It’s time to move on projects

Can you believe the year is more than half over? It is stunning how fast time flies.

We walked uptown to watch the annual fourth of July parade. It seemed to be a little shorter this year. My favorites were the two horses pulling a buggy. It was obvious that they didn’t want to be there. While one horse was throwing a hissy fit, its partner was daydreaming and looking off into space. When the owners finally convinced the first animal to settle down, the second one seemed surprised that it was time to go another few feet before stopping.

The candy tossers must have been practicing. They tossed candy from one side of the street to the other. A couple of pieces dropped down the storm drain and one boy got beaned several times. I certainly hope it was by someone he knew.

As usual, I am pleasantly surprised at the variety of people and organizations in the parade. It seems like anyone who wanted to could be in the parade. I have a cousin who is interested in tanks and other military vehicles. I asked him if he was going to be in our parade and he said no. He was already scheduled to be in the Fairborn, Ohio, parade.

I hope it went well for him. One of our other cousins grew up in Fairborn but has since moved to a different small town. I hope the two cousins were able to get together for a little while.

For me, the parade is a sign that I need to quit putting off the summer projects. I don’t know why they keep multiplying but they do. As soon as one thing gets done a dozen or so more tasks pop up and start yelling, “Pick me! Pick me! I’m next!”

One of my first projects this summer was to find a cookbook put out by Normandy church. Every once in a while my daughter will ask if I have a particular recipe that her grandma used to make. I always tell her no. It finally occurred to me to use social media to find it.

My niece, Margaret, had her husband help with the search. He found not one but three of the elusive publications. They even checked to see if Beth’s grandma’s recipes were in it. They mailed the chosen booklet to Beth. She was so happy that she cried and declared that it was the best present ever even though it didn’t contain either of the recipes she had recently asked me about.

I knew that Margaret and her hubby wouldn’t accept payment. They have two young daughters who have an assortment of Barbie dolls. Like most Barbies, the dolls were usually naked. I went up to the store and bought a couple outfits for the dolls. I wanted to tell her the clothes were from the Society for the Prevention of Naked Barbies, also known as the SPNB but I didn’t think of it until after I mailed the package. That was my way of showing my gratitude to them for their efforts.

Thanks to them I can cross one item off my to-do list. Now if I could convince myself to get started on the rest of the projects maybe I could get something completed before the weather cools and my energy wanes.