Hello my perfectly steamed veggie dumplings! Welcome to Friday Open Thread, the fugue state you enter when you drink too much herbal tea and say “Sappho Sings to Sally by the Seashore” six times fast.
How is your life load lately?
I dunno what it’s like in your parts (geographic parts, not private parts), but from where I am in Western NY, the weather has been so bizarre so far this summer. Sunny and hot, hot, hot one day and blustery cold the next. Two days ago I was miserably melting in a tank dress with multiple fans pointed at my face. Now I’m drinking hot coffee while enveloped in fleece-lined leggings and a soft knit sweatshirt. I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.
And my days lately have been equally strange and rapidly fluctuating, filled to the brim with work, writing, caring for a sick pet, impromptu meetings, visiting family, and a seemingly neverending to-do list. You ever have a week like that? It’s a blessing to be busy and have so much life to live, but damn… I could use a break. I’m taking a short weekend trip with my booberry tomorrow and it’s all I can think about.
Sometimes when I’m feeling super overwhelmed like this, I close my eyes and imagine I’m on an epic road trip. It is the perfect stress-relieving visualization. Seriously. Try it. Close your peepers and imagine you are on the open road. Windows down. By yourself or with the perfect traveling companion of your choice.
The weather is absolutely perfect for driving. Clear blue skies with slow-roaming clouds. The road is stretching in front of you beyond and beyond and beyond until it disappears on the horizon.
Put one hand out the window and feel the resistance of the cool air, the wind threading through your outstretched fingers.
You have no destination or many destinations, no timeline, no urgency. Just a full tank and your comfiest travel clothes. There are no buildings, no houses, just peaceful stretches of wild terrain, the faint smell of unturned dirt. Just be there, the road disappearing behind you, all your worries emptying into the air and blowing away. Don’t look back.
It’s getting later now, a few houses come into view and a city beyond. The sun is starting to set and the sky warms into bronze-red streaks as you drive on, on, on towards the horizon.
Breathe deep.
Open your eyes.
Do you feel better now?
Oh, how I wish we could go on a road trip right now! Have you ever gone road trippin’? Tell me about your best road trip IRL or in your mind. Where did you go? Or where would you go? Alone or with a friend or lover? Describe it to me! What were/are the very best parts?
Or just tell me how your week is going, what your are juggling, what you are looking forward to, whether you need a vacation or are content where you are, what your cat did today. Spill, my darlings.
How To Post A Photo In The Comments:
1. Find a photo! This is the easy part. Find a photo on the web, right click (on a Mac, control+click), hit “Copy Image URL” and then…
2. Code it in to your comment! Use the following code, and use a DIRECT LINK to the image. Your image link should end in .JPG or .GIF or .PNG or .CallMeWhateverYouWant even. I don’t care, but it should be an image suffix! KINDA LIKE THIS:
If you need to upload the photo you love from your computer, try using imgur. To learn more about posting photos, check out Ali’s step-by-step guide.
How To Post A Video In The Comments, Too:
1. Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo or WHATEVER and click “embed.” Copy that code, but first make sure it’s for 640 px wide or less. If your player is too large, it will not display properly.
2. Copy the code and paste it directly into your comment.
3. Go forth and jam.
