A Lovely Friend

June 11, 2025, a wonderful friend paid me a visit! I won’t provide many details in respect to her privacy, but she traveled quite a distance to see me, and I was honored that she did so. This day was one in a long run of days booked to the gills. I was still dealing with extensive truck issues (aka my livelihood) which required figuring out how to pay for it, getting rides or driving back and forth to pick up or drop off vehicles, feeling the cost of the rental necessary to continue our work run up the financial hole day by day. This would have been enough, but I did so while coordinating the time I wanted to spend with my friend as well as with Parade The Circle, medical issues, four upcoming high end charity events, a trip to visit our children and my most recent movie premier. Oh yeah, plus I had work to do, household duties, on and on and on…

I stepped back for a few hours and went to the beach again. It was a necessary mental break, essentially a few hour oasis in this two plus week span of activity. And I do LOVE this bikini! I am trying to do this as frequently as possible this year as I know my body is soon no longer going to allow me to do things like this. Simply reaching behind my neck to fasten a necklace is a difficult proposition these days and I know I won’t soon be able to walk around like this much longer. PLEASE NOTE: do not do as I do. I did not eat a morsel for almost 48 hours, dropping about five pounds to look as “good” (I see ALL the flaws) as I looked. All I will say, it was a near 90-degree day, the beach as packed and I moved around a lot, simply enjoying walking on the beach, through the waterfront, like this. My drug of choice.

I then threw on the sundress you see here and had a lovely get-to-know-you dinner with my friend. I am fortunate on so many fronts, challenged like everyone on the planet on other fronts. This blog, as I have said before, forces an introspection that I probably would not otherwise have and without this platform and the need for content, you would not know about (and probably don’t really care about as you all have your own issues).

“Do you have a cigarette?”

I was enjoying a Fathead’s Bumbleberry (local craft beer, very refreshing as you see above), sitting at a picnic table in my bikini and I was asked that by a “sister” in the wild. Believe me, it was obvious that we were “sisters”. Why on Earth did she think I had smokes? Yeah, I get the connection. At least she left me with a compliment on my swimsuit.

“I love your shoes!”

I will not spin a long story here about my day, June 12, 2025, with my friend. Again, in respect to her privacy, I will not divulge many details. We spent the day seeing a few historic sites in my beloved Cleveland and had a lovely (in the truest sense of the word) time. She is sweet, interesting, inquisitive and a dear. I’ll leave it at that.

In two separate places we were around and involved in tours and/or having docents tell us about these sites with children’s summer camp groups and many other visitors. Simply just like anyone else. Most of the folks associated with these sites were beyond kind to both of us.

She and I enjoyed a lovely lunch. As we got up from our table, a woman seated at a booth to my right gushed about my shoes (yep, they are adorbs!). I walked over and instead of a simple thank you, we had a delightful conversation. To my friend, THANK YOU (more notice next time would be helpful). My dress, pretty sure I acquired for a dollar, which never looked that great on a hangar, was blissful. Nothing better than a light day dress to wear as one goes about her day!

Here is your gal on cuteness overload.

Have I mentioned, I am beyond blessed?