and go and we would stay put. It was just wonderful. I also relate to your thoughts about living in the moment when you’re also a planner. It does take a little thought, which, as you say, may negate being in the moment. 🤷‍♀️

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    • The “living in the moment” is always a struggle for me. Beach weeks were the best. Since we were at a rental, other than having food available (always the planner!) I didn’t feel any responsibility to entertain. Everyone was on their own. I’m so glad we did it when we did.

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  4. Spontaneous ice cream definitely works for me. Sign me up! We had a waitress the other day use “working on it,” which I haven’t heard a server say in an awfully long time. It always makes me cringe to hear that in a restaurant. I’m eating not working! – Marty

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  5. I try to love in the moment but I always like having something to look forward to. “Workover” is a new word to me in connection to products. I always hate to hear that something I use has been new and improved because why didn’t they make the best in the first place. UGH… I think the heat is getting to me!
    Fun seeing your beach vacation with your family!

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  9. We used to tape record opening our Christmas gifts here at the house and also when we went to my grandmother’s house for an early Christmas (we went in November to celebrate her birthday). That was before video cameras but we always took photos too. Then, after we opened presents, we’d listen to the tape which sometimes was pretty funny. We’d sing happy birthday and the dog would “sing” along … he’d listen to the tape, tilt his head and “sing” again. I do miss family time back in the day as everyone’s gone now. The weather this Summer hasn’t been much fun – yesterday low humidity but a gray sky up til noon. Today, rain most of the day, tomorrow stormy – this Summer I’ve embraced those beautiful days which seemed way more plentiful in years past.

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      • I’m glad we did the recordings, though I admit I’ve not listened to them since my mom passed away. My mom did not want to move here as her family and friends were still in Canada – my father had no family. So, she used to get homesick, even after living here all these years. So she liked to hear those recordings occasionally, especially on holidays. I am lucky for having photos – there are a lot of old photos in the family album and my mom sat down with me once to explain who everyone was.

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  10. “Upgrades,” “workovers,” and the dreaded “for your benefit/convenience” rarely, if ever, work out to the customers’ advantage.

    We’ve been lucky so far, weather-wise this summer. I agree with you: It’s a wonderful time to be alive! Go ahead and have that ice cream, spontaneous or not.

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  11. Hope you’re having a wonderful day. We have lovely weather here with just a little too much humidity, but it’s not raining so that is good. As we get older, memories are a wonderful thing that we can call up at any time and enjoy a smile and a happy thought.

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  12. We’re enjoying the summer here too. Almost perfect this year.

    My family gatherings are mostly with my daughters and their families. My daughter from the other side of the country is here for a couple of weeks with her family. They climbed Tiger Mt. yesterday. I stayed home with the one daughter who had a migraine. It’s getting more complicated for me the older I get.

    The product name change that is universally disliked (or hated) it seems is changing from Twitter to the sinister-sounding X

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    • I wasn’t affected by the Twitter thing. Although I initially had an account to post my blogs, I never did anything with it. I think the account went away and they don’t post directly from WordPress anymore. Your daughter is visiting? Wow! That makes for a full house for a while. Enjoy your family!

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  13. We used to have family reunions at a lake – a three day affair. I really miss them, good memories. Any reunion takes planning by someone! I am glad your neighbor was not stalking you. Have a good week! We had another hot one, 100/101 and more of the same next week.

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    • I’m not sure he noticed me although I am often in front of him all the way. We walk in different doors. He orders at the counter and I use the app so I just pick up.

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  14. Great that you have wonderful memories of beach trips with your siblings. My one sister and BIL rent a beach house for a week, every 2 years, with her children and their families. My sister pays for the beach house but the children take care of either making or paying all the meals. 🙂

    Agree about upgrades not always being better! Just costing more.

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    • That’s great as long as schedules work. My neighbor did it this year but said she expects it’s the last time. The kids live all over the country and the grands have graduated from college so they have “real” jobs. As long as you can do it and make it work, it’s wonderful!

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      • Yes! Scheduling can be hard as they get older, for sure. We run into that trying to schedule vacations with our adult children. Fortunately for now my sister’s kids all live closeby and the grands are still little. 🙂

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  15. It has been hot and humid all summer and we are being told it will be this way until late September. I am so ready for for cooler weather, it’s been in the high nineties since June. I can hardly wait to take a walk and come home not needing a shower.

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  18. Dogs and kids really live in the moment. I’m always envious–I make lists, and like you, I try and have plans to look forward to. But I’ve learned to enjoy their antics and their joy, especially when they goof off. Even if my house, yard, and rugs take a beating!

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  19. Memories like that are priceless . . . even if we didn’t “stay in the moment” every moment. Enjoy your ice cream!

    Our last big beach reunion with my family was 2008 ~ when the “kids” were still school-aged and traveled with their parents and stayed up half the night playing penny poker. Most of us made it back to the Jersey Shore again in 2012, just before my dad died. And most of us gathered in Orlando in 2016 for my niece’s wedding. Since then, it’s been more “catch (up) as catch can.”

    Not too surprising since we are spread out from CA & WA to CO, NJ, and FL. Early in the pandemic, most of us gathered on ZOOM every Saturday night. Now, we have a core group that checks in via ZOOM once a week ~ last night it included all my siblings!

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  20. You’re so right on the whole notion of upgrades. Maybe I’m just adverse to change and showing my age, but it seems to me, if it ain’t broke don’t “fix” it. I find those so-called upgrades usually mean a company is trying to cut costs. I’m all for profit, but it seems to me it’s more greed-centric and comes at the expense of those who got them there.

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