May 27th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Sunscreen burn on
Dani's knee

Good Morning! So, did everyone have a nice Memorial Day weekend? We did, and we couldn’t have asked for a better one weather wise either! Saturday we had clouds and showers on and off all day, but Sunday and Monday were absolutely perfect; a little too perfect for Dani though.

She spent Sunday and Monday out at her friend Courtney’s pool, and she’s a bit of a lobster at the moment. She did try using sunscreen, but she’s allergic to some, not all. The one they had at Courtney’s caused a reaction, so she couldn’t use it. She sent me a text, but I had left my phone in the car, so I didn’t see it or I would have run some over to her.

I wish we could figure out what it is in sunscreen that causes the reaction, so we could avoid it. It’s not like we can just find a brand that works and stick to it either, because they all seem to change their formulas slightly; so one that was fine last season, may react this season. It’s funny, well not for Dani but, the reaction she gets from sunscreen mimics a sunburn. Wherever she applies the lotion or spray, it gets red and has a burning sensation within a few minutes. Now we have to trial and error until we find one that will work for her this year.

Lys & Tyler going to
Tyler's birthday dinner

Remember I told you we were going to my girlfriend Sharon’s house on Sunday? Well, we did. I got the beans and the macaroni salad finished, but I, well, I should say Lys – she’s back from her visit to Tyler’s, didn’t get the cream cheese brownies done until yesterday. It wasn’t a big deal because Sunday night’s dessert was s’mores cooked around this season’s first bonfire.

It was a crystal clear night, with a ton of stars – well, as much of a “ton” as we can get in Jersey, which is nothing like what you folks in the Midwest get. Why couldn’t Friday night have been like that, so we could have seen the meteor shower?

Sharon had two friends from Pennsylvania, Wendy and Brian, visiting for the weekend, and the three of them tackled various projects which needed to be done around Sharon’s house. Maybe “needed” isn’t the correct word, “liked” is probably better, because check out this project they worked on.

How cool is that? Wendy saw it on Pintrest, and made one for herself and for her mother-in-law. Then she showed the photo to Sharon, and Sharon fell in love with the idea. Wendy explained how it was done, and I’m thinking I may be making one or two of my own. My house is red with white shutters, so, although adorable, the blue and yellow combination won’t work for me; but I was thinking maybe red, white and blue would. Since one of my shepherd’s hooks mysteriously disappeared so I couldn’t hang my matching pots by the front door, I thought one of these on each side of my porch would look nice. Stay tuned, it may or may not get done for this season.

Croquet - Nan, Wendy and me in the
back

Yesterday, we went back to Sharon’s. Her mom, “Nan”, her brother Kenny, and his wife Daryl were there as well, and we had a traditional Memorial Day picnic with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato, macaroni and pasta salads, deviled eggs and beans. After lunch we had a rousing game of croquet. Nan, the reigning croquet shark, came in dead last, which was unprecedented. Lys, who has only played once before, won the game. It was a relatively tame game, as no one sent anyone else’s ball.

After Kenny, Daryl, Wendy and Brian left, the remaining six of us sat down to a game of “I’ll buy that” (sort of similar to Florida or Liverpool Rummy, or Toonerville Rook), a favorite card game whenever we get together. I am happy to report, I finished in the middle of the pack for that game as well. Lys won and my husband lost. Yesterday was Lys’ day for winning.

Well, I now need to be at work two hours earlier than I was originally supposed to be, so I should get going. I hope you have a marvelous Monday, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Icy fingers grabbed my wrist in the darkness…

My friend Annemarie has been on my case forever about getting back into shape. I have put on a few pounds, and my sedentary job has caused me to go rather flabby, but I hated to exercise. I would rather poke needles into my eyes then step foot in a gym. So, Annemarie is always trying to come up with fun creative ways to get my butt into gear.

We’ve gone for numerous strolls on the beach, a flower scavenger hunt through the preserve, a dance flash mob appearance in the mall, a Zumba class at the local library, and this evening, an energetic game of Frisbee in the park.

 

We’d been at it for almost an hour, and it was starting to get dark, but Annemarie insisted on ten more minutes. Reluctantly, I agreed. Her very next throw went a bit wild, and even though I jumped, the Frisbee soared over my head and landed in the wood twenty feet behind me.

I yell to Annemarie, “Lord help you if I get poison ivy,” and then I trudged into the woods to retrieve our Frisbee. The light was already dim, and under the canopy of trees, it was almost completely dark. Thankfully the Frisbee was neon orange, or I would never have been able to spot it for it was partially obscured by a bush. As I bent down and reached under the shrub to retrieve my errant toy, icy fingers grabbed my wrist.

Your Next Challenge is:

Reluctantly, you agree to a blind date. You meet the person at the restaurant. When you are seated, the waiter makes eye contact with you while he hands you the menu. Pasted inside your menu is a note…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.