CHAPTER DCXXVI

A GOOD-HUMOURED MIDSUMMER CHAPTER, CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF A SOLSTICE, AND SOME OTHER NATURAL AND CULTURAL PHENOMENA: WHICH ALTHOUGH IN THEIR WAY ARE NOT QUITE SO FAITFULLY OBSERVED IN THESE DIGITAL TIMES

As brisk as bees, if not altogether as light as butterflies, will the Parker clan assemble on the eve of the twenty-first day of June, in the year of grace in which their familial adventures will be undertaken and accomplished. Midsummer is close at hand, in all her bloom and leafy beauty; it is the season of hospitality, merrymaking, and kinship; the year is preparing, like an ancient goddess, to call this family together, and amidst the sound of feasting and revelry to mark the longest of days. Festive and joyful is the time; and right festive and joyful are the hearts that are gladdened by its coming.

And numerous indeed are the hearts to which Midsummer brings a brief season of happiness and enjoyment. How many families, whose members have been dispersed and scattered far and wide, in the restless struggles of life, are then reunited, and meet once again in that happy state of affinity and mutual merriment, which is a source of such pure and unalloyed delight; and one so incompatible with the horrors and sorrows of the world, that religious beliefs and atheistic attitudes alike number it among the unique joys of human existence, provided for the blessed and happy!

How many old recollections, and how many dormant relationships, does Midsummer awaken. Happy, happy Midsummer, that can take us back to the land of our childhood; that can recall to the aging woman the pleasures of her youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, hundreds of miles away, back to her own clan, hearth and home!

Like you'll never see me again

Temperature: a sunny 17.5/63.5. May has been the perfect mix of sunshine and spring showers and everything is a fresh, lush green.

Eating: from Nigella Summer.

Drinking: the first batch of rhubarb juice any day now.

Listening: to our resident cuckoo vocalizing away. Have never seen him, only heard his calls.

Watching: out for those pesky roe deer wreaking havoc in the garden. What a menace you've become. Shoo, there's nothing for you here!

Reading: Haven't taken this one out for a while, don't know why, it's a pleasure and a treasure.

Writing: to wish you a happy Spring Bank Holiday, and Memorial Day!

Thinking: How are you faring, sweetie darlings? Hanging in there? Steel wire rope or shoestring? A bare thread situation? I'm at the equal intersection of oh-wow-spring-how-wonderful and there's-something-heavy-in-the-air-though and wtf-wtf-wtaf and deep-breaths-no-sudden-moves-just-keep-taking-deep-breaths. It's going to be all right, right? Right?

Feeling: Oh gods, I need a hug. Anybody wanna hug? I gotta warn you, I dive in, like really in there, so if squished-breasts-in-chest is not your thing, steer clear. *cheeky grin* (Oh, I know when and where not to, promise. But between friends? Consider yourself well and truly embraced.)

Tell me something good

Something. Anything.

I just learned my oldest cousin has died. Not old old. In his fifties.

Cancer. Fucking cancer.

Little wonders

If I've featured these tilt-shift, time-lapse plums by Berlin-based filmmaker Joerg Daibe in the past, it's time for an encore in the present because there are new episodes to marvel at!

This is our world, sweetie darlings, yours and mine, to enjoy and explore, to cherish and protect.

Happy Earth Day, wherever you are. 🌍🌏🌎

🪺

Temperature: a cloudy 12.5/54.5 degrees. We had some really warm days in March, like 19/66 degrees warm, which is the abnormal new normal for spring. (We also had the earliest forest fire alerts ever.)

Eating: rice and tuna salad.

Drinking: Yikes, it's time to get this year's Valborg mead going!

Listening: to the Eurovision 2025 hopefuls yet? You have one month to pick a favorite. Finland is tickled to have doubled their chances with force of nature Erika Vikman, and KAJ, Sweden's finlandssvensk sweethearts. And kudos to Sweden for finally daring to vote for something a bit silly and a lot of fun; they'll be the first to admit they have taken Eurovision and themselves far too seriously in the past.   

Watching: spring progress.

Reading: A Sociedade dos Sonhadores Involuntários by José Eduardo Agualusa. (Available in English.)

Writing: friends and family all week asking about their Easter/Passover/weekend plans. What are you doing, sweetie darlings?

Thinking: some rather unprintable thoughts. Let's talk about it some other time, when I'm not this...incensed.

Feeling: much better, health-wise. This year's flu shot didn't quite hit the mark; still, this bout was so much milder than the last one in...2014?