Summer's Gone

Every year we reach this stage when inevitability strikes and we realize summer is over. Oh, there might be a last hurrah of a few stolen days, but SUMMER is finished. How do we know?

Some say it's when they pack away the shorts and tee-shirts. At my house I wear them all year round--at least indoors. So that's not a reliable sign for me.

Others say summer is over when the kids go back to school. I have no children that age. And anyway, some schools start in August (and surely, that's still summer!) There are even school districts that go all year long.

Then there are the adherents who say summer is over when the leaves start to change. Or when a certain day on the calendar rolls around. Or when the ice cream stand closes.

I think for me, it's when the temps are below fifty when I wake up in the morning. I don't get up at the crack of dawn anymore. So if the temperature is below fifty when I finally roll out of bed, then summer is definitely over. That means I have to search out a jacket to wear to the pool over my bathing suit. And there's something just wrong about the combination of jackets and swim suits. That's when summer is finally, inevitably over.

Why, before we know it, I'll have to break out my mammoth Crocs to keep my feet warm...

anny

End of summer...

Whatever the calendar says, when school starts, summer is over. Oh, we may still have warm weather. It might even be hot enough to swim. But in our neck of the woods, the pool closes when the kids go back to school (except for Labor Day weekend which always seems to be cold).

The hot days aren't on the weekends, anyway. Exhibit A: tomorrow (first day of school) it's supposed to be ninety four degrees. I ask you...what good is that? No one's playing outside. No one's swimming. Nope, they're sitting in steaming classrooms, sweating and dozing off.

And since the kids are in school, the parents can't really take advantage of the weather to go to the lake or the beach. Actually, because school lets out in the middle of the afternoon, about the farthest you can go is to the mall. And only half of the stores are still open in our mall. I figure sometime after Christmas the rest will close or move out. Then we'll just have a jigunda set of empty buildings. Maybe they can turn it into a running track for school teams to use in bad weather.

Where did the time go? Isn't it strange how fast summer goes and how slooooow winter passes?

Slimming?

Sigh. The swimming season is upon us. And there are numerous style shows on TV and sites on the Internet with a parade of swimsuits that are supposedly slimming.

Well, I'm just going to say this flat out. If you're over a size sixteen, there ain't no such thing as a slimming swim suit. It may be more supportive. It might have a belly tightening section around the middle so you don't jiggle and wiggle when you walk. But it's not slimming. Since I'm squarely in this category, I can tell you it takes more than a swimsuit to accomplish that.

Now that I've given you the bad news...I'll lay on the good news. All those skinny people with no fat? They sink.

Yep. If you're gonna be stranded out in the deep, tossed overboard from a ship, or pushed in the deep end of the pool, the optimal situation would be if your on the chubby side. 'Cause that fat (awful word isn't it?) floats.

I love going to the pool. It's the one time in my life when I can do all sorts of exercises with minimal stress on my joints. I can laze around, floating from one end of the pool to the other. Dog paddling? No problem. Yoga positions? No problem!

So if I have to choose between bikini wear or the slimming suit, well, I'll choose the slimmer. Besides, I burn in the sun like a candle. Who's gonna see the bikini body when I'm covered from head to toe?

I say, let's get out there and enjoy!

anny

End of Summer and Episode Thirty Five

Summer is nearly over. Where did it go? It was only yesterday when I was looking forward to warmer days and maybe, just maybe some time at the swimming pool. This last week was the final week the pool was open and guess what? It rained all week. Next week with the beginning of school, the pool will be closed. I bet it's hot all week.

And then it will be open Labor Day weekend. Done. Does anyone else remember when school didn't start until after Labor Day? Am I the only one? And school used to be finished by Memorial Day. Summer was June, July, and August. Now the kids get out of school in late June and go back in August. Early August in some states. What happened to summer?

Soon the shift over to year round school will be complete.

I used to work for a school district so I know the back story of summer. Summer is when the custodial and maintenance staff have time to paint, remodel, repair and all those other things that need to be done to make schools safe and clean places for our kids. If there are never any summer breaks, when will that be done? Floors are stripped and cleaned, sometimes rooms are rearranged or relocated. And there was never enough time to finish all the work.

Well, I wish all of the teachers, staff, and parents good luck this coming year. Summer is over.

Anny

It's my turn for the Emmeline saga, so here's episode thirty-five. Enjoy!

There was a low booming roar followed by a tremendous explosion in the Galactic Dimension Port. As the dust settled, Reginald bellowed, “Emmeline, where the hell are you?”

Rinalda peered at the pilot’s desk. “Rafe and Shade are gone, too. What happened?”

Floyd straightened up and pointed at the picture revealed through the huge hole in the wall. “That’s what happened! Queen Zahara’s been playing with the Universal Remote Buttons again!” he stalked over to the hole and glared at the queen. “You idiot! What have you done with them?”
* * * * *

Emmeline writhed helplessly in the soft gelbed as Shade moved around the small dimly lit cell, soft whistling through his teeth. Rafe sat in the control room monitoring the perimeters for unwanted visitors while he intently studied Emmeline’s peeler. At last, there would be no more waiting. The bonding was assured.

When all was ready, Shade joined Emmeline on the gelbed, cuddling her in his strong arms against his broad chest. The golden quills running down her spine rippled wantonly beneath the gentle caress of his hands.

She brushed her mouth over the hard contours of his chest, licking and nibbling at the flesh, savouring the delicious scent of chocolate that oozed from his pores. Yes! This was what she needed and wanted!

Holding her close, Shade rolled with her until she was sprawled on top of him skin to skin with her soft green quills cushioning his scaly phallax. She moaned. He groaned. The barbs on her quills pierced his phallax.

With a final bellow of pain, Shade fainted.

As you know, Amarinda is out of town, but she'll be back tomorrow at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com and if you missed yesterday's episode introducing Queen Zahara, go right over there for a squizz.

Today Kelly is posting an excerpt from my book Chrysanthemum on her blog. Trot right over to http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com for a look-see.