My Plebian Holiday Joys

 Today for me has been the perfect holiday type of day!  So simple, but for me it works.  

I got up early this morning and pampered myself with a hot shower and some hair styling, followed by a leisurely breakfast with my husband.  Then we had a chat and did a few simple home chores before deciding to walk a half hour or so to our friends' home for lunch. The high altitude forest fire smoke was high enough up in the sky that there wasn't much odor to it and it kept the hot sun from shining in our eyes.  Along with a gentle, cool breeze, it made for a very pleasant walk.  

Lunch with our friends was spectacular for us, the two people who live on potato salad and chicken sandwiches with devilled eggs for the entire summer!  I really do need to haul out my remaining recipe books and actually COOK something again really soon.  My poor husband......  Our hostess started us off with a lovely sangria.  We are not sangria fans for the most part because so many people make it with the cheapest of red wines and it tastes absolutely ghastly....like I would imagine gasoline mixed with water would taste. Ick!  This was marvellous stuff and she got the proportions of wine and fruit marinade to club soda just perfect.  The main meal consisted of a generous slice of her delicious tomato/cheese pie, fresh cucumber slices with fresh dill and a wild rice salad with diced green peppers and other goodies that was the best salad I think I have ever eaten.  It was filled with fresh cilantro, my favourite.  Lunch was perfect for such a meal: three kinds of sherbet in a wide mouth stemmed glass with an accompanying vanilla sandwich cookie.  We had a lovely Portugese sparkling white wine with the meal and it went with every element.  We are not much for sparkling wines or rose`s but this is a good one.  The visit was the best part of the afternoon as it  has been well over  a year since it was safe enough to visit these friends in person.  We all feel the pandemic restrictions on our movement have aged us badly.  'Tis true!

After our visit we walked a couple of blocks further on from our friends' home and returned my husband's library books, then chose a route home that took us through three different inner city parks along the way.  There were pretty flowers and shady trees and nice clean pathways.  We ambled along slowly, somewhat reluctant to return home.

Days like today are the kinds of days I consider to be holidays.  I am finding that I don't need to drive anywhere or go to any special attractions or events to feel like I have had a break away from the day to day ho hum activities.  I just need to take a long walk with my husband, visit a few friends together, share a meal with someone....nothing elaborate. No big outlay on gasoline, miles driven or meals out or hotels....just a nice, quiet, happy time with my husband and other friends occasionally in the course of a week with no other really big "have to" committments.

I had a very good chat today with a fellow who is visiting for the summer at my next door neighbour's suite.  He is only about 20-25 years old at most and has the most hacking cough I have ever heard from someone who is not dying of COPD or tuberculosis or the like.  Today I finally told him I am very worried about him. He told me he quit smoking cigarettes at age 16 after a dressing down by his grandmother who died from lung cancer shortly thereafter, but then he started smoking cannabis oil with high levels of THC, resins and terpenes("shatter")for a few years and blew his lungs right out.  Now he is too incapacitated to work, can't stop hacking and coughing from the depths of his toes and smokes medical weed constantly to help cope with the pain and the depression.  I managed not to cry in front of him, but it broke my heart to see this hulking, burly young fellow completely destroyed by habits he aquired as a teenager.  It is incredibly sad.  He lives with his mom and auntie and doesn't do much of anything at all that is useful or productive.  His lungs run out of air in a matter of seconds just from standing up and walking around.

What a blessing my own life is, old age and all.  I have actually REACHED old age with decent mobility, somewhat clear thinking and no chronic health issues that I can't get treatment for.  The young man I spoke to has nothing much to look forward to in future beyond an earlier than expected death. Sigh....oh how I am praying for him.